When “Nashville” returns Sept. 24, audiences can expect the musical performances to be a bit different. The ABC drama will include live performances from the show’s singers.

Showrunner Callie Khouri wanted to do a live broadcast after the success of the cast’s spring tour and last season’s special episode “Nashville: On The Record.” While the cast are the singers on each track, performances are typically lip-synched so the actors don’t lose their voices after filming for hours.

“We want people to know what it's really like,” Khouri told Radio Times. “The live music here is such a huge presence in our show that we thought maybe we could find a way to share with the world what that feels like for real."

While a location hasn’t been worked out yet, the show has filmed at famous music hot spots in Nashville such as the Grand Ole Opry and Bluebird Café many times. Hayden Panettiere recently spoke about how accepting the locals have been of the show. "One of the biggest compliments that we’ve gotten, I think I can speak for all of us, is how much Nashville as a city has accepted us and how much the country music industry has accepted us," Panettiere told TV Line. "And I don’t think they would if we weren’t hitting the nail pretty closely on the head."

There is also no word yet on which cast members will be performing. But since Will Chase will be a series regular, a Luke Wheeler solo might be a possibility.

Panettiere could perform, but first viewers will likely find out how the series will handle her real-life pregnancy. If Juliette does make it to the stage, she'll need a new guitarist since she broke up with Avery. Maybe this is the perfect opportunity for Deacon to re-enter Juliette’s life.

Deacon’s daughter Maddie and her sister Daphne could also be taking the stage. Lennon and Maisy Stella, who play them, tweeted about the first script of the season on Sunday.

The stage might be the most comfortable place for the sisters. According to their Twitter, the girls have actually been playing live shows all summer, and they’ll even be playing a show at the Grand Ole Opry on July 25 with country music stars Carrie Underwood and The Band Perry.

“Nashville” premieres Sept. 24 at 10 p.m. on ABC. Which characters do you want to see perform live?

RELATED STORIES
Tennessee