August 24, 2017
Last night, the Academy of Country Music® presented the 11th Annual ACM Honors™ and it was an evening of music from legends and new country stars. The show was taped at the Ryman Auditorium and will air in September during a two-hour special.
Superstar Reba McEntire and country music radio host Bob Kingsley were both honored with the Mae Boren Axton Service Award for their continued support of the Academy of Country Music. Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott, Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman all took to the stage to perform McEntire’s biggest hits.
Gene Weed Milestone Award recipient Kelsea Ballerini performed a medley of her No. 1 hits including “Dibs,” “Love Me Like You Mean It,” and “Peter Pan.”
Chris Stapleton performed “When Did You Stop Loving Me,” and Alan Jackson performed a medley of “Marina Del Rey” and “The Fireman” in a tribute to George Strait before he accepted the Cliffie Stone Icon Award.
Country singer-songwriter Toby Keith received the Poet’s Award and performed his hits “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” and “Who’s Your Daddy?” after songwriter Jimmy Webb presented him with his award.
Brad Paisley was on hand to honor country legend Dolly Parton. Parton received the Gary Haber Lifting Lives Award for her Dollywood Foundation’s My People Fund which supported victims of the Smokey Mountain wildfires.
Other honorees included Songwriter of the Year which went to Lori McKenna, a Poet’s Award was given to the family of the late Shel Silverstein and the television show “Nashville” accepted the Tex Ritter Film Award.
Brett Young presented Studio Recording and Industry Award winners with their awards prior to the show taping.
INDUSTRY AWARDS
CASINO OF THE YEAR - SMALL CAPACITY: Foxwoods Resort and Casino – Mashantucket, CT
CASINO OF THE YEAR - MEDIUM CAPACITY: The Joint at The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Las Vegas, NV
FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR: Tortuga Music Festival – Fort Lauderdale, FL
NIGHTCLUB OF THE YEAR: Joe’s Live – Rosemont, IL
VENUE OF THE YEAR - SMALL CAPACITY: Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN
VENUE OF THE YEAR - MEDIUM CAPACITY: Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
VENUE OF THE YEAR - LARGE CAPACITY: Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
DON ROMEO TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR: Lenore Kinder – AEG Live
PROMOTER OF THE YEAR – Ed Warm – Joe’s Live
STUDIO RECORDING AWARDS
(Note: ** Indicates a tie.)
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Glenn Worf
DRUMMER OF THE YEAR – Miles McPherson
GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Tom Bukovac & Danny Rader**
PIANO/KEYBOARDS PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Dave Cohen
SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT(S) PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Dan Dugmore
STEEL GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Dan Dugmore
AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR – Chuck Ainlay
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR – Jay Joyce