Vegas gets a lot of big nights. The 61st Academy of Country Music Awards—hosted by Shania Twain—is one of the biggest. The show streams live exclusively on Prime Video at 5 p.m. PT (with a simulcast on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch), reaching fans across 240-plus countries and territories. Confirmed performers at press time include Cody Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert and Riley Green, with more names still to come.
If the nomination count tells the story, country music’s moment belongs to the women. Megan Moroney tops the field with nine nominations, Miranda Lambert trails close behind with eight, and Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson are tied at seven. These four artists have spent the past year making the genre impossible to ignore.
Moroney’s breakthrough year earns her first-ever nominations for Entertainer of the Year and Artist-Songwriter of the Year, plus nods for Song of the Year (“Am I Okay?”), Single of the Year (“6 Months Later”) and Music Event of the Year (“You Had to Be There”) with Kenny Chesney. Lambert, already the most-decorated artist in ACM Awards history, is picking up her biggest haul since 2016. Langley, the reigning New Female Artist of the Year, scores her first Artist-Songwriter nod, and Wilson—the reigning Entertainer—is gunning for a third consecutive win in the category she has never lost.
On the men’s side, Chris Stapleton leads with six noms, including his fifth straight Entertainer nod and 11th consecutive Male Artist of the Year nomination. Luke Combs is chasing history: A win for Entertainer would clinch him the coveted Triple Crown. Zach Top has four noms, as does Riley Green, including first-time nods for Male Artist, Album and Artist-Songwriter of the Year, while Cody Johnson, Jelly Roll and Morgan Wallen round out the Entertainer field. A deep bench of first-time nominees (Avery Anna, Carter Faith, Caroline Jones, Vincent Mason, Hudson Westbrook, 49 Winchester and Stephen Wilson Jr. among them) signals what country’s next chapter sounds like.
A little history, for those keeping score: The Academy of Country Music was founded in Southern California in 1964 as a regional trade group. It launched the awards in 1966, making this the longest-running country music awards show on the air. In 2022, the ACMs made history again as the first major awards ceremony to livestream exclusively, teaming with Prime Video, a partnership that’s since drawn hosts Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire, delivered superstar team-ups like Ed Sheeran with Combs and Dua Lipa with Stapleton, and earned country’s first-ever Emmy nomination for an awards show.
Before the main event, the Strip gets warmed up with ACM Awards Week, including: a free Whiskey Jam welcome party at Ole Red Las Vegas on May 14; ACM Lifting Lives Country on the Green: Riley Green & Friends at Topgolf Las Vegas on May 15; and ACM Next Wave: Country’s Beach Bash at Mandalay Bay Beach on May 16, with Keith Urban headlining.
Four nights of music, one splashy awards show and a whole lot of boots on the Strip. Clear your calendar—country’s staying the week.
MGM Grand. 5 p.m. May 17, starting at $170 plus tax and fee. mgmgrand.mgmresorts.com
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