The country community came together to shine a light on those working behind the scenes at the 16th annual ACM Honors on Wednesday (August 23) at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The evening served as a celebration for songwriters, studio recording and industry winners of the 59th ACM Awards. The event will premiere on FOX on September 18 for a two-hour broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
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Several of the honorees included the genre’s esteemed songwriters. Ashley Gorley, who has amassed 67 No. 1 songs throughout his career, was named ACM Songwriter of the Year while HARDY received the trophy for Artist-Songwriter of the Year. ACM Poet’s Award recipients were Clint Black, Mary Chapin Carpenter and K.T. Oslin.
[RELATED: Ashley Gorley, HARDY Receive ACM Songwriter Awards Ahead of Ceremony]
Additional winners of the Special Awards for the 16th Academy of Country Music Honors include ACM Triple Crown Award recipient Chris Stapleton, ACM International Award recipient Kane Brown, ACM Icon Award recipient Tim McGraw and ACM Lift Every Voice Award recipient BRELAND. The honorees were recognized for their contributions to the country community and beyond. A full list of winners is available HERE.
ACM Honors included several surprise appearances and standout performances. BRELAND shared the stage with Keith Urban while Carly Pearce teamed up with songwriter Emily Shackelton. Billy Ray Cyrus and Fire Rose also performed with Travis Denning. Other performances featured The War and Treaty, Jordan Davis, Chris Janson, Brett Young, Sara Evans, Lee Brice, Lady A, Priscilla Block, Hailey Whitters, Bailey Zimmerman, Nelly, Anne Wilson and Dennis Quaid. Below are seven highlights from ACM Honors.
1. BRELAND’s inspired performance and acceptance speech
BRELAND was joined by Urban on banjo for a spirited performance of “Throw It Back.” The inaugural recipient of the ACM Lift Every Voice Award, BRELAND proved just why he was receiving the honor with a heartfelt and inspiring acceptance speech. After saying the award was the “highest honor” he’s received in his career, BRELAND took time to shout out all the Black men and women who came before him and left their indelible marks on the country genre.
“I’m incredibly grateful to be able to accept this award on behalf of an increasingly diverse group of my peers who inspire me to keep going. I would be remiss in accepting an award like this, the first of its kind, without acknowledging the Black railroad workers who taught Jimmy Rodgers to play the banjo,” he said. He then rattled off a list of Black musicians and pioneers including Rufus “Tee Tot” Payne who taught Hank Williams to play guitar, DeFord Bailey, Charley Pride, Linda Martell, Darius Rucker, Mickey Guyton, and Kane Brown.
“We never wanted anything radical,” he continued. “All we ever wanted is a chance. A chance to put our music out, to tour, to be played on country radio.”
2. HARDY’s meteoric rise as a songwriter
HARDY has amassed 13 No. 1 songs as an artist and songwriter. His cousin and publisher, Dennis Matkosky, presented the ACM Artist-Songwriter of the Year trophy to the singer and joked, “I met HARDY when he had a first name.”
“Every time he came over, his songs just got better and better,” Matkosky said. “At one point he played me a song he wrote about his dog dying called ‘Dog Years.’ He wrote it from the dog’s perspective, not from the person and that was so unique. By the middle of the last verse I knew I had to work with him and I signed him to his first publishing deal.”
Added HARDY: “I signed my first publishing deal in 2014 and I signed my first record deal in 2018. Since then there’s had to be a big balance between my artist career and my songwriting career because if you know me, you know that I’m passionate about one thing at the end of the day and that’s writing a great song. … It’s such an appropriate title for the award because I truly am an artist in the sense of I love singing songs, and I truly am a songwriter and this is a huge honor.”
3. Clint Black’s poetic and comical speech
Black’s acceptance speech exemplified why he was named an ACM Poet’s Award recipient. The singer, who had a hand in writing or co-writing every song he released throughout his lengthy career, credits his wife, Lisa Hartman Black, and their daughter Lily Pearl, for giving him “great inspiration for songwriting.” He later explained that it was a high school assignment of reciting a poem in front of the class that put him on the path of songwriting. He then recited that very same poem.
“I found a rhythm in poetry and I was hooked and almost immediately I began writing my own songs and most of them went onto the garbage,” he said as the Ryman erupted in laughter. “Some of my earliest poems a decade later, they’d become hit songs for me. ‘Loving Blind’ and ‘State of Mind’ I wrote when I was just 18 years old.”
4. Trisha Yearwood tributes Mary Chapin Carpenter
Yearwood took the Ryman stage to honor ACM Poet’s Award recipient Mary Chapin Carpenter with a poignant and stripped-down rendition of the honoree’s “This Shirt.” Ahead of her memorable performance, Yearwood praised the singer/songwriter for her important legacy and for paving the way for other women.
“She is funny. She is smart and you hear that in her songs,” Yearwood said. “Tonight we’re honoring Chapin with the Poet’s Award so this was important to me to sing a song that I think embodies that spirit perfectly. It’s a song that is one of my favorites of hers and I just want to send it out to Chapin.”
5. Ashley Gorley’s historic chart record
Ahead of Gorley accepting his ACM Songwriter of the Year trophy, the songwriter’s impressive career stats were revealed. The songwriter has penned 67 No. 1 songs throughout his career, more than any other songwriter in any genre. He also was named ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year nine times. A video also played and featured soundbites of his fellow collaborators, artists like Luke Bryan, Lainey Wilson and Cole Swindell, and publishers and label executives marveling at his accomplishments.
“I want to thank God first of all,” Gorley said. “I believe writing songs is a privilege and music is a gift from Him. … I want to thank all the artists, especially this past year that allowed me to be in their world and be part of their journey. … It takes a team at all times to make this happen.”
(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for ACM)
6. Tim McGraw’s tearful appreciation for Faith Hill
Tim McGraw’s emotional 7-minute speech following his acceptance of the ACM Icon Award praised the Nashville music community and his wife of 26 years, Faith Hill.
“Magic. Magic is why we’re all here,” he said. “The magic of music. Music is the universal force that brought us all together tonight … music in particular can change a life or save a life. I know it’s saved mine probably more than once.
“My world changed the day I met Faith. You’re my partner in life, you’re my partner musically,” he continued, visibly emotional. “You stood by me with all the ups and downs life and a career in music can throw your way. You simply tell me I want this when I can’t see the light. I would not be where I am without you today and your grace. I love you unconditionally.”
7. The War and Treaty’s powerhouse performance
The War and Treaty closed the night on a high note. The powerhouse duo of husband and wife Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter stole the show with their jaw-dropping performance of Stapleton’s “Cold.” Backed by a full band and four-piece string section, Michael and Tanya traded verses and belts throughout the performance. While both singers mesmerized throughout their individual verses, it was when their voices came together that had the audience screaming for more.
(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for ACM)
