Thursday (May 11), fans of three chords and the truth will be glued to their television sets to see the stars of country music. That’s right, the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMs) are on tonight.
How to Watch:
The show will be broadcast live from the Dallas Cowboys practice stadium, The Ford Center, in Frisco, Texas only on Amazon Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. The official ACM Awards Red Carpet Show will air prior to the show on Prime Video, the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, and Amazon Live at 7 p.m. EDT/6 p.m. CDT.
Videos by American Songwriter
The full rebroadcast will stream the following day for free on Amazon Freevee and on the Amazon Music App.
The Hosts:
Hosted by two of the biggest names in the business, Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, the night will surely be one to remember. “I am thrilled to return to host the ACM Awards, this time with my friend Garth,” Parton praised in a statement. “While I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with him throughout the years, I can’t believe we’ve never had the chance to work together. In addition to getting to see all this great new talent in country music, I am excited to have the chance to premiere the lead single from my upcoming rock album on the show!”
“Anyone with Dolly Parton makes a fantastic couple,” Brooks added.
The Performers:
Confirmed performers include Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Jordan Davis, HARDY, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Dolly Parton, Jelly Roll, Ed Sheeran, Keith Urban, The War And Treaty, Hailey Whitters, Lainey Wilson, and Bailey Zimmerman. Plus, special performances and never-before-seen collaborations include Carly Pearce and Trisha Yearwood; Cole Swindell and Jo Dee Messina; and Ashley McBryde featuring Brandy Clark, Caylee Hammack, Pillbox Patti, and John Osborne.
Parton is slated to deliver “one of her biggest performances” to date, as she will share the lead single from her forthcoming rock & roll album, Rock Star. The whopping 30-track album will be released in the Fall of 2023 and feature a handful of collaborations with rock icons.
“I’ve never done a rock album, for sure I’ll never do another,” she previously told AP. “But I got enough stuff on there that will last for a lifetime and another one.”
The Presenters:
Gabby Barrett, BRELAND, Brandy Clark, Jordan Davis, Mickey Guyton, Tyler Hubbard, Dustin Lynch, TJ Osborne, Jon Pardi, Carly Pearce, MacKenzie Porter, Dak Prescott, Emmitt Smith, Mitchell Tenpenny, Tanya Tucker, Keith Urban, Trisha Yearwood and Chris Young.
The Nominees:
The list of nominees for the show was revealed previously, and with seven nominations, HARDY tops the list, followed by Lainey Wilson, who won two ACMS in 2022 and has six nominations this year. Miranda Lambert, Cole Swindell, Kane Brown, and Luke Combs follow with five nods each.
This year, the ACM Entertainer of the Year category will feature seven nominees, in addition to awards for Songwriter of the Year, which will now be split into two categories: Songwriter of the Year and Artist-Songwriter of the Year. Video of the Year has also been expanded into Visual Media of the Year to include additional formats of visual content.
Early Winners:
In advance of the upcoming Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards on Thursday (May 11), Zach Bryan was announced as the New Male Artist of the Year award winner, while Hailey Whitters has been named New Female Artist of the Year award winner.
Check out the full list of nominees below.
Entertainer of the Year
Jason Aldean
Luke Combs
Miranda Lambert
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
Kane Brown
Morgan Wallen
Female Artist of the Year
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Lainey Wilson
Carly Pearce
Kelsea Ballerini
Male Artist of the Year
Luke Combs
Chris Stapleton
Kane Brown
Jordan Davis
Morgan Wallen
Single of the Year
“Heart Like a Truck” – Lainey Wilson
“Never Wanted to be That Girl” – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde
“She Had Me at Heads Carolina” – Cole Swindell
“Thank God” – Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown
“Til You Can’t” – Cody Johnson
Duo of the Year
Brooks and Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Maddie & Tae
The War & Treaty
Group of the Year
Lady A
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion
Zac Brown Band
New Female Artist of the Year
Priscilla Block
Megan Moroney
Caitlyn Smith
Morgan Wade
Hailey Whitters – Early Winner
New Male Artist of the Year
Zach Bryan – Early Winner
Jackson Dean
ERNEST
Dylan Scott
Nate Smith
Bailey Zimmerman
Song of the Year
“Sand In My Boots” – Morgan Wallen
“She Had Me at Heads Carolina” – Cole Swindell
“‘Til You Can’t” – Cody Johnson
“wait in the truck” – HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson
“You Should Probably Leave” – Chris Stapleton
Album of the Year
Ashley McBryde Presents Lindeville – Ashley McBryde
Bell Bottom Country – Lainey Wilson
Growin’ Up – Luke Combs
Palomino – Miranda Lambert
Mr. Saturday Night – Jon Pardi
Visual Media of the Year
“HEARTFIRST” – Kelsea Ballerini
“She Had Me at Heads Carolina” – Cole Swindell
“Thank God” – Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown
‘Til You Can’t – Cody Johnson
“wait in the truck” – HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson
“What He Didn’t Do” – Carly Pearce
Songwriter of the Year
Nicolle Galyon
Ashley Gorley
Chase McGill
Josh Osborne
Hunter Phelps
Artist-Songwriter of the Year
Luke Combs
ERNEST
HARDY
Miranda Lambert
Morgan Wallen
Producer of the Year
Buddy Cannon
Luke Dick
Jay Joyce
Joey Moi
Jon Randall
Derek Wells
Music Event of the Year
“At the End of a Bar” – Chris Young with Mitchell Tenpenny; Producers: Chris DeStefano, Chris Young; Label: RCA Nashville
“She Had Me at Heads Carolina [Remix]” – Cole Swindell & Jo Dee Messina; Producer: Zach Crowell; Label: Warner Music Nashville
“Thank God” – Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown; Producer: Dann Huff; Label: RCA Nashville
“Thinking ‘Bout You” – Dustin Lynch feat. MacKenzie Porter; Producer: Zach Crowell; Label: Broken Bow Records
“wait in the truck” – HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson; Producers: Derek Wells, HARDY, Joey Moi, Jordan Schmidt; Label: Big Loud Records
Photo by Art Streiber/Courtesy of The Oriel Company