ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC® TO CELEBRATE 18TH ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC HONORS™ ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2025 AT THE PINNACLE

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WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE 60TH ACM INDUSTRY AWARDS AND STUDIO RECORDING AWARDS

TICKETS FOR ACM HONORS ON SALE FRIDAY

Nashville, TN (July 8, 2025) – The Academy of Country Music® announced the winners of the ACM Industry Awards and Studio Recording Awards for the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards™ via social media this morning. Four-time ACM Award-winning artist Carly Pearce sent a special message specifically to all of this year’s Studio Recording Award winners. All ACM Industry Awards and Studio Recording Awards winners, previously announced Artist-Songwriter of the Year winner (Lainey Wilson) and Songwriter of the Year winner (Jessie Jo Dillon), as well as the soon-to-be-announced Special Award recipients, will be celebrated at the 18th Academy of Country Music Honors™ on Wednesday, August 20, 2025 at The Pinnacle, Nashville’s newest cutting-edge venue, located at Nashville Yards. ACM Special Award honorees will be announced tomorrow, July 9, 2025.

Tickets for ACM Honors™ will be available to ACM A-List email newsletter subscribers and Academy members through an exclusive pre-sale beginning Thursday, July 10, with general on-sale beginning Friday, July 11, through AXS. Fans can subscribe now to the A-List here to gain access to Thursday’s pre-sale. Performers will be revealed in the coming weeks.

“We are thrilled to bring the Country Music industry’s favorite night, ACM Honors, to The Pinnacle, Nashville’s newest live music venue, next month,” said Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy of Country Music. “This is an exciting time for the Academy as we reimagine this special night through new partnerships and a new format that will elevate the show’s impact. We look forward to celebrating our Studio Recording and Industry Award winners, alongside our soon-to-be-announced Special Award Honorees, whose vital contributions make the music we love possible,” he continued.

Among the winners of the Industry Awards, first-time winners include The Caverns (Theater of the Year) [also a first-time nominee], The Theater at Virgins Hotels (Casino of the Year - Theater), and Aaron Spalding (Promoter of the Year). In addition, Ed Warm takes home his 19th ACM Industry Award, winning two ACM Awards this year for Club of the Year (Joe’s on Weed St.) and Festival of the Year (Windy City Smokeout).

Among the winners of the Studio Recording Awards, first-time winners include Drew Bollman (Audio Engineer of the Year), Alex Wright (Piano/Keyboards Player of the Year), and Craig Young (Bass Player of the Year). In addition, Dave Cobb wins his seventh ACM Award by winning Producer of the Year (third win in the category), while Brent Mason wins his twelfth Studio Recording Award and first win for Electric Guitar Player of the Year.

Below is a complete list of the winners of the Industry Awards and Studio Recording Awards from the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards:    

INDUSTRY AWARD WINNERS:  

• CASINO OF THE YEAR - THEATER: The Theater at Virgin Hotels – Las Vegas, NV 
• CASINO OF THE YEAR - ARENA: Harveys Lake Tahoe – Stateline, NV
• FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR: Windy City Smokeout – Chicago, IL
• FAIR/RODEO OF THE YEAR: Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo – Houston, TX
• CLUB OF THE YEAR: Joe’s on Weed St. – Chicago, IL
• THEATER OF THE YEAR: The Caverns – Pelham, TN
• OUTDOOR VENUE OF THE YEAR: BankNH Pavilion – Gilford, NH
• ARENA OF THE YEAR: Moody Center – Austin, TX
• DON ROMEO TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR: Gil Cunningham – Neste Live
• PROMOTER OF THE YEAR: Aaron Spalding – Live Nation  

STUDIO RECORDING AWARD WINNERS:  

• BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: (TIE) Mark Hill & Craig Young
• DRUMMER OF THE YEAR: Aaron Sterling  
• ACOUSTIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Tim Galloway
• ELECTRIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Brent Mason
• PIANO/KEYBOARDS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Alex Wright     
• SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT(S) PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jenee Fleenor
• AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR: Drew Bollman
• PRODUCER OF THE YEAR: Dave Cobb

ACM Industry Awards recognize venues and talent buyers/promoters who have bought or promoted a predetermined number of Country Music concerts and helped promote Country Music ticket sales. Nominees are selected by a professional panel of judges approved by the ACM Officers, with ACM members classified in the Artist/Musician/Producer/Engineer, Venue, Manager, Talent Agent, Talent Buyer/Promoter categories voting to decide the winner. For more information on Industry Awards eligibility, visit here.  

The Academy’s Studio Recording Awards recognize the creators behind the music. To be eligible, each artist, musician, producer, and engineer must have played a part in a commercially released single or album embodying the creator’s performance that achieves Top 20 chart position or better during the eligibility period. Nominees are then selected by a professional panel of judges approved by the ACM Officers before being voted on by members classified in the Artist-Entertainer/Musician-Bandleader-Instrumentalist categories and the Producer-Engineer-Studio Manager categories. For more information on Studio Recording Awards eligibility, visit here. 

To search the Academy’s database and view the full list of previous winners for each category, visit here. 
 
For more information on the ACM Awards and all ACM events, visit www.ACMcountry.com. You can like the Academy of Country Music on  Facebook  or follow on X at @ACMawards and Instagram @ACMawards for more immediate updates.