CODY JOHNSON, LAINEY WILSON, AND RILEY GREEN TO PERFORM AT THE 61ST ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS

CODY JOHNSON, LAINEY WILSON, AND RILEY GREEN TO PERFORM AT THE 61ST ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS

61st ACM Awards Returns to Las Vegas on May 17, 2026

Live from MGM Grand Garden Arena, Exclusively on Prime Video, Twitch, and Amazon Music

Tickets for the 61st ACM Awards and ACM Awards Week Events are Now Available at AXS.COM

Media and Social Assets HERE

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — March 19, 2026 — Today, the Academy of Country Music® (ACM), Prime Video, and Dick Clark Productions (DCP) announced the first round of powerhouse performers set to take the stage at the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards, including Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson, and Riley Green, with many more unforgettable performances to be revealed in the coming weeks. The 61st ACM Awards will stream live exclusively for a global audience across 240+ countries and territories on Prime Video on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT from the world-renowned MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fans will also be able to watch the broadcast on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, as well as in the Amazon Music app.

Returning to the Sunday night timeslot, the Emmy-nominated, star-powered experience will feature unprecedented performances, exclusive collaborations, and unexpected moments from the biggest Country Music stars, all while celebrating the genre’s most iconic and emerging talent. ACM Award winner Cody Johnson will take the stage following his 2025 win for ACM Song of the Year. Reigning Entertainer of the Year and 16-time ACM Award recipient Lainey Wilson returns to the ACM Awards stage with the world premiere performance of “Can’t Sit Still.” Four-time ACM Award winner and 2026 ACM Lifting Lives Country on the Green headliner, Riley Green, will deliver a performance of his hit song “Change My Mind.”

Previously announced ACM Awards week events include “ACM Lifting Lives Country on the Green: Riley Green & Friends” at Topgolf Las Vegas, Friday, May 15, and “ACM Next Wave: Country’s Beach Bash” at Mandalay Bay Beach, Saturday, May 16.

Tickets for the 61st ACM Awards and ACM Awards week events are available for purchase on AXS.com, offering fans exclusive entry into a nonstop weekend packed with performances by their favorite Country stars.

Established in 1966, the 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 collaboration with Prime Video. The 61st Academy of Country Music Awards is produced by Dick Clark Productions (DCP). Raj Kapoor and Patrick Menton are executive producers, with Kapoor also serving as showrunner. Damon Whiteside serves as executive producer for the Academy of Country Music, and Jay Penske and Barry Adelman serve as executive producers for DCP. John Saade will also continue to serve as consulting producer for Amazon MGM Studios.

Additional performers, as well as nominations, presenters, ACM Awards week events, and the host, will be announced in the coming weeks. The Media Credential Application to cover on-site in Las Vegas, Nevada, is now available HERE.

The Mountain Valley® Spring Water (Instagram: @mountainvalleywater) is the Official Water of the Academy of Country Music Awards.

Follow the Academy of Country Music on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok, join the conversation with #ACMawards, and sign up for the FREE ACM A-List to be the first to know the latest news and for exclusive pre-sale opportunities.

About the Academy of Country Music:

Founded in Southern California in 1964 as a regional trade organization, the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC (ACM) has grown over the past 60 years into a leading association for the Country Music industry. Headquartered in Nashville, TN and boasting record-high membership of more than 5,000 worldwide, the Academy serves as a powerhouse advocate for Country fans, artists, and all facets of the business, as well as a supporter of philanthropic work through charitable partner ACM LIFTING LIVES, dedicated to improving lives through the power of music and providing aid in times of need, with a focus on health initiatives. 2026 continues to be a landmark year for the Academy, building on last year’s success of the 60th ACM Awards, hosted by entertainment icon Reba McEntire, which returned to the Dallas Cowboys' world headquarters in Texas for a third consecutive year and streamed live to a global audience on Prime Video. The Academy also remains relentlessly committed to creating a more inclusive environment for underrepresented groups in Country Music, from the boardroom to the stage, and proudly presents ACM Level Up, a two-year professional development and enrichment curriculum for rising leaders, among other initiatives. For more information, visit ACMcountry.com or ACMLiftingLives.org.

About Dick Clark Productions:

Dick Clark Productions (DCP) is the world’s largest owner and producer of televised live event entertainment programming including “The Golden Globes,” the largest awards show in the world to celebrate the best of film, television and podcasting, “American Music Awards,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” the No. 1 entertainment special in America, “Golden Eve,” “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards,” “Rising Stars of Country Music,” Emmy®-winning series “So You Think You Can Dance,” and “American Bandstand,” the iconic and groundbreaking cultural phenomenon that defined a generation. Dick Clark Productions also possesses one of the world’s most extensive and unique entertainment archive libraries with more than 60 years of award-winning shows, historic specials, performances, and legendary programming. Dick Clark Productions is owned by Penske Media Corporation. For more information, please visit DickClark.com.

About Prime Video:

Prime Video is a first-stop entertainment destination offering customers a vast collection of premium programming in one app available across thousands of devices. On Prime Video, customers can customize their viewing experience and find their favorite movies, series, documentaries, and live sports – including Amazon MGM Studios-produced series and movies Red One, Road House, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Fallout, Reacher, The Boys, Cross, and The Idea of You; licensed fan favorites; Prime member exclusive access to coverage of live sports including Thursday Night Football, WNBA, and NWSL, and acclaimed sports documentaries including Bye Bye Barry and Kelce; and programming from partners such as Apple TV+, Max, Crunchyroll and MGM+ via Prime Video add-on subscriptions, as well as more than 500 free ad-supported (FAST) Channels. Prime members in the U.S. can share a variety of benefits, including Prime Video, by using Amazon Household. Prime Video is one benefit among many that provides savings, convenience, and entertainment as part of the Prime membership. All customers, regardless of whether they have a Prime membership or not, can rent or buy titles via the Prime Video Store and can enjoy even more content for free with ads. Customers can also go behind the scenes of their favorite movies and series with exclusive X-Ray access. For more info, visit www.amazon.com/primevideo.