Offaly music columnist looks at the latest from Brooks, Parton and Combs

On April 27, the Academy of Country Music, Prime Video, and Dick Clark Productions announced the line-up of country music superstars set to perform live at the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards.

Hosted by country music icons  Dolly Parton  and  Garth Brooks, “Country Music’s Party of the Year” will feature performances by  Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Jo Dee Messina, Ashley McBryde, Jelly Roll, Cole Swindell, Keith Urban, Morgan Wallen, The War And Treaty, Lainey Wilson,  and  Bailey Zimmerman.

The ACM Awards will be free to stream live for a global audience across 240+ countries and territories exclusively on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, Thursday, May 11th at 7 pm EDT (May 12 at 12am BST) from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The full rebroadcast will stream the next day for free on Amazon Freevee.

Fans will not want to miss Dolly Parton close out the show by delivering one of her biggest performances to date with the world premiere of the lead single from her highly anticipated forthcoming rock album. The star-studded line-up will also include the aforementioned Jason Aldean, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Morgan Wallen, The War And Treaty, and Bailey Zimmerman in their only televised country music awards performances of the season. Additional performers joining the non-stop, commercial-free night of music are still to be announced.

Fans can look forward to country trailblazers and previous Amazon Music Breakthrough Artists Gabby Barrett and Breland introducing Bailey Zimmerman as the next Breakthrough Artist from Amazon Music. Breakthrough is the emerging artist program from Amazon Music, aimed at amplifying the best new talent and championing them at key moments early in their careers.

The star-powered experience will celebrate country music’s biggest stars and emerging talent, and feature unforgettable performances, exclusive collaborations, and unexpected moments that will captivate fans worldwide. A limited number of tickets have just been added and are available for purchase on SeatGeek, offering fans exclusive entry into the non-stop party packed with their favorite country stars performing the biggest hits from the last year and seats closer to the action than ever before.

Fans can enjoy special guest features from Bailey Zimmerman, Dolly Parton, and Garth Brooks on “Country Heat Radio” in DJ Mode, along with new Country Heat Weekly podcast episodes hosted by Amber Anderson and Kelly Sutton on Amazon Music, where fans can tune in to in-depth conversations with guests, including Zimmerman and Brooks.

Fans can also stream the ACM Awards playlist available now on Amazon Music in celebration of this year’s nominees. Fans can listen to country music’s biggest stars, such as Kane Brown, Miranda Lambert and Luke Combs, directly on Amazon Music.

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards is produced by Dick Clark Productions, with Raj Kapoor, Barry Adelman, and Fonda Anita serving as executive producers, and Damon Whiteside serving as executive producer for the Academy of Country Music. Patrick Menton is co-executive producer.

Established in 1966, the Emmy-nominated Academy of Country Music Awards is the longest-running country music awards show and made history in 2022 as the first major awards ceremony to exclusively livestream, in partnership with Prime Video. This year’s show marks its return to Texas since the landmark 50th ACM Awards, which broke a Guinness World Record in 2015 for being the most-attended awards show with more than 70,000 attendees at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Follow the Academy of Country Music on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, join the conversation with #ACMawards, and sign-up for the free ACM A-List for the latest news and updates in your email inbox.

Here are some of the nominee highlights for the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards...

Hardy leads the pack with seven nominations including  Song of the Year  and  Artist-Songwriter of the Year.  Hardy shares three of his nominations with fellow artist and collaborator Lainey Wilson for their song  wait in the truck  (lower-case title).

Wilson herself receives the most nods for a female artist with six nominations including  Female Artist of the Year. She is nominated in more categories than any other artist. Last year, Wilson won in both categories she was nominated in.

Most-awarded artist in ACM history, Miranda Lambert, receives her record-breaking seventeenth Female Artist of the Year  nomination (passing Reba McEntire who gas sixteen), as well as four other nominations. Lambert’s five nominations give her the opportunity to break more records following her Triple Crown Award presented at ACM Honors in the fall.

At least one woman is nominated in every eligible main awards category this year.

For the second time in ACM history, three albums released by all-female acts have been nominated for  Album of the Year  in the same year, with  Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville  by Ashley McBryde,  Bell Bottom Country  by Lainey Wilson, and  Palomino  by Miranda Lambert each receiving nominations.

The only other time three all-female acts had albums nominated for  Album of the Year  in the same year was in 1999 with  Faith  by Faith Hill,  I’m Alright  by Jo Dee Messina, and  Wide Opens Spaces  by The Chicks all receiving nominations.  Wide Open Spaces  by The Chicks ended up winning the category.

Luke Combs, Kane Brown, and Cole Swindell follow Hardy with the second-most nominations for a male artist, with five nods each in total.

Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton are nominees for  Entertainer of the Year.  A win for either artist in this category will also clinch the coveted  Triple Crown Award,  which consists of an  Entertainer of the Year  win, plus wins in an act’s respective  New Artist  (male, female, or duo or group) and  Artist  (Male, female, duo or group) categories.

This is the fourth year in a row that Luke Combs is nominated for both  Male Artist  and  Entertainer of the Year.

Kane Brown receives his first ever nominations for  Entertainer of the Year  and  Male Artist of the Year.

Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown receive three nominations together for their song  Thank God  in the  Single, Music Event,  and  Visual Media of the Year  categories. This marks Katelyn’s first nominations, and with an additional two solo nominations this year brings Kane’s total nominations to fourteen.

Cole Swindell receives first-time nominations in three categories including  Single of the Year,  Visual Media of the Year,  and  Music Event of the Year, in which he shares a nomination with his collaborator and fellow artist Jo Dee Messina who receives her first nomination in twenty-two years.

Morgan Wallen receives four nods including his first nomination for  Entertainer of the Year, bringing his career total to nine. Last year he took home ACM  Album of the Year.

Chris Stapleton receives four nominations, including his eighth consecutive nomination for  Male Artist of the Year.

Cody Johnson receives three nominations this year, making this the most ACM Award nominations he has ever received and making him the most-nominated Texas-born male artist this year.

Brothers Osborne’s nomination for  Duo of the Year  marks their sixteenth ACM nomination and their ninth year in a row being nominated for ACM  Duo of the Year, an award they have brought home three times, including last year.

John Osborne of Brothers Osborne receives his first solo nomination as a producer for producing Ashley McBryde’s album  Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville.

Jon Pardi receives two separate nominations for  Album of the Year  as both artist and producer, marking his third consecutive album to be nominated for ACM  Album of the Year.

The War And Treaty receive their first nomination for  Duo of the Year, making them the first Black duo to receive a nomination in the category.

Old Dominion receives a nomination for  Group of the Year, making this the eighth consecutive year the group has been nominated in the category. The group has taken home the title every year for the last five years.

Little Big Town receives their seventeenth nomination for  Group of the Year, which leaves them one nomination short of the all-time record of eighteen nominations for  Group of the Year  held by Alabama. The group has been nominated in the category every year since 2005, with the exception of 2011.

Awards are voted on by members of the Academy of Country Music, which boasts a record-high membership this year of nearly 5,000 members and serves as a powerhouse advocate for country fans, artists, and all facets of the business.

~ The 58th  Academy of Country Music Awards take place on Thursday, May 11