Country music jamboree: ACM Honors return to historic Ryman Auditorium
The 16th annual Academy of Country Music Honors awards show airs Monday, Sept. 18, on Fox.
Celebrating outstanding achievements in country music, this once-yearly event has “become synonymous with recognizing excellence in country music across various categories, from songwriting and performance to philanthropy,” describes Grazia Magazine. Taped Wednesday, Aug. 23, at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn., the 2023 ceremony is hosted by four-time Academy of Country Music Award recipient Carly Pearce (“29: Written in Stone,” 2021), who returns to the gig for her third year in a row. Pearce also performs throughout the night.
While a firm lineup has yet to be released, performances and presenters have been announced, such as Keith Urban (“The Speed of Now: Part 1,” 2020), Dennis Quaid (“Fallen: A Gospel Record for Sinners,” 2023), Lady A (“What a Song Can Do,” 2021), Nelly (“Country Grammar,” 2000), Billy Ray Cyrus (“Some Gave All,” 1992), Trisha Yearwood (“Every Girl,” 2019), Brett Young (“Across The Sheets,” 2023), Chris Janson (“The Outlaw Side of Me,” 2023), Lee Brice (“Hey World,” 2020), Sara Evans (“Copy That,” 2020) and The War and Treaty (“Lover’s Game,” 2023), each set to take the stage, spotlighting some of this year’s best in the country music business.
2023’s honorees, meanwhile, include Tim Mcgraw (“Here On Earth,” 2020), for the ACM Icon Award; Chris Stapleton (“Higher,” 2023), for the ACM Triple Crown Award; Ashley Gorley (“One Thing at a Time,” 2023), for ACM’S Songwriter of the Year; Mary Chapin Carpenter (“The Dirt and the Stars,” 2020), for the ACM Poet’s Award, among others. Two of the awards will be presented posthumously – the ACM Spirit Award and the ACM Poet’s Award – to Charlie Daniels (“Million Mile Reflections,” 1979) and K.T. Oslin (“Love in a Small Town,” 1990), as both artists died in 2020.
The Lifting Lives Award, Icon Award, International Award, Lift Every Voice Award and other distinctions will be announced, as the biggest names in country music gather to celebrate meaningful contributions to the industry in what the Academy of Country Music calls the “country music industry’s favorite night.” From the Ryman Auditorium, the 2023 Academy of Country Music Honors broadcasts Monday, Sept. 18, on Fox.