One of country music’s biggest nights is almost here!
The Academy of Country Music is celebrating its 60th ACM Awards with a powerhouse show that promises performances from some of country’s biggest names, plus a retrospective on the past six decades.
For the third year in a row, the ACMs will be held at the home of the Dallas Cowboys- the Ford Center at the The Star in Frisco, Texas on Thursday, May 8.
According to a press release, the awards will feature performances by Blake Shelton, Eric Church, and Lainey Wilson among others.
Believe it or not, fans can still buy tickets to the event. There are a limited number of seats available on SeatGeek. Mosh pit passes are going for $842 and above (before taxes) but seats further from the stage are going for as low as $207 in some cases.
Reba McEntire Makes History As Host
Reba McEntire will be hosting the event for the 19th time, which puts her firmly in the ACM history books. No other artist has hosted that many times. In fact, the next closest is a tie between Blake Shelton and George Strait, who have each hosted the ACMs five times according to country radio station KHAK.
Reba’s hosting role stretches back nearly 40 years to 1986, when she co-hosted the show with John Schneider and Mac Davis.
In an Instagram post, Reba put up a video of her hosting through the years, including some of her most memorable hairdos.
She’s also been on the receiving end of some of the night’s biggest awards. McEntire was the 1994 ACM Entertainer of the Year and has won 16 ACM Awards overall, including her first victory in 1984.
“Hosting the ACM Awards grounds me by reminding me of how competitive country music (remains) but also acts like a family reunion where I can see my buddies and meet (my metaphorical) relatives and the babies that have been born since the last time the family got together,” McEntire told The Tennessean in a 2024 interview.
Ella Langley, Morgan Wallen & Lainey Wilson Lead the Nominations
Singer-songwriter Ella Langley is the one to watch, leading the pack with eight nominations including Female Artist of the Year; New Female Artist of the Year; Single of the Year; Song of the Year (Artist & Songwriter nominations); Music Event of the Year; Visual Media of the Year (Artist & Director nominations.)
Both Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson are a close second with seven nods each.
Wallen is nominated for: Entertainer of the Year; Male Artist of the Year; Single of the Year; Song of the Year (Artist & Songwriter nominations); Music Event of the Year; Artist-Songwriter of the Year
Wilson in nominated for: Entertainer of the Year; Female Artist of the Year; Album of the Year; Song of the Year (Artist & Songwriter nominations); Visual Media of the Year; Artist-Songwriter of the Year
Other artists with three or more nominations include:
Chris Stapleton (6): Entertainer of the Year; Male Artist of the Year; Single of the Year (Artist & Producer nominations); Music Event of the Year; Visual Media of the Year
Riley Green (5): Single of the Year; Song of the Year (Artist and Songwriter nominations); Music Event of the Year; Visual Media of the Year
Post Malone (5): Album of the Year; Single of the Year; Song of the Year (Artist and Songwriter nominations); Music Event of the Year
Kelsea Ballerini (4): Entertainer of the Year; Female Artist of the Year; Music Event of the Year (Artist and Producer nominations)
Luke Combs (3): Entertainer of the Year; Male Artist of the Year; Artist-Songwriter of the Year
Kacey Musgraves (3): Female Artist of the Year; Song of the Year (Artist and Songwriter nominations)
Josh Osborne (3): Song of the Year (Songwriter nomination), Music Event of the Year (Producer nomination), Songwriter of the Year
Jelly Roll (3): Entertainer of the Year; Male Artist of the Year; Album of the Year
Your Nomination Scorecard
Entertainer of the year:
- Kelsea Ballerini
- Luke Combs
- Cody Johnson
- Jelly Roll
- Chris Stapleton
- Morgan Wallen
- Lainey Wilson
Female artist of the year:
- Kelsea Ballerini
- Ella Langley
- Megan Moroney
- Kacey Musgraves
- Lainey Wilson
Male artist of the year:
- Luke Combs
- Cody Johnson
- Jelly Roll
- Chris Stapleton
- Morgan Wallen
Duo of the year:
- Brooks & Dunn
- Brothers Osborne
- Dan + Shay
- Muscadine Bloodline
- The War And Treaty
Group of the year:
- Flatland Cavalry
- Little Big Town
- Old Dominion
- Rascal Flatts
- The Red Clay Strays
New female artist of the year:
- Kassi Ashton
- Ashley Cooke
- Dasha
- Ella Langley
- Jessie Murph
New male artist of the year:
- Gavin Adcock
- Shaboozey
- Zach Top
- Tucker Wetmore
- Bailey Zimmerman
New duo or group of the year:
- Restless Road
- The Red Clay Strays
- Treaty Oak Revival
Album of the year:
- Megan Moroney: “Am I Okay? (I’ll Be Fine)”
- Jelly Roll: “Beautifully Broken”
- Zach Top: “Cold Beer & Country Music”
- Post Malone: “F-1 Trillion”
- Lainey Wilson: “Whirlwind”
Single of the year:
- Shaboozey: “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
- Cody Johnson: “Dirt Cheap”
- Post Malone, Morgan Wallen: “I Had Some Help”
- Chris Stapleton: “White Horse”
- Ella Langley, Riley Green: “You Look Like You Love Me”
Song of the year:
- Lainey Wilson: “4x4xU”
- Kacey Musgraves: “The Architect”
- Cody Johnson: “Dirt Cheap”
- Post Malone, Morgan Wallen: “I Had Some Help”
- Ella Langley, Riley Green: “You Look Like You Love Me”
Music event of the year:
- Kelsea Ballerini, Noah Kahan: “Cowboys Cry Too”
- Post Malone, Morgan Wallen: “I Had Some Help”
- Cody Johnson, Carrie Underwood: “I’m Gonna Love You”
- Carly Pearce, Chris Stapleton: “We Don’t Fight Anymore”
- Ella Langley, Riley Green: “You Look Like You Love Me”
Visual media of the year:
- Lainey Wilson: “4x4xU”
- Cody Johnson: “Dirt Cheap”
- Cody Johnson, Carrie Underwood: “I’m Gonna Love You”
- Chris Stapleton: “Think I’m In Love With You”
- Ella Langley, Riley Green: “You Look Like You Love Me”
Artist-songwriter of the year:
- Luke Combs
- ERNEST
- HARDY
- Morgan Wallen
- Lainey Wilson
Songwriter of the year:
- Jessi Alexander
- Jessie Jo Dillon
- Ashley Gorley
- Chase McGill
- Josh Osborne
How to watch the Academy of Country Music Awards
According to a press release from the ACMs, the Academy of Country Music Awards is the longest-running country music awards show.
The program made history in 2022 as the first major awards ceremony to exclusively livestream, in collaboration with Prime Video. For 2025, the program will stream live exclusively on Amazon’s Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
The awards will broadcast to a global audience comprised 240 countries, according to Prime Video.
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