17th ACM Honors
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Honorees Walt Aldridge, Tony Brown, Luke Bryan, Alan Jackson, Shannon Sanders, Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson, and Trisha Yearwood were celebrated during an unforgettable evening of live music and tributes, frequently described as the “Country Music Industry’s favorite night. The show was hosted by four-time ACM Award winner Carly Pearce, who returned for the fourth straight year, and reigning ACM Song of the Year winner Jordan Davis.
Performers included Lauren Alaina & Emmylou Harris, Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Jordan Davis, Vince Gill & Ashley McBryde, Jamey Johnson, Carly Pearce, Lee Ann Womack, and more.
The Academy’s Studio Recording Awards recognize the creators behind the music, with categories including Bass Player of the Year, Drummer of the Year, Acoustic Guitar Player of the Year, Piano/Keys Player of the Year, Specialty Instrument(s) Player of the Year, Electric Guitar Player of the Year, Audio Engineer of the Year, and Producer of the Year. The eligibility of each artist, musician, producer, and engineer recognized in their respective category is determined by a Professional Panel of judges chosen by the ACM Officers, with each honoree having achieved a Top 20 or better on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Billboard’s Top Country Albums or Mediabase Country charts during the current eligibility period. Notable winners in the Studio Recording Awards categories in the past 16 years include busbee, Dann Huff, Jay Joyce, Jimmie Lee Sloas, Ilya Toshinskiy, and Charlie Worsham among others. For more information on Studio Recording Awards eligibility and nominees, view here.
The Academy of Country Music® Special Awards are voted on by the ACM Board of Directors and are awarded during years where the board feels there are clear and deserving candidates. Industry Awards, Special Awards and Studio Recording Awards are presented to recipients at ACM Honors, a special event held annually in the fall at the historic Ryman Auditorium.
Click here to view the complete Special Awards & Criteria ListACM Triple Crown Award
Wilson qualified for the Triple Crown Award after winning ACM New Female Artist of the Year, ACM Female Artist of the Year, and ACM Entertainer of the Year, an honor only nine other artists have been awarded.
Lainey Wilson
ACM Icon Award
This award is inspired by Cliffie Stone, and presented to a country music artist, duo/group or industry leader who throughout their career has advanced the popularity of the genre through their contributions in multiple facets of the industry such as songwriting, recording, production, touring, film, television, literary works, philanthropic contributions and other goodwill efforts.
Tony Brown
Trisha Yearwood
ACM Lift Every Voice Award
This award is presented to a Country Music artist, duo/group, industry leader or affiliate/partner who plays a pivotal role in elevating underrepresented voices throughout the country music genre, transcending demographics and geography. The nominee for this category is proposed by the rising leaders in the Academy’s LEVel UP: Lift Every Voice professional development and enrichment program.
Shannon Sanders
ACM Lifting Lives Award
This award is inspired by Gary Haber and presented to a country music artist, duo/group or industry professional who is devoted to improving lives through the power of music, has a generosity of spirit, and is committed to serving others, voted on by the ACM Lifting Lives Board of Directors.
Luke Bryan
ACM Milestone Award
The ACM Milestone Awards honors the contributions of Gene Weed and is presented to a Country Music artist, duo/group or industry leader for a specific, unprecedented or outstanding achievement in the field of Country Music during the preceding calendar year.
Lainey Wilson
ACM Poet's Award
This award is presented to a country music songwriter for outstanding and longstanding musical and/or lyrical contributions throughout their career, with special consideration given to a song or songs’ impact on the culture of Country Music.
Alan Jackson
Walt Aldridge
Artist-Songwriter of the Year
Chris Stapleton
ERNEST
HARDY
As previously announced, HARDY was awarded the 58th ACM Artist-Songwriter of the Year Award. This award is presented to an individual known both as an artist and a songwriter, selected by a Professional Panel of judges whose members composed of songwriters, publishers, producers, and performing rights organization (PRO) representatives. The Panel submits five nominees, at which time ACM members in the Artist/Musician/Producer/Engineer, Songwriter, Music Publisher/PRO and Record Company categories vote for the winner. This is the first-ever ACM Artist-Songwriter of the Year Award and HARDY receives the honor after winning ACM Songwriter of the Year last year.
Big Loud Records' heavy-hitter HARDY has never been just one thing. Uncaging a new chapter, HARDY soared to new heights with the release of the mockingbird & THE CROW, his critically acclaimed half-country, half-rock sophomore album, adding to over 2.8 billion career streams. The dichotomous, 17-track effort debuted top-five all-genre on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and kinged seven additional Billboard charts in its first week, including Top Country Albums, Top Rock Albums, and Top Album Sales. The pride of Philadelphia, Miss. has earned his reputation as “a promising purveyor of keeping the spirit of classic heavy Southern rock alive” (American Songwriter), “capable of writing the big hits for radio, obstinate enough to do something completely unexpected, and savvy enough to find the throughline for it all” (Rolling Stone). A five-time ACM Award winner, HARDY is a three-time CMA Triple Play Award recipient, the 2022 BMI Country Songwriter of the Year, and a three-time AIMP Songwriter of the Year. HARDY has written 13 No. 1 singles including his own double platinum No. 1 single “ONE BEER” feat. Lauren Alaina + Devin Dawson, chart-topping, platinum Dierks Bentley + BRELAND collaboration, “Beers On Me,” and game-changing platinum duet “wait in the truck” feat. Lainey Wilson. HARDY has been nominated for ACM Awards with a songwriter credit on Morgan Wallen’s “Sand In My Boots,” Blake Shelton’s “God’s Country,” which HARDY took home an ACM Award for, and his own song “wait in the truck.” He's previously toured with Thomas Rhett, Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Cole Swindell, and more, and flies nationwide on his sold-out, 19-date headline arena tour, the mockingbird & THE CROW Tour, this fall.
Morgan Wallen
Zach Bryan
Songwriter of the Year
Ashley Gorley
As previously announced, Ashley Gorley was awarded the 58th ACM Songwriter of the Year Award. This award is presented to an individual known predominately as a songwriter, selected by a professional panel of judges composed of songwriters, publishers, producers, and performing rights organization (PRO) representatives. The Panel submits five nominees, at which time ACM members in the Artist/Musician/Producer/Engineer, Songwriter, Music Publisher/PRO and Record Company categories vote for the winner. This is Ashley Gorley’s first ACM Songwriter of the Year Award.
Ashley Gorley has written 67 No. 1 singles and has had more than 400 songs recorded by artists such as Morgan Wallen, Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett, Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Cole Swindell, Blake Shelton, HARDY, Kelsea Ballerini, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt, Parmalee, Lee Brice, Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker. He was named the ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year in 2009, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022, Billboard Country Songwriter of the Year in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, and 20
22, and the NSAI Songwriter of the Year in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2022. He was also named the NMPA’s Top Male Songwriter of 2021 with 24 certified songs. Gorley has been nominated for multiple GRAMMY, CMA and ACM Awards and has received the CMA’s Triple Play Award 20 times in his career, which recognizes songwriters with three or more No.1 songs in one year. In 2016, he became the first songwriter to be honored with three CMA Triple Play Awards in a single year for earning nine chart-topping songs in a 12-month period. He repeated that feat in 2020 and 2022. This year, Gorley was announced as ACM Songwriter of the Year for the first time, taking home the Song of the Year award and celebrated three Song of the Year nods, placing him in rare company with Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard, the only other songwriters to achieve the feat in a single year. In addition to his decorated career as a songwriter, Gorley runs his own publishing company, Tape Room Music, whose writers have celebrated nearly 40 No. 1s and several Top Ten songs recorded by artists such as HARDY, Sam Hunt, Keith Urban, Dustin Lynch, Jake Owen, and Florida Georgia Line.Chase McGill
Hillary Lindsey
Jessie Jo Dillon
Josh Thompson
To view Merit Street, audiences can access the channel-finder link by entering zip codes at www.meritstreetmedia.com. Merit Street can also be found on DirecTV, Dish, U-Verse, Samsung TV Plus and additional broadcast, basic cable, national satellites, and FAST channels. Or stream it by downloading the free Merit+ app, available to download via iPhone & Android mobile devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, and Roku.
Listen to the tunes of ACM Honors in the official ACM Honors playlist, available on Amazon Music, Apple, Pandora, and Spotify, HERE.