2019 ACM Awards: Luke Combs, Ashley McBryde, LANCO win in categories for new artists

March 25, 2019

ACM Awards

The Academy of Country Music revealed the winners of the new artist categories for the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards, Country Music’s Party of the Year. Luke Combs, LANCO and Ashley McBryde have been named New Male Artist of the Year, New Vocal Group of the Year and New Female Artist of the Year, respectively. The winners each received a surprise phone call from 14-time ACM Award winner, two-time ACM Entertainer of the Year and current ACM Award nominee Carrie Underwood, who won the 2005 New Female Vocalist category at the 2006 ACM Awards.

These awards mark the first-ever ACM Award wins for Combs, LANCO and McBryde. All three artists are also nominated in the Male Artist of the Year, Group of the Year and Female Artist of the Year categories, respectively.

Carrie Underwood and each of the new artist winners Luke Combs, LANCO and Ashley McBryde will all perform on the show, joining previously announced ACM Awards performers including Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Brandi Carlile, Eric Church, Kelly Clarkson, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Reba McEntire, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton and George Strait along with ACM Dick Clark Artist of the Decade Award honoree Jason Aldean.

Additional acts and presenters will be announced in the coming week. The awards telecast, hosted by Reba McEntire, will air LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 8:00 PM ET / delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

Tickets for the ceremony are available for purchase now at www.axs.com. For more information on the ACM Awards and all ACM events including ACM Party for a Cause®, visit ACMcountry.com. You can also like Academy of Country Music on Facebook or follow on Twitter and Instagram for more immediate updates.

About the Academy of Country Music Awards
The 54th Academy of Country Music Awards™ is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry. The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will broadcast LIVE from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 8:00 PM ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. R.A. Clark, Reba McEntire, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are executive producers. Pete Fisher is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.

2019 ACM Awards: Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Kelly Clarkson, Florida Georgia Line, Brandi Carlile added to lineup of performers

March 19, 2019

ACM Awards

The following is a press release from the Academy of Country Music:

The Academy of Country Music® announced today that Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Brandi Carlile, Eric Church, Kelly Clarkson, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line and Ashley McBryde have been added to the powerful lineup of performers for the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards, Country Music’s Party of the Year®. The awards telecast, hosted by Reba McEntire, will air LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 8:00 PM ET / delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

Previously announced ACM Awards performers include Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Reba McEntire, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton and George Strait along with ACM Dick Clark Artist of the Decade Award honoree Jason Aldean. Additional acts and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets for the ceremony are available for purchase now at www.axs.com. For more information on the ACM Awards and all ACM events including ACM Party for a Cause®, visit ACMcountry.com. Ultimate ACM Awards® VIP Experience and the Ultimate ACM Awards VIP Travel Packages are available from CID Entertainment. You can also like Academy of Country Music on Facebook or follow on Twitter and Instagram for more immediate updates.

About the Academy of Country Music Awards
The 54th Academy of Country Music Awards™ is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry. The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will broadcast LIVE from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 8:00 PM ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. R.A. Clark, Reba McEntire, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are executive producers. Pete Fisher is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.

2019 ACM Awards: first wave of performers, radio winners announced

March 12, 2019

by Carla Hay

ACM Awards

Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Reba McEntire, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton and George Strait are in the first group of artists announced to perform at the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards, which will take place April 7 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. CBS will have the U.S. telecast of the show, which will be hosted by McEntire. As previously announced, Jason Aldean, who will also perform on the show, will receive the ACM Awards’ first Artist of the Decade prize. Stapleton and Dan + Shay are the show’s leading nominees, with six nods each.

Tickets for the ceremony are available for purchase now at www.axs.com.  Ultimate ACM Awards® VIP Experience and the Ultimate ACM Awards VIP Travel Packages are available from CID Entertainment. The Academy of Country Music’s social media can be found on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.

Meanwhile, the radio winners of the 2019 ACM Awards were announced on February 28:

*=winner

NATIONAL ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR (tie within category increased nominees)
• Cody Alan – CMT After MidNite with Cody Alan
• Kix Brooks – American Country Countdown
• Darren Wilhite and Tim Wall – Wilhite & Wall
Lon Helton – Country Countdown USA with Lon Helton*
• Tracy Lawrence – Honky Tonkin’ with Tracy Lawrence
• Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase – The Crook & Chase Countdown

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – MAJOR MARKET
• Chuck, Rachael & Grunwald in the Morning – WYCD-FM (Detroit, MI)
• Katie Neal – WNSH-FM (New York, NY)
• The Rob + Holly Show – WYCD-FM (Detroit, MI)
Tanner in the Morning – Rob Tanner, Catherine Lane, Chris Allen, Captain Jim, and Mimi – WSOC-FM (Charlotte, NC)*
• Tracy Dixon, Guy David & Patrick Knight – KYGO-FM (Denver, CO)

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET
Jim, Deb & Kevin – WFMS-FM (Indianapolis, IN)*
• Lexi And Banks – KUBL-FM (Salt Lake City, UT)
• Q Morning Crew with Mike and Janie – WQDR-FM (Raleigh, NC)
• Ridder, Scott and Shannen – WMIL-FM (Milwaukee, WI)
• Tige & Daniel – Tige Rogers, Daniel Baker, Mari Mueller – WSIX-FM (Nashville, TN)

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM MARKET
• Kenn McCloud – KUZZ-AM/FM (Bakersfield, CA)
• Brent Michaels – KUZZ-AM/FM (Bakersfield, CA)
Mo & StykMan Show – WUSY-FM (Chattanooga, TN)*
• Roger, Julie and DJ Thee Trucker in the Morning – WPCV-FM (Lakeland, FL)
• Tom & Becky – WBBS-FM (Syracuse, NY)

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – SMALL MARKET
• Adam & Jen in the Morning – KIOK-FM (Richland, WA)
Brent Lane and Candy Cullerton – WYCT-FM (Pensacola, FL)*
• The Q Crew with Jason and Ashley on Q100.3 – KRWQ-FM (Medford, OR)
• The Roger & Corliss Morning Show – KORA-FM (Bryan, TX)
• Scotty & Catryna in the Morning – KCLR-FM (Columbia, MO)

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – MAJOR MARKET
• KKBQ-FM – Houston, TX
• KNIX-FM – Phoenix, AZ*
• KPLX-FM – Dallas, TX
• KSCS-FM – Dallas, TX
• WYCD-FM – Detroit, MI

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET
• KAJA-FM – San Antonio, TX
• KUBL-FM – Salt Lake City, UT*
• WLHK-FM – Indianapolis, IN
• WMIL-FM – Milwaukee, WI
• WWKA-FM – Orlando, FL

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM MARKET
• KATM-FM – Stockton, CA
• KUZZ-AM/FM – Bakersfield, CA
• KXKT-FM – Omaha, NE
• WHKO-FM – Dayton, OH
• WIVK-FM – Knoxville, TN*

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – SMALL MARKET
• KHAY-FM – Ventura, CA*
• KKNU-FM – Eugene, OR
• KORA-FM – Bryan, TX
• WGSQ-FM – Cookeville, TN
• WYCT-FM – Pensacola, FL

2019 ACM Awards: Jason Aldean to receive Artist of the Decade Award

March 6, 2019

Jason Aldean at the 2018 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on September 21, 2018. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)

CBS and the Academy of Country Music® announced today that three-time “Entertainer of the Year” winner and current nominee Jason Aldean will receive the ACM Dick Clark Artist of the Decade Award and perform at the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards, Country Music’s Party of the Year®, honoring country music’s superstars and hottest emerging talent. As previously announced, iconic entertainer and 16-time ACM Award® winner Reba McEntire returns to host live from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Sunday, April 7 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.

This award will be presented to Jason Aldean, the 13-time ACM Award® winner, for being an outstanding country music artist or duo/group who has dominated country music over the decade, through success at radio, digital media, sales and streaming, distinguishing events, touring, television appearances and artistic merit. He joins only five other honorees who have received the ACM Artist of the Decade Award, which include Marty Robbins in 1969, Loretta Lynn in 1979, Alabama in 1988, Garth Brooks in 1998 and George Strait in 2008. This Award was renamed the ACM Dick Clark Artist of the Decade Award after Clark passed away in 2018, in recognition of his many years as the ACM Awards producer and early host.

“This is probably one of the coolest awards I’ve ever been given,” said Aldean. “My heroes are on this list, something I can’t really even wrap my head around being part of. But, man, I’m proud to be getting it – it’s for everyone who stuck with us and supported us through the years.”

“On behalf of our Special Awards Committee, our Board of Directors and Academy staff, we extend our congratulations to Jason and his entire team on this landmark career achievement,” said Pete Fisher, CEO of the Academy of Country Music. “We look forward to celebrating Jason’s remarkable career at our 54th annual awards in Las Vegas.”

With his wide-open, sure-footed approach, Jason Aldean has defined the genre’s 21st century as RIAA’s top digital male country artist of all time. Aldean has had more than 4 billion digital streams, 18 million albums and 39 million singles. Every one of his album releases has been certified by the RIAA, and he is only the second country act in history to score four consecutive #1 albums on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. As “he sells out stadiums and continues to bring his singles to the top of the radio charts” (Forbes), Aldean has garnered 22 #1 chart toppers, most recently including back-to-back hits from his record-breaking album Rearview Town, including “Girl Like You,” along with the multi-week chart toppers “You Make it Easy” and “Drowns The Whiskey.” The “musically muscular, big-tent entertainer” (The Atlantic) has sold more than 10 million headlining tickets and is one of the first of few acts in the genre to sell out multiple stadiums, such as UGA’s Sanford Stadium, Fenway Park, Wrigley Field, AT&T Stadium and Gillette Stadium. Additionally, the past ACM Triple Crown winner has raised more than $6 million for charities across the country, specifically Susan G. Komen and his hometown of Macon, Ga. Children’s Hospital. The “natural born entertainer who consistently delivers his best” (CMT) will continue the momentum during his 2019 Ride All Night Tour, launching May 3 with back-to-back nights in Uncasville, Connecticut. For more information and for a full list of upcoming tour dates, visit www.jasonaldean.com.

Additional acts and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets for the ceremony are available for purchase now at www.axs.com. For more information on the ACM Awards and all ACM events including ACM Party for a Cause, visit ACMcountry.com. Ultimate ACM Awards® VIP Experience and the Ultimate ACM Awards VIP Travel Packages are available from CID Entertainment. You can also like Academy of Country Music on Facebook or follow on Twitter and Instagram for more immediate updates.

About the Academy of Country Music Awards

The 54th Academy of Country Music Awards is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry. The show is produced for television by Dick Clark Productions and will broadcast live from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7, at 8:00 PM, ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. R.A. Clark, Reba McEntire, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are executive producers. Pete Fisher is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.

2019 ACM Awards: Chris Stapleton, Dan + Shay are the top nominees

February 20, 2019

by Carla Hay

ACM Awards

With six nominations each, Chris Stapleton, Dan + Shay and musician/producer Ian Fitchuk are the top nominees for the 54th annual Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards, which will be presented at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 7, 2019. CBS will have the U.S. telecast of the show, which will be hosted by Reba McEntire.

Chris Stapleton’s nominations include Entertainer of the Year, where he is up against Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban. Several people, including ACM Awards host McEntire, have publicly slammed the ACM for once again not having any female nominees for Entertainer of the Year. Stapleton’s other ACM Award nominations are as an artist and producer for his album “From a Room: Volume 2” in the Album of the Year category; as an artist and songwriter for “Broken Halos” in the Song of the Year category; and for Male Artist of the Year.

Dan + Shay’s nominations are for Duo of the Year; Album of the Year (for their self-titled album); and Music Event of the Year (for “Keeping Score,” featuring Kelly Clarkson. In addition, Dan + Shay’s “Tequila” is up for Single of the Year, Song of the Year and Video of the Year.

Kacey Musgraves is the leading female nominee, with five nods, including Female Artist of the Year. She is also nominated as an artist and producer for “Golden Hour” in the category for Album of the Year, and as an artist and songwriter for “Space Cowboy” in the category of Song of the Year.

Fitchuk’s six nominations are in behind-the-scenes categories, such as a producer for Musgraves’ “Golden Hour” in the Album of the Year category. Fitchuk is also up for Bass Player of the Year, Drummer of the Year, Piano/Keyboards Player of the Year, Specialty Instrument(s) Player of the Year and Producer of the Year.

Other artists who received several nominations are Florida Georgia Line, Bebe Rexha and Dierks Bentley, who have four nods each.

Here is the complete list of nominations for the 2019 ACM Awards:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
• Jason Aldean
• Luke Bryan
• Kenny Chesney
• Chris Stapleton
• Keith Urban

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
• Dierks Bentley
• Luke Combs
• Thomas Rhett
• Chris Stapleton
• Keith Urban

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
• Miranda Lambert
• Ashley McBryde
• Maren Morris
• Kacey Musgraves
• Carrie Underwood

DUO OF THE YEAR
• Brothers Osborne
• Dan + Shay
• Florida Georgia Line
• LOCASH
• Maddie & Tae

GROUP OF THE YEAR
• Lady Antebellum
• LANCO
• Little Big Town
• Midland
• Old Dominion

NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
• Danielle Bradbery
• Lindsay Ell
• Ashley McBryde
• Carly Pearce

NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
• Jimmie Allen
• Luke Combs
• Jordan Davis
• Michael Ray
• Mitchell Tenpenny

NEW DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
• High Valley
• LANCO
• Runaway June

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR (Off-Camera Award)
• Ross Copperman
• Ashley Gorley
• Shane McAnally
• Chase McGill
• Josh Osborne

ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

  • “Dan + Shay” – Dan + Shay

    • Producers: Scott Hendricks / Dan Smyers / Matt Dragstrem

    • Record Label: Warner Music Nashville

  • “Desperate Man” – Eric Church

    • Producers: Jay Joyce / Arturo Buenahora Jr.

    • Record Label: EMI Records Nashville

  • “From a Room: Volume 2” – Chris Stapleton

    • Producers: Dave Cobb / Chris Stapleton

    • Record Label: Mercury Nashville

  • “Golden Hour” – Kacey Musgraves

    • Producers: Ian Fitchuk / Daniel Tashian / Kacey Musgraves

    • Record Label: MCA Nashville

  • “The Mountain” – Dierks Bentley

    • Producers: Ross Copperman / Jon Randall Stewart / Arturo Buenahora Jr.

    • Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville

SINGLE OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

  • “Down to the Honky Tonk” – Jake Owen

    • Producer: Joey Moi

    • Record Label: Big Loud Records

  • “Heaven” – Kane Brown

    • Producer: Dann Huff / Polow Da Don

    • Record Label: RCA Nashville

  • “Meant to Be” – Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line

    • Producer: Wilshire for Rock The Soul Ent

    • Record Label: Warner Bros. Records

  • “Most People Are Good” – Luke Bryan

    • Producers: Jeff Stevens / Jody Stevens

    • Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville

  • “Tequila” – Dan + Shay

    • Producers: Scott Hendricks / Dan Smyers

    • Record Label: Warner Music Nashville

SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]

  • “Break Up in the End” – Cole Swindell

    • Writers: Jessie Jo Dillon / Chase McGill / Jon Nite

    • Publishers: EMI April Music Inc. / Nite Writer Music (ASCAP) / Songs of Universal, Inc. / Plum Nelly (BMI) / Big Music Machine (BMI)/ Big Ass Pile Of Dimes Music (BMI)

  • “Broken Halos” – Chris Stapleton

    • Writers: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton

    • Publishers: WB Music Corp./House of Sea Gayle Music, admin. by ClearBox Rights/Spirit Catalog Holdings, S.a.r.l. admin. by Spirit Two Nashville (ASCAP); Straight Six Music (BMI)

  • “Meant to Be” – Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line

    • Writers: David Garcia, Tyler Hubbard, Joshua Miller, Bebe Rexha

    • Publishers: BMG Platinum Songs/Kiss Me If You Can Music (BMI) (all rights administered by BMG Rights Management (US) LLC) Big Loud Mountain (BMI) and T Hubb Publishing (BMI). All Rights Administered by Round Hill Works. Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. on behalf of itself and Songs of the Corn and Jack 10 Publishing. Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Publishing (ASCAP) D Soul Music (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com)

  • “Space Cowboy” – Kacey Musgraves

    • Writers: Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves

    • Publishers: Smack Hits/Smack Songs, admin bvy Kobalt Music Group ltd. (GMR); Universal Music Works/We Are Creative NBaSmack Hits/Smack Songs, LLC, admin. by Kobalt Music Group Ltd. (GMR); Universal Music Works/We Are Creative Nation/Jake and Mack Music, admin. by Universal Music Works; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./351 Music (BMI).

  • “Tequila” – Dan + Shay

    • Writers: Nicolle Galyon / Jordan Reynolds / Dan Smyers

    • Publishers: Beats and Banjos (ASCAP), WB Music Corp. (ASCAP), A Girl Named Charlie (BMI) / Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI) / Buckeye26 (ASCAP) / Jreynmusic (ASCAP)

  • “Yours” – Russell Dickerson

    • Writers: Casey Brown / Russell Dickerson / Parker Welling

    • Publishers: BMG Platinum Songs/Kailey’s Dream / So Essential Tunes / Not Just Another Song Publishing / Hillbilly Science and Research Publishing/Trailerlily Music

VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]

  • “Babe” – Sugarland featuring Taylor Swift

    • Producer: Roger Hunt

    • Director: Anthony Mandler

  • “Burn Out” – Midland

    • Producer: Ben Skipworth

    • Director: TK McKamy / Cameron Duddy

  • “Burning Man” – Dierks Bentley featuring Brothers Osborne

    • Producer: Nate Eggert

    • Director: Wes Edwards

  • “Drunk Girl” – Chris Janson

    • Producer: Ben Skipworth

    • Director: Jeff Venable

  • “Shoot Me Straight” – Brothers Osborne

    • Producer: April Kimbrell

    • Director: Wes Edwards / Ryan Silver

  • “Tequila” – Dan + Shay

    • Producer: Christen Pinkston

    • Director: Patrick Tracy

MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

  • “Burning Man” – Dierks Bentley featuring Brothers Osborne

    • Producers: Ross Copperman / Jon Randall Stewart / Arturo Buenahora Jr.

    • Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville

  • “Drowns the Whiskey” – Jason Aldean featuring Miranda Lambert

    • Producer: Michael Knox

    • Record Labels: Macon Music, LLC; Broken Bow Records; BBR Music Group; BMG

  • “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” – David Lee Murphy featuring Kenny Chesney

    • Producers: Buddy Cannon / Kenny Chesney / David Lee Murphy

    • Record Label: Reviver Records

  • “Keeping Score” – Dan + Shay featuring Kelly Clarkson

    • Producers: Scott Hendricks / Dan Smyers

    • Record Label: Warner Music Nashville

  • “Meant to Be” – Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line

    • Producer: Wilshire for Rock The Soul Ent

    • Record Label: Warner Bros. Records

INDUSTRY AWARDS

CASINO OF THE YEAR – SMALL CAPACITY
• Choctaw Casino & Resort – Durant, OK
• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort – Cherokee, NC
• The Joint: Tulsa – Tulsa, OK
• Peppermill Reno – Reno, NV
• Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort – Mt. Pleasant, MI

CASINO OF THE YEAR – LARGE CAPACITY
• Casino Rama – Orillia, ON
• Grand Casino Hinckley – Hinckley, MN
• Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, CT
• Sandia Casino Amphitheater – Albuquerque, NM
• WinStar Global Event Center – Thackerville, OK

FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR
• Boots & Hearts – Oro-Medonte, ON
• Faster Horses – Brooklyn, MI
• Stagecoach – Indio, CA
• Tortuga Music Festival – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Windy City Smokeout – Chicago, IL

NIGHTCLUB OF THE YEAR
• Dusty Armadillo – Rootstown, OH
• Grizzly Rose – Denver, CO
• Joe’s on Weed St – Chicago, IL
• Joe’s Live – Rosemont, IL
• Stoney’s Rockin’ Country – Las Vegas, NV

VENUE OF THE YEAR – SMALL CAPACITY
• House of Blues – Anaheim, CA
• House of Blues – Boston, MA
• Floore’s – Helotes, TX
• Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN
• Surf Ballroom – Clear Lake, IA

VENUE OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM CAPACITY
• Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
• Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, NH
• Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, TN
• The Wharf Amphitheater – Orange Beach, AL
• The Anthem – Washington, DC

VENUE OF THE YEAR – LARGE CAPACITY
• Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
• BOK Center – Tulsa, OK
• Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON
• PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ
• Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center – Noblesville, IN

DON ROMEO TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR
• Todd Boltin – Variety Attractions
• Billy Brill – Billy Alan Productions
• Gil Cunningham – Neste Live!
• Kell Houston – Houston Productions
• Nicole More – Wilson Events, Inc.

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
• Brent Fedrizzi – AEG Presents
• Stacy Vee – Goldenvoice
• Ed Warm – Joe’s Bar
• Adam Weiser – AEG Presents
• Jason Wright – Live Nation

STUDIO RECORDING AWARDS

BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
• Mike Brignardello
• JT Cure
• Ian Fitchuk
• Tony Lucido
• Glenn Worf

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR
• Matt Chamberlain
• Ian Fitchuk
• Evan Hutchings
• Aaron Sterling
• Nir Z

GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
• Tom Bukovac
• Jedd Hughes
• Danny Rader
• Adam Shoenfeld
• Ilya Toshinskiy
• Derek Wells

PIANO/KEYBOARDS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
• Dave Cohen
• David Dorn
• Ian Fitchuk
• Tony Harrell
• Charlie Judge
• Gordon Mote

SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT(S) PLAYER OF THE YEAR
• Ian Fitchuk
• Jenee Fleenor
• Carl Miner
• Mickey Raphael
• Ilya Toshinskiy

STEEL GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
• Dan Dugmore
• Steve Hinson
• Mike Johnson
• Russ Pahl
• Justin Schipper

AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
• Craig Alvin
• Ryan Gore
• Jeff Juliano
• Vance Powell
• F Reid Shippen

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
• Buddy Cannon
• Ian Fitchuk
• Dann Huff
• Jay Joyce
• Michael Knox

ACM RADIO AWARDS: The following previously announced radio awards will be presented during the annual Radio Winners Reception which will be held on April 6 in Las Vegas.

NATIONAL ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR (tie within category increased nominees)
• Cody Alan – CMT After MidNite with Cody Alan
• Kix Brooks – American Country Countdown
• Darren Wilhite and Tim Wall – Wilhite & Wall
• Lon Helton – Country Countdown USA with Lon Helton
• Tracy Lawrence – Honky Tonkin’ with Tracy Lawrence
• Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase – The Crook & Chase Countdown

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – MAJOR MARKET
• Chuck, Rachael & Grunwald in the Morning – WYCD-FM (Detroit, MI)
• Katie Neal – WNSH-FM (New York, NY)
• The Rob + Holly Show – WYCD-FM (Detroit, MI)
• Tanner in the Morning – Rob Tanner, Catherine Lane, Chris Allen, Captain Jim, and Mimi – WSOC-FM (Charlotte, NC)
• Tracy Dixon, Guy David & Patrick Knight – KYGO-FM (Denver, CO)

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET
• Jim, Deb & Kevin – WFMS-FM (Indianapolis, IN)
• Lexi And Banks – KUBL-FM (Salt Lake City, UT)
• Q Morning Crew with Mike and Janie – WQDR-FM (Raleigh, NC)
• Ridder, Scott and Shannen – WMIL-FM (Milwaukee, WI)
• Tige & Daniel – Tige Rogers, Daniel Baker, Mari Mueller – WSIX-FM (Nashville, TN)

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM MARKET
• Kenn McCloud – KUZZ-AM/FM (Bakersfield, CA)
• Brent Michaels – KUZZ-AM/FM (Bakersfield, CA)
• Mo & StykMan Show – WUSY-FM (Chattanooga, TN)
• Roger, Julie and DJ Thee Trucker in the Morning – WPCV-FM (Lakeland, FL)
• Tom & Becky – WBBS-FM (Syracuse, NY)

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – SMALL MARKET
• Adam & Jen in the Morning – KIOK-FM (Richland, WA)
• Brent Lane and Candy Cullerton – WYCT-FM (Pensacola, FL)
• The Q Crew with Jason and Ashley on Q100.3 – KRWQ-FM (Medford, OR)
• The Roger & Corliss Morning Show – KORA-FM (Bryan, TX)
• Scotty & Catryna in the Morning – KCLR-FM (Columbia, MO)

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – MAJOR MARKET
• KKBQ-FM – Houston, TX
• KNIX-FM – Phoenix, AZ
• KPLX-FM – Dallas, TX
• KSCS-FM – Dallas, TX
• WYCD-FM – Detroit, MI

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET
• KAJA-FM – San Antonio, TX
• KUBL-FM – Salt Lake City, UT
• WLHK-FM – Indianapolis, IN
• WMIL-FM – Milwaukee, WI
• WWKA-FM – Orlando, FL

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM MARKET
• KATM-FM – Stockton, CA
• KUZZ-AM/FM – Bakersfield, CA
• KXKT-FM – Omaha, NE
• WHKO-FM – Dayton, OH
• WIVK-FM – Knoxville, TN

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – SMALL MARKET
• KHAY-FM – Ventura, CA
• KKNU-FM – Eugene, OR
• KORA-FM – Bryan, TX
• WGSQ-FM – Cookeville, TN
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2018 ACM Honors: Alan Jackson, Dierks Bentley, Matraca Berg, Darius Rucker among prize winners

August 22, 2018

Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for ACM)

The following is a press release from the Academy of Country Music:

The Academy of Country Music® presented the 12th Annual ACM Honors™, an evening dedicated to recognizing the special honorees and off-camera category winners from the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards™.

The event, presented in partnership with City National Bank, featured a star-studded lineup of live performances and award presentations celebrating Special Awards recipients Dierks Bentley (ACM Merle Haggard Spirit Award), Matraca Berg (ACM Poet’s Award), Sam Hunt (ACM Gene Weed Milestone Award), Alan Jackson (ACM Cliffie Stone Icon Award), Darius Rucker (ACM Gary Haber Lifting Lives Award), Mickey & Chris Christensen and Eddie Miller (ACM Mae Boren Axton Service Award, all awarded posthumously), Rob Potts (ACM Jim Reeves International Award, awarded posthumously) and Norro Wilson (ACM Poet’s Award, awarded posthumously)The evening also honored winners of the Industry and Studio Recording Awards, along with Songwriter of the Year Award winner, Rhett Akins.

Highlights from the event include:

  • Hosts Lauren Alaina and Jon Pardi opened the evening with a performance of Alan Jackson’s “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow.”
  • Joe Diffie performed “The Grand Tour” in tribute to the late Norro Wilson. Wilson’s children Christy Wilson Myers and David Wilson accepted the award on their father’s behalf.
  • Kassi Ashton performed “Body Like a Backroad” in tribute to Sam Hunt before Bobby Bones presented Hunt with his award.
  • CAM performed Buck Owens’ “Cryin’ Time” in tribute to Mickey & Chris Christensen and Eddie Miller. Mickey and Chris’ son Chris Christensenalong with Eddie Miller’s daughters, Bobbie HedrickGarneta Johnston and Pam Miller, accepted the award on behalf of their parents.
  • Morgan Evans performed his song, “Things That We Drink To” in tribute to Rob Potts. Potts’ son Jeremy Dylan accepted the award, presented by Storme Warren, on his behalf.
  • Old Crow Medicine Show performed “Wagon Wheel” in tribute to Darius Rucker, before Kip Moore presented Rucker with his award.
  • Dallas Davidson, Ben Hayslip and Dustin Lynch performed a medley of “Huntin’ Fishin’ and Lovin’ Everyday,” “Small Town Boy,” and “I Lived It” in tribute to Rhett Akins before the presentation of his award.
  • Jon Pardi performed “I Hold On” in tribute to Dierks Bentley, who received his award from Ricky Skaggs.
  • Lauren Alaina, Deana Carter and Ashley McBryde performed a medley of “You & Tequila,” “Wrong Side of Memphis” and “Strawberry Wine” before presenting Matraca Berg with her award.
  • Chris Stapleton ended the night with a performance of “Here in the Real World” in tribute to Alan Jackson before co-hosts Pardi and Alainapresented Jackson’s oldest daughter, Mattie Jackson Selecman with his award. Selecman accepted the award on behalf of Jackson who is still recovering from a respiratory infection.  She shared how honored her father is to receive this award that was also bestowed upon so many of his musical heroes.
  • Jordan Davis presented the ACM Industry Awards.
  • Lindsay Ell presented the ACM Studio Recording Awards.

Below is a full list of special award recipients:

SPECIAL AWARDS

ACM Cliffie Stone ICON Award – Alan Jackson will receive the Cliffie Stone Icon Award. This award is 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.

Alan Jackson has kept it country for his entire career. He earned his first Top 10 hit with the poignant single “Here in the Real World,” which helped him win the 1990 ACM Top Male Vocalist trophy. That initial victory led to Single of the Year awards for “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” (1991), “Chattahoochee” (1993), “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” (2001) and “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (2003). “Where Were You…” was also an ACM Song of the Year, earning Jackson trophies as both the composer and recording artist. Don’t Rock the JukeboxA Lot About Livin’ (And a Little ‘Bout Love) and Drive also earned ACM Album of the Year honors. A native of Newnan, Georgia, Jackson joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1991 and has gone on to sell nearly 60 million records. He accepted the ACM Male Vocalist award for 1994, 1995 and 2001. His 35 enduring No. 1 hits include such titles as “Where I Come From,” “Remember When” and “Gone Country.” Additional ACM honors include Vocal Event trophies for “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” with Jimmy Buffett and “As She’s Walking Away” with Zac Brown Band…and Video of the Year honors for “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” and as part of “Forever Country” in 2016. He was a recipient of the Academy’s 40th Anniversary Milestone Award in 2005 and of the Jim Reeves International Award in 2011. Over the years, his music and performing have earned him over 60 ACM Award nominations. One of country music’s finest songwriters, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017 and will become a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame this summer.

Past recipients of the ACM Cliffie Icon Award include AlabamaBob Beckham, Garth BrooksGlen Campbell, Johnny CashCharlie DanielsLarry Gatlin & The Gatlin BrothersCrystal Gayle, Merle Haggard, Emmylou HarrisGeorge Jones, The Judds,  Brenda LeeLoretta LynnWillie NelsonThe Oak Ridge BoysDolly PartonCharley PrideJerry ReedTex RitterMarty RobbinsKenny RogersBilly SherrillRicky SkaggsThe Statler Brothers, George Strait, Mel TillisRandy TravisTanya Tucker, Conway TwittyPorter WagonerKeith Whitley, Hank WilliamsHank Williams Jr.Bob Wills and Dwight Yoakam, among others.

 

ACM GARY HABER LIFTING LIVES AWARD –  Darius Rucker has been chosen to receive the Gary Haber Lifting Lives Award. This award is 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.

From his days as a multi-platinum pop star to a decade as a hit-making, Grammy-winning country artist, Darius Rucker has given his time and talent to support many charitable causes, most especially those that benefit children and education. To date, he has raised more than $1 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through the “Darius & Friends” all-star concerts and tournaments – blending his two loves of music and golf. In his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, Rucker serves on the board of the Charleston Children’s Hospital and, for 15 years running, has staged the “Homegrown Concert” to raise money to buy school supplies and other necessities for local public-school children. Long a big supporter of ACM Lifting Lives, Rucker has given his time to ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp, the Lifting Lives Golf Classic and a recent Lifting Lives Omaze campaign — where he personally hosted the winners backstage at the 53rd ACM Awards. In addition, the affable star has used his talent to raise money and awareness for Pattinson’s Academy, PGA Tour Charities, Nashville’s Oasis Center, Musicians on Call, Military Warrior Support Foundation and the Hootie and the Blowfish Foundation, just to name a few.

Past recipients of the ACM Gary Haber Lifting Lives Award include Dolly Parton and Carrie Underwood.

 

ACM GENE WEED MILESTONE AWARD – Sam Hunt has been chosen as the recipient of the Gene Weed Milestone Award. This award 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.

Sam Hunt’s single “Body Like a Back Road” was a streaming juggernaut in 2017, breaking and re-setting the genre’s one-week streaming record 14 times during the year. The song set the one-year country streaming mark only six weeks after release (March 16) and was the fastest country song to earn 100m streams in history (12 weeks). Its streaming success is in addition to being the year’s most downloaded country song (iTunes) and the most-heard song on country radio (Country Aircheck/Mediabase and Billboard), while spending a record 34 weeks atop the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Past recipients of the Gene Weed Milestone Award include Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, George Burns, Kenny Chesney, Jeff Foxworthy, Merle Haggard, Gayle Holcomb, Loretta Lynn, Little Big Town, Willie Nelson, Jennifer Nettles, Blake Shelton, George Strait, Taylor Swift, and Carrie Underwood.

 

ACM Mae Boren Axton SERVICE Award – Mickey Christensen, Chris Christensen and Eddie Miller (all awarded posthumously) have been chosen as the recipients of the Mae Boren Axton Service Award. This award is presented to an outstanding country music artist, duo/group or industry leader in recognition of years of dedication and service to the Academy of Country Music.

Nightclub owners Mickey and Chris Christensen and performing songwriter Eddie Miller, along with Country & Western performer Tommy Wiggins, co-founded the organization that became known as the Academy of Country Music. In 1964 they created the Country and Western Music Academy to promote West Coast country artists. Chris Christensen and his wife Mickey moved from Iowa to Long Beach, California, in 1941. In time, Chris acquired a stake in a jukebox company while Mickey owned and operated venues like Pike’s Canteen, C&M Corral and the Red Barrel Niteclub. Two of the first musicians they hired were Buck and Bonnie Owens. West Coast entertainers started dropping by the Red Barrel, including Eddie Miller and Tommy Wiggins. A conversation led to an idea to emulate the Oscars and create an awards show. The earliest banquets took place at the Red Barrel before the first official ceremony was held at The Hollywood Palladium on February 28, 1966. An Oklahoma native and former railroad worker, Miller wrote country hits like “Release Me,” (Ray Price, Kitty Wells), “I Love You Honey” (Patsy Cline), “There She Goes” (Carl Smith) and “Thanks a Lot” (Ernest Tubb). He was a co-founder of the Nashville Songwriters Association, which developed into NSAI. [Surviving ACM founder Tommy Wiggins received this award at the 2013 ACM Honors.]

Past recipients of the ACM Mae Boren Axton Award include Barry Adelman, John DorrisTim DuBois, Rod EssigGayle HolcombBob Kingsley, Jack LameierReba McEntire, Marge MeoliPaul MooreRay PilzakGaynelle PittsKeith Urban, Gene WeedTommy Wiggins and David Young.

 

ACM JIM REEVES INTERNATIONAL AWARD – Rob Potts (awarded posthumously) has been chosen to receive the Jim Reeves International Award, which is presented to an artist or industry leader for outstanding contributions to the acceptance of country music throughout the world.

Rob Potts cultivated a country music connection between Australia and the United States, paving the way for American superstars to perform Down Under for thousands of new fans. Potts and his business partner Michael Chugg established the brand of CMC Rocks leading to festivals like CMC Rocks the Snowy, CMC Rocks the Hunter and CMC Rocks QLD. The latter became the first-ever sold-out country music festival in Australia, with 18,000 tickets sold for its 2018 lineup featuring Luke Bryan. Potts had worked as a booking agent for artists like Keith Urban, Tommy Emmanuel and Lee Kernaghan. He brought country talent like Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Dixie Chicks, Florida Georgia Line, Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw & Faith Hill, Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift and Zac Brown Band to the Australian market. In addition, Potts managed Warner Music Nashville artist Morgan Evans. In 2016, Potts launched FanGate Music, a joint label with Sony Music Entertainment Australia, in order to seek out and develop international country artists while still paying attention to emerging local talent. A partnership with Nashville-based Dreamlined Entertainment was announced in October 2017, less than two weeks before Potts died following a motorcycle accident in Australia. He was 65.

Past recipients of the Jim Reeves International Award include Joe Allison, Bill Boyd, Garth Brooks, Steve Buchanan, Joe Cates, Eric Church, Dick Clark, Roy Clark, Al Gallico, Merv Griffin, Jim Halsey, Alan Jackson, Ken Kragen, Lady Antebellum, Sam Louvello, Thurston Moore, Charlie Nagatani, Buck Owens, Dolly Parton, Rascal Flatts, Roy Rogers, Bob Saporiti, Louise Scruggs, Dinah Shore, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Jeff Walker, Jo Walker-Meador and Bill Ward.

 

ACM MERLE HAGGARD SPIRIT AWARD – Dierks Bentley has been chosen to receive the Merle Haggard Spirit Award. This award is presented to a singer-songwriter who is continuing the legacy of country legend and 20-time ACM Award Winner Merle Haggard by following his/her own path, crafting great songs and epitomizing Merle’s spirit through genuine performances and great storytelling.

Across eight albums and more than 20 Top 10 singles, Dierks Bentley has proven to be a songwriter, vocalist, musician and recording artist intent on carving his own path. Balancing a hit-making sensibility with an unyielding sense of self, he’s offered wide-ranging artistry since his 2003 debut. From smoldering (“Come A Little Closer,” “Black”) and thoughtful (“Home,” “Different For Girls,” “Woman, Amen”) to wandering (“Free And Easy,” “Every Mile A Memory”) and pure fun (“Sideways,” “5-1-5-0”), Bentley has never been afraid to let the music lead. This trait was most evident on his 2010 bluegrass album Up On The Ridge, a risky career move that paid dividends in re-centering his creativity and, ultimately, leading to even greater success. The Academy’s 2003 Top New Artist earned Video of the Year in 2014 (“Drunk On A Plane”) and hosted the ACM Awards show in 2016 and 2017. An Arizona native, Bentley broke with Nashville convention, heading west to write and record his upcoming album The Mountain in Colorado.

Past recipients of the ACM Merle Haggard Spirit Award include Eric Church and Miranda Lambert.

 

ACM Poet’s Award – Matraca Berg and Norro Wilson (awarded posthumously) have been chosen to receive the 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.

Matraca Berg has written major country hits across four consecutive decades while maintaining the reputation as one of Nashville’s most eloquent songwriters. A Nashville native, Berg and co-writer Bobby Braddock scored a No. 1 hit in 1983 with “Faking Love” by T.G. Sheppard and Karen Brooks. Berg was just 18 at the time. Four years later, Reba McEntire recorded “The Last One to Know” as the title track to her 1987 album; again, Berg notched a No. 1 single. Throughout the 1990s, Berg secured plentiful cuts from country music’s top female artists. Trisha Yearwood solidified her stardom with “Wrong Side of Memphis,” “XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl),” and “Everybody Knows,” while Patty Loveless boosted her career with “I’m That Kind of Girl” and “You Can Feel Bad.” Berg secured an ACM Song of the Year nomination for Deana Carter’s exquisite “Strawberry Wine.” Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter released their rendition of “You and Tequila” in 2011, leading to another ACM Song of the Year nod. She has written singles for Suzy Bogguss, Dixie Chicks, Sara Evans, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Linda Ronstadt, Gretchen Wilson and more. Berg was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008.

Norro Wilson worked in nearly every facet of the Nashville music industry, earning perhaps his greatest acclaim by composing classics for George Jones, Charlie Rich and Tammy Wynette. Wilson grew up in Kentucky and moved to Nashville as a teenager after joining a gospel group. He spent much of the next decade pursuing a performing career until a song he co-wrote, “Baby, Baby (I Know You’re a Lady),” hit No. 1 for David Houston in 1970. Wilson’s songwriting catalog grew to include Jones signatures like “A Picture of Me (Without You),” “The Grand Tour” and “The Door.” Wilson co-wrote three of Rich’s No. 1 hits: “The Most Beautiful Girl,” “A Very Special Love Song,” and “I Love My Friend.” Wynette found success with Wilson compositions such as “I’ll See Him Through,” “He Loves Me All the Way,” “My Man” and “Another Lonely Song.” In addition, Charley Pride secured No. 1 hits in the early 1980s with “Never Been So Loved (In All My Life)” and “Night Games.” In other roles, Wilson signed Keith Whitley to RCA and co-produced several Kenny Chesney albums. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1996. Wilson passed away in 2017.

Previous recipients of the ACM Poet’s Award include Bill AndersonBobby BraddockFelice and Boudleaux Bryant, Guy ClarkJack ClementHank CochranDean DillonMerle HaggardTom T. HallHarlan HowardToby Keith, Kris KristoffersonBob McDill, Roger MillerWillie Nelson, Buck OwensEddie Rabbitt, Fred RoseShel Silverstein, Don SchlitzCindy Walker, Jimmy Webb and Hank Williams.

 

ACM SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR AWARD – Previously announced winner Rhett Akins has been chosen as the recipient of the 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 representatives.

Rhett Akins landed on the ACM Awards ballot 20 years ago in the New Male Vocalist category, thanks to hit singles like “That Ain’t My Truck” and “Don’t Get Me Started.” Now, two decades later, he is one of Nashville’s most prominent songwriters. A list of Akins’ recent hits reads like a “who’s who” of country music, including Dustin Lynch’s “Small Town Boy,” Jon Pardi’s “Dirt on My Boots,” Blake Shelton’s “I Lived It” and Akins’ son Thomas Rhett’s “Star of the Show” and “Life Changes.” Luke Bryan’s “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day,” Jason Aldean’s “When She Says Baby” and Shelton’s “Honeybee” and “Boys Round Here” have all been country radio staples. Akins has placed at least one song on Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart every week for the past 8 years, and he has been recognized as BMI Country Songwriter of the Year twice. Growing up in Valdosta, Georgia, Akins admired rugged country artists like Waylon Jennings, Charlie Daniels and Hank Williams, Jr. He moved to Nashville in 1992, earned a publishing deal and started singing demos. A record deal in 1994 led to two albums on Decca and one on MCA Nashville. Akins has released three independent solo albums, and, with fellow Georgia natives Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip, he is a member of The Peach Pickers – a tried-and-true songwriting collaboration that has yielded countless cuts. This is his third nomination for ACM Songwriter of the Year.

Past recipients of the ACM Songwriter of the Year Award include Ross Copperman, Dallas Davidson, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, Lori McKenna andRoger Miller.

 

INDUSTRY AWARD WINNERS:

  • NIGHTCLUB OF THE YEAR: Cotton Eyed ­Joe ­– Knoxville, TN
  • CASINO OF THE YEAR – SMALL CAPACITY: The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino – Las Vegas, NV
  • CASINO OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM CAPACITY: MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV
  • VENUE OF THE YEAR – SMALL CAPACITY: The Georgia Theatre – Athens, GA
  • VENUE OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM CAPACITY: The Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
  • VENUE OF THE YEAR – LARGE CAPACITY: Shoreline Amphitheater – Mountain View, CA
  • FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR: Country Thunder – Florence, AZ
  • DON ROMEO TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR: R. J. Romeo – Romeo Entertainment Group
  • PROMOTER OF THE YEAR – Brian O’Connell – Live Nation

 

STUDIO RECORDING AWARD WINNERS:

  • BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Jimmie Lee Sloas
  • DRUMMER OF THE YEAR – Fred Eltringham
  • GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Rob McNelley
  • PIANO/KEYBOARDS PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Jim ‘Moose’ Brown
  • SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT(S) PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Danny Rader
  • STEEL GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Paul Franklin
  • AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR – Justin Niebank
  • PRODUCER OF THE YEAR – Dave Cobb

2018 ACM Awards: Chris Stapleton, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Brothers Osbourne win big

April 15, 2018

by Carla Hay

ACM Awards

Chris Stapleton
Chris Stapleton at the 11th Annual ACM Honors at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on August 23, 2017 (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for ACM)

Chris Stapleton, Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert were among the top winners at the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards, which were presented at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 15, 2018. Reba McEntire hosted the show, which was telecast in the U.S. on CBS and available for streaming on CBS All Access.

Stapleton went into the ceremony with the most nominations (eight) and ended up winning two: Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year (for “From a Room: Volume 1.” Stapleton could not attend the ceremony since his wife had given birth to twin sons that day.

Aldean was named Entertainer of the Year for the third year in a row. At the beginning of the ceremony, he joined Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett and Lambert to acknowledge victims of violence (specifically, those at the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Festival) and the healing power of music.

Lambert took the prize for Best Female Vocalist for the ninth year in the row. She holds the record for the most ACM wins for Female Vocalist of the Year. Lambert’s “Tin Man” also won the prize for Song of the Year.

Brothers Osbourne also won two ACM Awards: Vocal Duo of the Year and Video of the Year (for “It Ain’t My Fault”).

Performers included Lauren Alaina, Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Kelly Clarkson, Florida Georgia Line, Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Lambert, Little Big Town, McEntire, Midland, Maren Morris, Jon Pardi, Bebe Rexha, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Brett Young. Presenters included David Boreanaz, Drew Brees, AJ Buckley, Cam, Sam Elliot, Eve, Ashton Kutcher, Dustin Lynch, Nancy O’Dell, Rebecca Romijn, Max Thieriot and Lindsey Vonn.

Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, R.A. Clark, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco were executive producers of the 2018 ACM Awards. Pete Fisher was the show’s executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.

A complete list of winners can be found at the official ACM website. Here is a partial list of the nominees and winners of the 2018 ACM Awards:

*=winner

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

  • Jason Aldean*
  • Garth Brooks
  • Luke Bryan
  • Chris Stapleton
  • Keith Urban

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

  • Kelsea Ballerini
  • Miranda Lambert*
  • Reba McEntire
  • Maren Morris
  • Carrie Underwood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

  • Jason Aldean
  • Thomas Rhett
  • Chris Stapleton*
  • Keith Urban
  • Chris Young

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR

  • Brothers Osborne*
  • Dan + Shay
  • Florida Georgia Line
  • LOCASH
  • Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

  • Lady Antebellum
  • LANCO
  • Little Big Town
  • Midland
  • Old Dominion*

NEW FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

  • Lauren Alaina*
  • Danielle Bradbery
  • Carly Pearce
  • RaeLynn

NEW MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

  • Kane Brown
  • Luke Combs
  • Devin Dawson
  • Russell Dickerson
  • Brett Young*

NEW VOCAL DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR

  • High Valley
  • LANCO
  • LOCASH
  • Midland*
  • Runaway June

ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]

  • Breaker – Little Big Town Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
  • California Sunrise – Jon Pardi Producers: Bart Butler, Jon Pardi Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
  • From A Room: Vol. 1 – Chris Stapleton Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton Record Label: Mercury Records*
  • Happy Endings – Old Dominion Producer: Shane McAnally Record Label: RCA
  • Life Changes – Thomas Rhett Producers: Julian Bunetta, Jesse Frasure, Dann Huff, Joe London, Thomas Rhett Record Label: The Valory Music Co.

SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]

  • “Better Man” – Little Big Town Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
  • “Body Like A Back Road” – Sam Hunt Producer: Zach Crowell Record Label: MCA Nashville*
  • “Broken Halos” – Chris Stapleton Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton Record Label: Mercury Records
  • “Drinkin’ Problem” – Midland Producers: Dann Huff, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne Record Label: Big Machine Records
  • “I’ll Name The Dogs” – Blake Shelton Producer: Scott Hendricks Record Label: Warner Bros.

SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]

  • “Body Like a Back Road” – Sam Hunt Songwriters: Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne Publishers: Universal Music Corp./Sam Hunt Publishing, Highly Combustible Music/I Love Pizza Music,/Songs of Southside Independent Music Publishing/Who Wants to Buy My Publishing/Atlas Music Publishing, Anderson Fork In The Road Music/Smackville Music/Smack Songs LLC, Smack Hits
  • “Female” – Keith Urban Songwriters: Ross Copperman, Nicolle Galyon and Shane McAnally Publishers: EMI Blackwood Music Inc./Rezolant Music/Plain Jane Songs, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./A Girl Named Charlie (BMI), Smack Hits/Smack Songs LLC (GMR)
  • “Tin Man” – Miranda Lambert Songwriters: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert Jon Randall Publishers: Sony/ATV Tree Publishing/Pink Dog Publishing (BMI), Beat Up Ford Publishing (BMI), BMG Platinum Songs (BMI)/SWMBMGBMI/Lonesome Vinyl Music*
  • “Whiskey And You” – Chris Stapleton Songwriters: Lee Thomas Miller, Chris Stapleton Publishers: WB Music Corp./New Sea Gayle Music (ASCAP), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./New Sea Gayle Music (BMI)

VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]

  • “Black” – Dierks Bentley Director: Wes Edwards Producer: Max A. Butler
  • “It Ain’t My Fault” – Brothers Osborne Director: Wes Edwards, Ryan Silver Producer: Tiffany Davies*
  • “Legends” – Kelsea Ballerini Director: Jeff Venable Producer: Ben Skipworth
  • “Marry Me” – Thomas Rhett Director: TK McKamy Producer: Dan Atchison
  • “We Should Be Friends” – Miranda Lambert Director: Trey Fanjoy Producer: April Dace

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR*(Off Camera Award)

  • Rhett Akins*
  • Ashley Gorley
  • Hillary Lindsey
  • Shane McAnally
  • Josh Osborne

VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]

  • “Craving You” – Thomas Rhett Featuring Maren Morris Producers: Julian Bunetta, Dann Huff, Joe London, Thomas Rhett Record Label: The Valory Music Co.
  • “Dear Hate” – Maren Morris featuring Vince Gill Producers: Brad Hill, Maren Morris Record Label: Columbia Nashville
  • “Funny (How Time Slips Away)” – Glen Campbell And Willie Nelson Producer: Carl Jackson Record Label: Universal Music Enterprises
  • “The Fighter” – Keith Urban featuring Carrie Underwood Producers: Busbee, Keith Urban Record Label: Capitol Nashville*
  • “What Ifs” – Kane Brown Featuring Lauren Alaina Producer: Dann Huff Record Label: RCA Nashville

 

2018 ACM Awards: Chris Stapleton leads with 8 nominations; Reba McEntire returns as host

March 1, 2018

ACM Awards

Chris Stapleton
Chris Stapleton at the 11th Annual ACM Honors at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on August 23, 2017 (Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for ACM)

The following is a press release from the Academy of Country Music:

The host and nominations were announced today for the 53RD Academy of Country Music Awards, Country Music’s Party of the Year(R), honoring country music’s superstars and hottest emerging talent. Multimedia superstar and 16-time ACM Award(R) winner Reba McEntire will return to host live from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Sunday, April 15 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network. This year’s show will mark Reba’s 15th time hosting the ceremony, last appearing in 2012 with Blake Shelton.

In addition to surprising audiences with the news that she will host, Reba appeared live today on “CBS This Morning” to announce this year’s ACM Award nominees for Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Vocal Duo of the Year and Vocal Group of the Year, as well as nominees for Song of the Year on Facebook Live. “Entertainment Tonight” host Nancy O’Dell announced additional nominees on ETonline.com.

Chris Stapleton leads with eight nominations in five categories, including his first nod for Entertainer of the Year. Stapleton is also nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year, and twice, as both artist and producer, in both the Album of the Year and Single Record of the Year categories; he received the Album of the Year nod for From a Room: Volume 1, and the Single Record of the Year nod for “Broken Halos.” He is also nominated twice in the Song of the Year category, both as artist and songwriter, for “Whiskey and You.”

Reigning Male Vocalist of the Year Thomas Rhett earned six nominations, including his second in the Male Vocalist of the Year category. Rhett is also nominated twice, as an artist and producer, for Album of the Year for Life Changes and Vocal Event of the Year for “Craving You” (featuring Maren Morris). Lastly, he is nominated for his first Music Video of the Year award for “Marry Me,” along with director TK McKamy and producer Dan Atchison.

Keith Urban earned five nominations including his eighth nod for Entertainer of the Year and 11th nod for Male Vocalist of the Year. Urban is also nominated for Song of the Year for “Female,” and twice, as both artist and producer, in the Vocal Event of the Year category for “The Fighter” (featuring Carrie Underwood). Urban won Top New Male Vocalist of the Year in 2000 and Top Male Vocalist of the Year in 2004 and 2005. A win in the Entertainer of the Year category would also make him the eighth-ever ACM Triple Crown winner.

Songwriter Shane McAnally received five nominations. He is nominated as Songwriter of the Year, and twice as songwriter in the Song of the Year category for Sam Hunt’s “Body Like A Back Road” and Keith Urban’s “Female.” McAnally is also nominated in the Album of the Year category for Old Dominion’s album Happy Endings, and in the Single Record of the Year category as a producer on Midland’s single “Drinkin’ Problems.”

Reigning Female Vocalist of the Year Miranda Lambert received four nominations, including her 12th nod for Female Vocalist of the Year. If she wins, it will be her ninth consecutive win in this category. She is the current record holder for most consecutive wins in the Female Vocalist of the Year category. Miranda currently is tied for the winningest artist in ACM history with 29 awards along with Brooks & Dunn. This year, she is also nominated twice, both as artist and songwriter, in the Song of the Year category for “Tin Man,” and for Video of the Year for “We Should Be Friends.”

Reigning New Female Vocalist of the Year Maren Morris received four nominations, including her second nod in the Female Vocalist of the Year category. Morris is also nominated twice, as an artist and producer, in the Vocal Event of the Year category for “Dear Hate” (featuring Vince Gill). She is nominated again in the category with Thomas Rhett for “Craving You.”

Sam Hunt received three nominations for his hit “Body Like A Back Road”: one nod in the Single Record of the Year category, and two, both as artist and songwriter, in the Song of the Year category.

Reigning Vocal Group of the Year Little Big Town earned their 12th nomination in the category. This would be their fourth consecutive win and fifth overall. They are also nominated for Album of the Year for Breaker and Single Record of the Year for “Better Man.”

First-time Academy of Country Music Award nominee Midland received three nominations for Vocal Group of the Year, New Vocal Duo/Group of the Year, and Single Record of the Year for “Drinkin’ Problem.”

Eighteen-time ACM Award winner Tim McGraw and 16-time ACM Award winner Faith Hill received their first-ever nomination as a duo in the Vocal Duo of the Year category.

Reba McEntire received her 16th nomination for Female Vocalist of the Year. This would be her eighth win in the category.

The following is the list of final nominees. The Academy of Country Music’s professional membership selects the nominees and winners of the Academy of Country Music Awards. The full list of nominations is available on ACMcountry.com and CBS.com.

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

  • Jason Aldean
  • Garth Brooks
  • Luke Bryan
  • Chris Stapleton
  • Keith Urban

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

  • Kelsea Ballerini
  • Miranda Lambert
  • Reba McEntire
  • Maren Morris
  • Carrie Underwood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

  • Jason Aldean
  • Thomas Rhett
  • Chris Stapleton
  • Keith Urban
  • Chris Young

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR

  • Brothers Osborne
  • Dan + Shay
  • Florida Georgia Line
  • LOCASH
  • Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

  • Lady Antebellum
  • LANCO
  • Little Big Town
  • Midland
  • Old Dominion

NEW FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

  • Lauren Alaina
  • Danielle Bradbery
  • Carly Pearce
  • RaeLynn

NEW MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

  • Kane Brown
  • Luke Combs
  • Devin Dawson
  • Russell Dickerson
  • Brett Young

NEW VOCAL DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR

  • High Valley
  • LANCO
  • LOCASH
  • Midland
  • Runaway June

ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]

  • Breaker – Little Big Town Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
  • California Sunrise – Jon Pardi Producers: Bart Butler, Jon Pardi Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
  • From A Room: Vol. 1 – Chris Stapleton Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton Record Label: Mercury Records
  • Happy Endings – Old Dominion Producer: Shane McAnally Record Label: RCA
  • Life Changes – Thomas Rhett Producers: Julian Bunetta, Jesse Frasure, Dann Huff, Joe London, Thomas Rhett Record Label: The Valory Music Co.

SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]

  • “Better Man” – Little Big Town Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
  • “Body Like A Back Road” – Sam Hunt Producer: Zach Crowell Record Label: MCA Nashville
  • “Broken Halos” – Chris Stapleton Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton Record Label: Mercury Records
  • “Drinkin’ Problem” – Midland Producers: Dann Huff, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne Record Label: Big Machine Records
  • “I’ll Name The Dogs” – Blake Shelton Producer: Scott Hendricks Record Label: Warner Bros.

SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]

  • “Body Like a Back Road” – Sam Hunt Songwriters: Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne Publishers: Universal Music Corp./Sam Hunt Publishing, Highly Combustible Music/I Love Pizza Music,/Songs of Southside Independent Music Publishing/Who Wants to Buy My Publishing/Atlas Music Publishing, Anderson Fork In The Road Music/Smackville Music/Smack Songs LLC, Smack Hits
  • “Female” – Keith Urban Songwriters: Ross Copperman, Nicolle Galyon and Shane McAnally Publishers: EMI Blackwood Music Inc./Rezolant Music/Plain Jane Songs, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./A Girl Named Charlie (BMI), Smack Hits/Smack Songs LLC (GMR)
  • “Tin Man” – Miranda Lambert Songwriters: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert Jon Randall Publishers: Sony/ATV Tree Publishing/Pink Dog Publishing (BMI), Beat Up Ford Publishing (BMI), BMG Platinum Songs (BMI)/SWMBMGBMI/Lonesome Vinyl Music
  • “Whiskey And You” – Chris Stapleton Songwriters: Lee Thomas Miller, Chris Stapleton Publishers: WB Music Corp./New Sea Gayle Music (ASCAP), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./New Sea Gayle Music (BMI)

VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]

  • “Black” – Dierks Bentley Director: Wes Edwards Producer: Max A. Butler
  • “It Ain’t My Fault” – Brothers Osborne Director: Wes Edwards, Ryan Silver Producer: Tiffany Davies
  • “Legends” – Kelsea Ballerini Director: Jeff Venable Producer: Ben Skipworth
  • “Marry Me” – Thomas Rhett Director: TK McKamy Producer: Dan Atchison
  • “We Should Be Friends” – Miranda Lambert Director: Trey Fanjoy Producer: April Dace

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR*(Off Camera Award)

  • Rhett Akins
  • Ashley Gorley
  • Hillary Lindsey
  • Shane McAnally
  • Josh Osborne

VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]

  • “Craving You” – Thomas Rhett Featuring Maren Morris Producers: Julian Bunetta, Dann Huff, Joe London, Thomas Rhett Record Label: The Valory Music Co.
  • “Dear Hate” – Maren Morris featuring Vince Gill Producers: Brad Hill, Maren Morris Record Label: Columbia Nashville
  • “Funny (How Time Slips Away)” – Glen Campbell And Willie Nelson Producer: Carl Jackson Record Label: Universal Music Enterprises
  • “The Fighter” – Keith Urban featuring Carrie Underwood Producers: Busbee, Keith Urban Record Label: Capitol Nashville
  • “What Ifs” – Kane Brown Featuring Lauren Alaina Producer: Dann Huff Record Label: RCA Nashville

IMPORTANT NOTE: Award counts for artists reflect categories in which they have been recognized as individuals or as part of their duo or group. In some cases, an artist may receive more than one nomination which factors into their official count.

Multimedia entertainment mogul and mom, Reba McEntire has become a household name through a successful career that spans across music, television, film, theater and retail. She capped off 2017 with the newly-packaged album “My Kind of Christmas,” featuring collaborations with Vince Gill and Amy Grant, Darius Rucker, Lauren Daigle, Kelly Clarkson and Trisha Yearwood. McEntire also marked her 13th summit as “Sing It Now: Songs of Faith & Hope” topped both the Billboard Country and Christian/Gospel charts, bolstering her successful record of 35 #1 singles and over 56 million albums sold worldwide. The double-disc collection, released jointly on Nash Icon Records/Capitol Christian Music Group, earned her a GRAMMY(R) Award for Best Roots Gospel Album and her first GMA Dove Award for Bluegrass/Country/Roots Album of the Year. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Grand Ole Opry member has won 15 American Music Awards, 16 ACM Awards, 9 People’s Choice Awards, 6 CMA Awards and 3 GRAMMY Awards, in addition to other philanthropic and leadership honors, such as the Horatio Alger Association and induction alongside her mom in the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

During her 2011 All The Women I Am Tour, Pollstar and Billboard’s Boxscore named McEntire the #1 female country touring artist with a combined total of over nine million tickets sold in her career. She is part of the longest-running country act in the history of the Colosseum at Caesars: Reba, Brooks & Dunn: Together in Vegas, which returns in March 2018. In 2005 McEntire partnered with Dillard’s to launch her own lifestyle brand, and she separately launched the REBA by Justin(TM) collection at select retailers nationwide. She most recently has been named the first woman and musician to portray KFC’s iconic founder, Colonel Harland Sanders, in the brand’s celebrity colonel campaign to launch KFC Smoky Mountain BBQ fried chicken. The Oklahoma native is an acclaimed actress with 11 movie credits to her name, a lead role on Broadway in “Annie Get Your Gun,” and starred in the six-season television sitcom, “Reba.”

About the Academy of Country Music Awards

The 53RD ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS(TM) is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry. The show is produced for television by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, R.A. Clark, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are executive producers. Pete Fisher is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.

Tickets to the ACM Awards are now on sale at www.axs.com. For more information on the ACM Awards and all ACM events including ACM Party for a Cause(R), visit www.ACMcountry.com and www.PartyForaCause.com. You can like Academy of Country Music on Facebook or follow on Twitter at @ACMawards and Instagram @ACMAwards for more immediate updates.

RATING: To Be Announced

Official CBS website: http://www.cbs.com/shows/academy_of_country_music/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AcademyOfCountryMusic/?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ACMawards

Instagram: @acmawards

CBS Tweet: https://twitter.com/CBSTweet

2018 ACM Awards: Performers announced for ACM Party for a Cause

February 20, 2018

ACM Party for a Cause

Kelsea Ballerini (Photo courtesy of Disney Channel/Image Group LA)

The following is a press release from the Academy of Country Music:

The Academy of Country Music® announced the full schedule of events and performances for the 6th Annual ACM Party for a Cause® set to take place at select venues across the Las Vegas Strip on April 12-15, 2018. More than 40 of country music’s most celebrated artists as well as emerging talents have been revealed today as performers, including headlining artists Kelsea Ballerini, Lee Brice, Chris Lane, Kip Moore, Old Dominion, Jon Pardi, Thomas Rhett, and Chase Rice.

Portions of all event proceeds will benefit ACM Lifting Lives®, the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music, which works to lift lives through the power of music.

This year’s ACM Party for a Cause will consist of fan events leading up to and immediately following the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards™, Country Music’s Party of the Year®, which will broadcast LIVE from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 15, 2018 at 8:00 PM ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

The full schedule of events is listed below. For additional details and ongoing updates including ticket sale information and the most updated lineup of country superstars set to perform at each event, please check back often at www.PartyForaCause.com.

6TH ANNUAL ACM PARTY FOR A CAUSE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018

6:00 PM               95.5 The Bull’s 10th Annual All-Star Guitar Pull

Location: The Pearl, Palms Resort

Performers: Kelsea Ballerini, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Russell Dickerson, Chris Lane, Midland, Justin Moore, and Tyler Rich

10:00 PM             ACM After Party for a Cause: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country

Location: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country

Performer: Russell Dickerson

FRIDAY, APRIL 13, 2018

11:00 AM            ACM Party for a Cause: Tailgate Party

Location: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country

Performers: Kip Moore and Aaron Watson with Cale Dodds, Stephanie Quayle, Smithfield, Alex Williams, and more

 

6:00 PM               ACM Party for a Cause with Old Dominion

Location: Sandbar Pool at Red Rock Casino Resort

Performers: Old Dominion with Michael Ray

 

7:00 PM               ACM Stories, Songs & Stars: A Songwriter’s Event Benefitting ACM Lifting Lives

Location: The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Performers: Lee Brice, Ashley Gorley, Shane McAnally, Lori McKenna, Thomas Rhett, and more

 

7:00 PM               WME’s Bash at The Beach

Location: Mandalay Bay Beach, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino

                                Performers: To Be Announced

10:00 PM             ACM After Party for a Cause: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country

Location: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country

Performer: Montgomery Gentry

 

10:00 PM             ACM After Party for a Cause: Nashville Unplugged

Location: Rhythm & Riffs Lounge, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino

Performers: To Be Announced

SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2018

8:30 AM               ACM Workout for a Cause: Erin Oprea Unleashed Tour

Location: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country

Talent: Celebrity Trainer, Erin Oprea, and special guests to be announced

 

10:00 AM            ACM Lifting Lives Topgolf Tee-Off Hosted by Charles Kelley & Darius Rucker

Location: Topgolf, MGM Grand Hotel & Casino

Performers: Chris Lane, Tegan Marie, and more

11:00 AM            ACM Party for a Cause: Tailgate Party

Location: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country

Performers: Jon Pardi with Jimmie Allen, Walker Hayes, High Valley, Lucas Hoge, Tony Jackson, Austin Jenckes, Brandon Ray, Jake Rose, Tenille Townes, and more

12:00 PM             ACM Pool Party for a Cause

Location: Flamingo GO Pool, Flamingo Las Vegas

Performers: Chase Rice and more

7:00 PM               WME’s Bash at the Beach

Location: Mandalay Bay Beach, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino

                                Performers: To Be Announced

 

10:00 PM             ACM After Party for a Cause: Nashville Unplugged

Location: Rhythm & Riffs Lounge, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino

Performers: To Be Announced

 

10:00 PM             ACM After Party for a Cause: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country

Location: Stoney’s Rockin’ Country

Performers: Craig Wayne Boyd, Josh Gracin, The Swon Brothers

SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2018

8:00 PM               ACM Awards Official After Party

Location: The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

Performers: Lee Brice, High Valley, Home Free, Tracy Lawrence, Jerrod Niemann, Cassadee Pope, and more

 

About ACM Lifting Lives®

ACM Lifting Lives® is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music dedicated to improving lives through the power of music. Through partnerships with artists and strong ties in the music industry, ACM Lifting Lives develops and funds music-related therapy and education programs, and serves members of the community who face unexpected hardships through its Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund. Generous donations and the support of artists and fans ensure ACM Lifting Lives is able to fund everything from disaster relief and helping communities in need, to music education in schools and music camps for those with disabilities, to supporting programs that use music therapy as a means to help our veterans and wounded warriors, while providing grants to help them ease back into life. For more information, please visit www.ACMLiftingLives.org.

2018 South by Southwest: speakers, film lineup announced

January 31, 2018

by Stephanie Johnson

 

The complete lineup of films has been announced for the 25th Annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals, which will take place in Austin, Texas, from March 9 to March 18, 2018. Some of the more high-profile films having their SXSW premieres include the apocalyptic thriller “A Quiet Place,” directed  and co-written by John Krasinski and starring real-life spouses Krasisnki and Emily Blunt; “Boundaries,” written and directed by Shana Feste and starring Vera Farmiga and Christopher Plummer; “Paradox’, written and directed by Daryl Hannah and starring Neil Young;; and “Final Portrait,” directed by Stanley Tucci and starring Geoffrey Rush and Armie Hammer. “A Quiet Place” will be the opening-night film for the 2018 SXSW Film Festival.

In addition, the festival has announced Melinda Gates as the keynote speaker.  She is the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and recently launched Pivotal Ventures.

Other keynote speakers at the event include Darren Aronofsky (Film Keynote), Ta-Nehisi Coates (Convergence Keynote), Lyor Cohen (Music Keynote), Barry Jenkins (Film Keynote), Sadiq Khan (Convergence Keynote), Esther Perel (Interactive Keynote), and whurley (Convergence Keynote).

SXSW 2018’s featured speakers include  filmmaker Olivier Assayas, Dell Technologies founder/CEO Michael Dell,; “Elvis Presley: The Searcger” executive producer Priscilla Presley and director Thom Zimny; Oscar-nominated filmmaker Richard Linklater; futurist Ray Kurzweil; former U.S. Chief Technology Officer and shift7 founder Megan Smith;”Westworld” showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy,  fashion entrepreneur Rachel Zoe.

SXSW Conference programming is organized into 24 Tracks divided between Interactive, Film, Music, and Convergence, presented in a variety of session formats. Continuing last year’s initiative, SXSW is offering expanded access to events for all registrants. Attendees will receive primary access to programming associated with their badge type but now also enjoy secondary entry to most other SXSW events.

NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION

Kate McKinnon and Taylor Schilling in “Family”

Family
Director/Screenwriter: Laura Steinel
When an emotionally stunted 30-year-old woman is tasked with watching her awkward and bullied 12-year-old niece for the week, she finds her life unfurling when the girl runs away to be a juggalo. Cast: Taylor Schilling, Bryn Vale, Brian Tyree Henry, Jessie Ennis, Blair Beeken, Matt Walsh, Allison Tolman, Eric Edelstein, Kate McKinnon, Fabrizio Guido (World Premiere)

First Match
Director/Screenwriter: Olivia Newman
Hardened by years in foster care, a teenage girl from Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood decides that wrestling boys is the only way back to her estranged father. Cast: Elvire Emanuelle, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Colman Domingo, Jharrel Jerome, Jared Kemp (World Premiere)

Jinn
Director/Screenwriter: Nijla Mu’min
A shape-shifting, pepperoni-loving, black teenage Instagram celebrity explores her identity and sexuality in the midst of her mother’s conversion to Islam. Cast: Zoe Renee, Simone Missick, Kelvin Harrison, Jr., Hisham Tawfiq, Kelly Jenrette, Dorian Missick, Ashlei Foushee, Maya Morales, Damien D. Smith (World Premiere)

The New Romantic (Canada)
Director/Screenwriter: Carly Stone
Frustrated with the lack of chivalrous guys her own age, a college senior gives up on dating for love to date an older man in exchange for gifts instead. Cast: Jessica Barden, Hayley Law, Brett Dier, Timm Sharp, Avan Jogia, Camila Mendes (World Premiere)

Sadie
Director/Screenwriter: Megan Griffiths
While her father is away serving in the military, Sadie battles to preserve his place on the home front when her mother takes an interest in a new man. Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Sophia Mitri Schloss, John Gallagher Jr., Danielle Brooks, Tony Hale, Keith Williams, Tee Dennard (World Premiere)

Shotgun

Directors/Screenwriters: Hannah Marks, Joey Power
A young couple’s relationship develops quickly when one of them is diagnosed with a life-changing illness. Cast: Maika Monroe, Jeremy Allen White, DeRon Horton, Marisa Tomei, Sasha Lane, Joe Keery, Gina Gershon, Dean Winters, Olivia Luccardi (World Premiere)

Summer ’03
Director/Screenwriter: Becca Gleason
On her deathbed, Jamie’s grandmother leaves her with two pieces of information: one involves a baptism, the other a blowjob. This sets Jamie and her family on an emotional roller coaster ride while she falls for the wrong guy at the wrong time. Cast: Joey King, Andrea Savage, Paul Scheer, Jack Kilmer, Erin Darke, Stephen Ruffin, Kelly Lamor Wilson, Logan Medina, June Squibb (World Premiere)

Thunder Road
Director/Screenwriter: Jim Cummings
Officer Arnaud loved his Mom. Cast: Kendal Farr, Jim Cummings, Nican Robinson, Jocelyn DeBoer, Macon Blair, Bill Wise, Jordan Fox, Chelsea Edmondson (World Premiere)

The Unicorn
Director: Robert Schwartzman, Screenwriters: Nick Rutherford, Kirk C. Johnson, Will Elliott
Facing the fourth year of their engagement, an indecisive couple is thrust into the most uncomfortable night of their lives by intentionally and unintentionally involving a third party in their relationship. Cast: Lauren Lapkus, Nick Rutherford, Lucy Hale, Beck Bennett, Dree Hemingway, Beverly D’Angelo, John Kapelos, Maya Kazan, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Kyle Mooney (World Premiere)

Write When You Get Work
Director/Screenwriter: Stacy Cochran
Write When You Get Work is a comedy of money and access, a NY love story set in the Bronx and at a pricey school for girls on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Years after they’ve parted ways, Jonny Collins pursues Ruth Duffy for love — and profit. Cast: Emily Mortimer, Finn Wittrock, Rachel Keller, Scott Cohen, Jessica Hecht, James Ransone, Andrew Schulz, Tess Frazer, Afton Williamson, Zarif Kabier (World Premiere)

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION

“Chi-Town” (Photo by Keifer Sykes)

Chi-Town
Director: Nick Budabin
An underdog basketball player from Chicago goes on a meteoric rise to become one of the best college point guards in the nation. But while he pursues dreams of the NBA, his success contrasts with the effects of gun violence on his friends back home. (World Premiere)

Garry Winogrand: All Things are Photographable
Director: Sasha Waters
Freyer Artist. Iconoclast. Man of his time. All Things are Photographable is a revealing documentary portrait of the life and work of acclaimed photographer Garry Winogrand – the epic storyteller in pictures of America across three turbulent decades. (World Premiere)

The Gospel of Eureka
Directors: Michael Palmieri, Donal Mosher, Screenwriter: Donal Mosher
Faith, love and civil rights collide on voting day in a small Southern town that hosts a famous performance of the last days of Christ and an infamous gospel drag show. The new documentary by the award winning directors of October Country. (World Premiere)

¡Las Sandinistas! (Nicaragua, United States)
Director: Jenny Murray
¡Las Sandinistas! uncovers the disappearing stories of women who shattered barriers to lead combat and social reform during Nicaragua’s 1979 Sandinista Revolution, and who continue to lead Nicaragua’s current struggle for democracy and equality. (World Premiere)

People’s Republic of Desire (China)
Director: Hao Wu
In China’s popular live-streaming showrooms, three millennials – a karaoke singer, a migrant worker and a rags-to-riches comedian – seek fame, fortune and human connection, ultimately finding the same promises and perils online as in their real lives. (World Premiere)

Social Animals
Director: Jonathan Green, Screenwriters: Carol Martori, Jonathan Green, Peter Garriott
A daredevil photographer, an aspiring swimsuit model, and a midwest girl next door are all looking for the same things from their Instagram accounts––a little love, acceptance and, of course, fame––and they’ll do just about anything to get it. (World Premiere)

This One’s For The Ladies
Director: Gene Graham
This One’s For The Ladies explores the sexual and social identity of contemporary black America through intimate, eye opening and often hilarious accounts from women and men who find love and community in the underground world of exotic dancing. (World Premiere)

TransMilitary
Directors: Gabriel Silverman, Fiona Dawson, Screenwriters: Jamie Coughlin, Gabriel Silverman
At a time when transgender people are banned from serving in the U.S. military, four of the thousands of transgender troops risking discharge fight to attain the freedom they so fiercely protect. (World Premiere)

Weed The People
Director: Abby Epstein
Weed the People captures the uplifting and heart-wrenching struggles of families who treat their cancer-stricken children with marijuana, some with astonishing results. (World Premiere)

The World Before Your Feet
Director: Jeremy Workman
For over 6 years, Matt Green, 37, has been walking every street in New York City – a total of more than 8000 miles. The World Before Your Feet tells the
story of one man’s unusual quest and the journey of discovery, humanity, and wonder that ensues. (World Premiere)

HEADLINERS

John Krasinski and Noah Jupe in “A Quiet Place” (Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures).

A Quiet Place
Director: John Krasinski, Screenwriters: Bryan Woods, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski, Producers: Platinum Dunes
If they can’t hear you, they can’t hunt you. Cast: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Noah Jupe, Millicent Simmonds (World Premiere)

Blockers
Director: Kay Cannon, Screenwriters: Brian Kehoe, Jim Kehoe, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Eben Russell
When three parents discover their daughters’ pact to lose their virginity at prom, they launch a covert one-night operation to stop the teens from sealing the deal. Cast: Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz, John Cena, Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Indira Viswanathan, Gideon Adlon (World Premiere)

Boundaries
Director/Screenwriter: Shana Feste
Laura and her troubled son Henry are forced to drive her estranged, pot-dealing, carefree father Jack across country after being kicked out of a nursing home. Cast: Vera Farmiga, Christopher Plummer, Lewis MacDougall, Bobby Cannavale, Kristen Schaal, Dolly Wells, Yahya Abdul-Mateen, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Fonda (World Premiere)

Paradox
Director/Screenwriter: Daryl Hannah
A loud Poem. A whimsical western tale of music and love. Cast: Neil Young, Lukas Nelson, Micah Nelson, Corey McCormick, Anthony LoGerfo, Tato Melgar, Willie Nelson, Charris Ford, Dulcie Clarkson Ford (World Premiere)

Final Portrait (United Kingdom, United States)
Director/Screenwriter: Stanley Tucci
Final Portrait is the story of the touching and offbeat friendship between world renowned artist Alberto Giacometti and American writer and art-lover James Lord, based on Lord’s memoir. Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Armie Hammer, Clémence Poésy, Tony Shalhoub, Sylvie Testud (North American Premiere)

NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT

Abbi Jacobson in “6 Balloons” (Photo courtesy of Netflix)

6 Balloons
Director/Screenwriter: Marja Lewis Ryan
Over the course of one night, a woman drives across LA with her heroin addict brother in search of a detox center, with his two year old daughter in tow. Cast: Abbi Jacobson, Dave Franco, Charlotte Carel, Madison Carel, Jane Kaczmarek, Dewan Owens, Tim Matheson, Jen Tullock, Maya Erskine, Heidi Sulzman (World Premiere)

All Square
Director: John Hyams, Screenwriter: Timothy Brady
A down-on-his-luck bookie befriends an ex-girlfriend’s son and gets the bright idea to take bets on his youth league baseball games; only to realize he’s killed what’s pure about the sport as the games turn ugly when money is on the line. Cast: Michael Kelly, Josh Lucas, Pamela Adlon, Tom Everett Scott, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Harris Yulin, Yeardley Smith, Jesse Ray Sheps, Jay Larson, Craig Walker (World Premiere)

Anchor and Hope (Spain)
Director/Screenwriter: Carlos Marques-Marcet
When the best friend of a bohemian lesbian couple agrees to be their surrogate, the three friends set out on an unconventional journey to start a family. Cast: Natalia Tena, Oona Chaplin, David Verdaguer, Geraldine Chaplin (North American Premiere)

A Bluebird in My Heart (Belgium, France)
Director/Screenwriter: Jérémie Guez
Attempting to lead a quiet reformed life, an ex-con finds refuge in a motel run by a single mother and her daughter Clara. The peace and freedom he has found in this safe haven disappears when Clara is assaulted, forcing him to face his old demons. Cast: Roland Moller, Veerle Baetens, Lola Le Lann, Lubna Azabal (World Premiere)

The Breaker Upperers (New Zealand)
Directors/Screenwriters: Jackie van Beek, Madeleine Sami
Two women run a business breaking up couples for cash but when one develops a conscience their friendship unravels. Cast: Jackie van Beek, Madeleine Sami, Celia Pacquola, James Rolleston, Ana Scotney
(World Premiere)

Fast Color
Director: Julia Hart, Screenwriters: Julia Hart, Jordan Horowitz
In this genre-bending supernatural drama, a woman is forced to go on the run when her extraordinary abilities are discovered. Years after having abandoned her family, the only place she has left to hide is home. Cast: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Lorraine Toussaint, Saniyya Sidney, Christopher Denham, David Strathairn (World Premiere)

First Light (Canada)
Director/Screenwriter: Jason Stone
A close encounter with mysterious lights sends two teens on the run after one discovers she has extraordinary but dangerous powers. Cast: Stefanie Scott, Theodore Pelerine, Said Taghmaoui
(World Premiere)

The Legacy of the Whitetail Deer Hunter
Director: Jody Hill
The great hunter Buck Ferguson and his trusted cameraman Don set out for an epic weekend adventure to reconnect with Buck’s young son. Cast: Josh Brolin, Danny McBride, Scoot McNairy, Montana Jordan (World Premiere)

Neurotic Quest for Serenity (Brazil)
Directors/Screenwriters: Paulinho Caruso, Teodoro Poppovic
Kika is going through a lot. She’s a famous actress. She has millions of fans. She’s about to star in a post apocalyptic soap opera. And she has obsessive compulsive disorder. Cast: Tatá Werneck, Vera Holtz, Bruno Gagliasso, Daniel Furlan (North American Premiere)

Outside In
Director: Lynn Shelton, Screenwriters: Lynn Shelton, Jay Duplass
An ex-con struggling to readjust to life in his small town forms an intense bond with his former high-school teacher. Cast: Jay Duplass, Edie Falco, Kaitlyn Dever, Ben Schwartz
(U.S. Premiere)

Support The Girls
Director/Screenwriter: Andrew Bujalski
The general manager at a highway-side ‘breastaurant’ has her incurable optimism and faith–in her girls, her customers, and herself–tested over the course of a long, strange day. Cast: Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, Shayna McHale, James LeGros, Dylan Gelula, AJ Michalka, Brooklyn Decker, Lea DeLaria, Jana Kramer, John Elvis (World Premiere)

Unlovable
Director: Suzi Yoonessi, Screenwriters: Mark Duplass, Sarah Adina Smith, Charlene deGuzman
A sex- and love-addicted woman learns what real intimacy is when she starts making music with a reclusive man. Cast: Charlene deGuzman, John Hawkes, Melissa Leo, Paul James, Ellen Geer, Gigette Reyes (World Premiere)

A Vigilante
Director/Screenwriter: Sarah Daggar Nickson
A once abused woman, Sadie (Olivia Wilde), devotes herself to ridding victims of their domestic abusers while hunting down the husband she must kill to truly be free. Cast: Olivia Wilde, Morgan Spector, Kyle Catlett, CJ Wilson, Tonye Patano, Chuck Cooper, Betsy Aidem, Jusy Marte (World Premiere)

Who We Are Now
Director/Screenwriter: Matthew Newton
Beth, recently released from prison, tries to get custody of her son again and find her way back into the outside world, along the way realizing who she is isn’t about where she’s been, it’s about where she’s going. Cast: Julianne Nicholson, Emma Roberts, Zachary Quinto, Jess Weixler, Jimmy Smits, Jason Biggs, Lea Thompson, Scott Cohen, Octavia Chavez-Richmond, J. Mallory McCree (U.S. Premiere)

Wild Nights With Emily
Director/Screenwriter: Madeleine Olnek
Molly Shannon plays Emily Dickinson in Wild Nights With Emily, a humorous drama. This independent film explores her vivacious, irreverent side that was covered up for years — most notably Emily’s lifelong romantic relationship with another woman. Cast: Molly Shannon, Amy Seimetz, Susan Ziegler, Brett Gelman, Jackie Monahan, Kevin Seal, Dana Melanie, Sasha Frolova, Lisa Haas, Al Sutton (World Premiere)

Wildling
Director: Fritz Bohm, Screenwriters: Fritz Bohm, Florian Eder
A blossoming teenager uncovers the dark secret behind her traumatic childhood. Cast: Bel Powley, Brad Dourif, Liv Tyler, Collin Kelly-Sordelet, James Le Gros, Troy Ruptash, Arlo Mertz, Aviva Winick (World Premiere)

You Can Choose Your Family
Director: Miranda Bailey, Screenwriter: Glen Lakin
A seventeen-year-old boy blackmails his father after discovering his secret second family. Cast: Jim Gaffigan, Logan Miller, Anna Gunn, Samantha Mathis, Alex Karpovsky, Hayes MacArthur, Michelle Hurd (World Premiere)

DOCUMENTARY SPOTLIGHT

“Agave: Spirit of a Nation” (Photo by Nate Pesce)

Agave: The Spirit of a Nation (Mexico, United States)
Directors: Nicholas Kovacic, Matthew Riggieri, Screenwriter: Chantal Martineau
In Mexico, families have passed down the tradition of distilling agave for generations and now, this once obscure Mexican drink is everywhere. Discover, how one delicate plant has carried the weight of a nation and the people trying to protect it. (World Premiere)

Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes
Director: Robert Bader, Screenwriters: Robert S. Bader, Dick Cavett
The life and times of Muhammed Ali shown through the lens of his numerous appearances on The Dick Cavett Show. The film features new interviews with Dick Cavett, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Larry Merchant, as well as archival material from the Cavett Show. (World Premiere)

Alt-Right: Age of Rage
Director/Screenwriter: Adam Bhala Lough
In the first year of Trump’s Presidency, Daryle Lamont Jenkins, an Antifa activist, combats the rise of the Alt-Right movement, while Richard Spencer, an Alt-Right leader, fights to gain ground, culminating in a tragic showdown in Charlottesville. (World Premiere)

The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned From A Mythical Man
Director: Tommy Avallone, Screenwriters: Tommy Avallone, Max Paolucci
One man’s journey to find meaning in Bill Murray’s many unexpected adventures with everyday people, rare and never-before seen footage of the comedic icon participating in stories previously presumed to be urban legend. (World Premiere)

Brewmaster
Director/Screenwriter: Douglas Tirola
Brewmaster follows a young ambitious New York lawyer who struggles to chase his American dream of becoming a brewmaster and a Milwaukee-based professional beer educator, as he attempts to become a Master Cicerone. (World Premiere)

Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
Director: Dana Adam Shapiro
Daughters of the Sexual Revolution is the never-before-told story of Suzanne Mitchell, the fiercely-loyal den mother of the original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. (World Premiere)

The Dawn Wall (Austria, United States)
Directors: Josh Lowell, Peter Mortimer
Legendary free climber Tommy Caldwell tries to get over heartbreak by scaling 3000ft of an impossible rock face: the Dawn Wall of El Capitan. (North American Premiere)

From All Corners (Japan)
Director: Ryusuke Okajima
Fuyuki Shimazu, the cardboard picker and artist, creates wallets made from used cardboard which he picks up from 25 countries. His wallets travel around the world to advocate the concept of “upcycling” which is the mind beyond recycling or re-use. (World Premiere)

Getting Over
Director/Screenwriter: Jason Charnick
A man discovers a box of interviews with his father, a lifelong heroin addict who died of AIDS in 1997. What he finds will uncover generations of family secrets, forcing him to redefine his own past, doubt his present, and question his future. (World Premiere)

Nossa Chape (Brazil, Colombia, United States)
Directors/Screenwriters: Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist
Nossa Chape tracks the rebuilding of the Chapecoense football club in Brazil after an airplane carrying the team crashed on November 28th, 2016, and left all but three of the players dead. (World Premiere)

Operation Odessa
Director: Tiller Russell
The stranger-than-fiction true story of a Russian mobster, a Miami playboy, and a Cuban spy who teamed up in the early 90’s to sell a Soviet submarine to the Cali Carte. (World Premiere)

Take Your Pills
Director: Alison Klayman
Every era gets the drug it deserves. In America today, where competition is ceaseless from school to the workforce and everyone wants a performance edge, Adderall and other prescription stimulants are the defining drugs of this generation. (World Premiere)

Time Trial (United Kingdom)
Director: Finlay Pretsell
Time Trial takes us into the final races of cyclist David Millar’s career, leading to his last encounter with the Tour de France. The film reveals how the human spirit is driven by forces deeper than success and glory. (North American Premiere)

VISIONS

Cory Michael Smith in “1985” (Photo by Dutch Rall)

1985
Director/Screenwriter: Yen Tan
A young man goes home for the holidays and struggles to reveal a distressing secret to his loved ones. Cast: Cory Michael Smith, Virginia Madsen, Michael Chiklis, Jamie Chung, Aidan Langford, Ryan Piers Williams (World Premiere)

Don’t Leave Home
Director/Screenwriter: Michael Tully
An American artist’s obsession with a disturbing urban legend leads her to an investigation of the story’s origins at the crumbling estate of a reclusive painter in Ireland. Cast: Anna Margaret Hollyman, Lalor Roddy, Helena Bereen, David McSavage, Karrie Cox (World Premiere)

Elizabeth Harvest (United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Sebastian Gutierrez
Elizabeth Harvest is a science fiction reimagining of the French folktale of Bluebeard, in which a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives is confronted by a new wife trying to avoid the fate of her predecessors. Cast: Abbey Lee, Ciaran Hinds, Carla Gugino, Matthew Beard, Dylan Baker (World Premiere)

Friday’s Child
Director/Screenwriter: A.J. Edwards
Fresh out of foster care at age 18, a young drifter turns to petty crime to survive, and discovers an impossible love in an unlikely friend. Cast: Tye Sheridan, Imogen Poots, Jeffrey Wright, Caleb Landry Jones (World Premiere)

Meow Wolf: Origin Story
Directors: Morgan Capps, Jilann Spitzmiller, Screenwriters: Jilann Spitzmiller, Morgan Capps, Christina Procter
A group of artists, punks, and weirdos create a subversive DIY collective to disrupt the art establishment in Santa Fe, NM, which in the face of internal turmoil evolves into a cultural phenomenon on the path to becoming a global creative empire. (World Premiere)

More Human Than Human (Netherlands, United States)
Directors: Tommy Pallotta, Femke Wolting
More Human Than Human explores what it means to live in the age of intelligent machines. During this quest, the filmmaker finds out how much of his creativity and human values are at stake as he builds his own robot to replace himself as a filmmaker. (World Premiere)

Perfect
Director: Eddie Alcazar, Screenwriter: Ted Kupper
A young man with a violent past enters a mysterious clinic where the patients wildly transform their bodies and minds using genetic engineering. Cast: Garrett Wareing, Courtney Eaton, Tao Okamoto, Maurice Compte, Abbie Cornish, Martin Sensmeier, Sarah McDaniel, Chris Santos, Leonardo Nam, Regan ‘Busdriver’ Farquhar (World Premiere)

Pet Names
Director: Carol Brandt, Screenwriter: Meredith Johnston
When her ill mother urges her to take a vacation from her caretaking, grad-school-dropout Leigh invites her ex along on the camping trip. The two soon find that confronting old wounds during a weekend in the woods is anything but restful. Cast: Meredith Johnston, Rene Cruz, Stacy Parish, Chelsea Norment, Jake Bradley, Lilliana Winkworth, Christina Seo (World Premiere)

Profile
Director: Timur Bekmambetov, Screenwriters: Britt Poulton, Timur Bekmambetov, Olga Kharina
Looking to investigate recruitment techniques of ISIS to lure women into Syria, Amy Whitaker, a journalist, creates a Facebook profile of a Muslim convert. When an ISIS recruiter contacts her online character, she experiences the process first hand. Cast: Valene Kane, Shazad Latif, Christine Adams, Morgan Watkins, Amir Rahimzadeh (North American Premiere)

Prospect (Canada, United States)
Directors/Screenwriters: Zeek Earl, Chris Caldwell
A teenage girl and her father travel to a remote moon on the hunt for elusive riches. But there are others roving the moon’s toxic forest and the job quickly devolves into a desperate fight to escape. Cast: Sophie Thatcher, Pedro Pascal, Jay Duplass, Andre Royo, Sheila Vand, Anwan Glover (World Premiere)

Relaxer (Netherlands, United States)
Director/Screenwriter: Joel Potrykus
Y2K is approaching fast, but Abbie can’t get off the couch until he beats an unbeatable level on Pac-Man. Cast List: Joshua Burge, David Dastmalchian, Andre Hyland, Adina Howard, Amari Cheatom (World Premiere)

Rukus
Director: Brett Hanover, Screenwriters: Brett Hanover, Alanna Stewart, Rukus
A hybrid of documentary and fiction, Rukus is a queer coming-of-age story set in the liminal spaces of furry conventions, southern punk houses, and virtual worlds.

Thy Kingdom Come
Director: Eugene Richards
A cancer patient mad at God; a Klansman seeking redemption; a mother blamed for her baby’s death; an elderly woman never not in love; a priest who doesn’t pass judgment, who listens: Interwoven, unscripted stories of life in a small mid-America town. Cast: Javier Bardem, Callie Eldred, Tasia Moore, Joshua Collins, Adam Watters, Samantha Jo Chism Watters, Melvin Kemp, Melvin Cook, Kathryn Von Glahn, Eric Eudy (World Premiere)

Wild Honey Pie! (United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Jamie Adams
Gillian and Oliver have reached the Seven Year Itch moment in their Marriage, being of the melodramatic persuasion they itch till their relationship bleeds! Cast: Jemima Kirke, Alice Lowe, Sarah Solemani, Brett Goldstein, Joanna Scanlon, Richard Elis, Dan Clark, William Thomas (World Premiere)

Wobble Palace
Director: Eugene Kotlyarenko, Screenwriters: Story by Dasha Nekrasova, Eugene Kotlyarenko
A week before the 2016 election, a couple on the verge of a nervous break-up decide to split their home over the weekend and test the waters of independence. Cast: Dasha Nekrasova, Eugene Kotlyarenko, Jack Kilmer, Paige Elkington, Caroline Hebert, Casey Jane Ellison, Vishwam Velandy, Janiva Ellis, Kim Ye, Elisha Drons (World Premiere)

EPISODIC

Henry Winkler and Bill Hader in “Barry” (Photo by John P. Johnson/HBO)

Barry
Director: Bill Hader, Screenwriters: Alec Berg, Bill Hader
Barry features Bill Hader as a low-rent hitman from the Midwest. Lonely and dissatisfied in his life he begrudgingly travels to Los Angeles to kill someone and ends up finding an accepting community in a group of eager hopefuls within the LA theater scene. Cast: Bill Hader, Henry Winkler, Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, Glenn Fleshler, Anthony Carrigan (World Premiere)

Condor
Directors: Lawrence Trilling, Andrew McCarthy, Screenwriters: Jason Smilovic, Todd Katzberg
Inspired by Paramount’s Sydney Pollack 1975 political thriller Three Days of the Condor. Condor follows Joe Turner (Max Irons), a young CIA analyst whose idealism is tested when he stumbles onto a terrible plan that threatens millions of lives. Cast: Max Irons, William Hurt, Leem Lubany, Mira Sorvino, Brendan Fraser, Bob Balaban, Angel Bonnani, Katherine Cunningham, Christina Moses, Kristen Hager
(World Premiere)

Krypton
Directors: Colm McCarthy, Ciaran Donnelly, Screenwriters: Cameron Welsh, Damian Kindler and David S. Goyer, Story by David S. Goyer, Ian Goldberg
What if Superman had never existed? Seg-El, Superman’s grandfather, is faced with a conflict: Save Krypton? Or let it be destroyed in order to secure the future of his grandson-to-be?
Cast: Cameron Cuffe, Georgina Campbell, Elliot Cowan, Ann Ogbomo, Aaron Pierre, Rasmus Hardiker, Wallis Day, Blake Ritson, Ian McElhinney, Shaun Sipos, Colin Salmon (World Premiere)

The Last O.G.
Director: Jordan Peele, Screenwriters: Jordan Peele, John Carcieri
The Last O.G. is a show about humanity, second chances and redemption. Morgan plays Tray an ex-con who is shocked to see just how much the world has changed when he returns to the free world after 15 years in prison. Cast: Tracy Morgan, Cedric the Entertainer, Allen Maldonado, Tiffany Haddish, Joel Marsh Garland, Gino Vento, Natalie Carter, Taylor Mosby, Ryan Gaul (World Premiere)

Vida
Directors: Alonso Ruizpalacios, So Yong Kim
Vida is about two estranged Mexican-American sisters from the Eastside of Los Angeles who couldn’t be more different. Circumstances force them to return home where they are confronted by the past and surprising truth about their mother’s identity. Cast: Melissa Barrera, Mishel Prada, Ser Anzoategui, Chelsea Rendon, Carlos Miranda, Maria Elena Laas (World Premiere)

Warriors of Liberty City
Directors: Evan Rosenfeld, Andrew Cohn
Warriors of Liberty City from showrunner Evan Rosenfeld follows a season with the Liberty City Warriors, a youth football program founded by an unlikely mentor: Luther Campbell, better known as Uncle Luke from 2 Live Crew. Cast: Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Lavalrick Lucas, Jr., Lavalrick “Dread” Lucas, Sr. , George Harris, Jr. , George Harris, Sr., Barry Jenkins, Herbert Ritchie, Chatarius “Tutu” Atwell, Jr., Robert “Lamont” Beneby, Jr. (World Premiere)

24 BEATS PER SECOND

Benjamin Dickey and Alia Shawkat in “BLAZE” (Photo by Steve Cosens)

BLAZE
Director: Ethan Hawke, Screenwriters: Ethan Hawke, Sybil Rosen
The story of an unsung country music legend who gave up paradise for the sake of a song.
Cast: Benjamin Dickey, Alia Shawkat, Charlie Sexton, Josh Hamilton, Wyatt Russell, Jenn Lyon, Kris Kristofferson, Sam Rockwell, Steve Zahn, Richard Linklater

Elvis Presley The Searcher (Film 1 and 2)
Director: Thom Zimny
The documentary focuses on Elvis Presley as a musical artist. It explores how he accumulated his influences, deconstructs why his sound and his style were so revolutionary and examines the creative and personal struggles that preceded his death. (World Premiere)

Heavy Trip (Finland)
Directors: Jukka Vidgren, Juuso Laatio, Screenwriters: Jukka Vidgren, Juuso Laatio, Aleksi Puranen, Jari Olavi Rantala
A young man is trying to overcome his fears by leading the most unknown heavy metal band in to the hottest metal festival of Norway. The journey includes heavy metal, grave robbing, Viking heaven and an armed conflict between Finland and Norway. Cast: Johannes Holopainen, Minka Kuustonen, Max Ovaska, Antti Heikkinen, Samuli Jaskio, Chike Ohanwe, Ville Tiihonen (World Premiere)

If I Leave Here Tomorrow: A Film About Lynyrd Skynyrd
Director: Stephen Kijak
The story of Lynyrd Skynyrd; The Greatest American Rock Band Ever. We fly beyond Free Bird to celebrate the life & times of leader Ronnie Van Zant, from boogie-woogie beginnings in Jacksonville’s Shantytown to a tragic end in a Mississippi swamp. (World Premiere)

Making the Grade (Ireland)
Director: Ken Wardrop
A feel-good musical journey of piano playing from absolute beginner through to accomplished pianist. (North American Premiere)

Milford Graves Full Mantis
Directors: Jake Meginsky, Neil Young (Co-Director)
Milford Graves Full Mantis weaves blistering performance footage from Europe, Japan, and the U.S. with a sublimely restrained, intimate glimpse into a world-renowned jazz percussionist’s singular voice and complex cosmology. (World Premiere)

The Potential of Noise – Conny Plank (Germany)
Directors: Stephan Plank, Reto Caduff, Screenwriters: Stephan Plank, Reto Caduff, Zisak Riemann
Movie about Conny Plank, the famous German music producer. (North American Premiere)

Rapture
Directors: Sacha Jenkins, Ben Selkow, Geeta Gandbhir, Steven Caple Jr., Marcus A. Clarke, Gabriel Noble
Rapture showcases the definitive impact of hip hop on global culture. Over 8 episodes featuring Nas, Dave East, T.I., Rapsody, Logic, G-Eazy, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, 2 Chainz and Just Blaze. (World Premiere)

Ruben Blades Is Not My Name (Panama)
Director/Screenwriter: Abner Benaim
Ruben Blades Is Not My Name portrays one of Latin America´s most beloved singer-songwriters in a journey across his 50-year career. In an intimate way, the film gives us a chance to get to know the artist, his music, and the stories behind them. (World Premiere)

A Tuba To Cuba
Directors: T.G Herrington, Danny Clinch, Screenwriter: T.G Herrington
A son seeking to fulfill his late father’s dream takes his band from the storied city of New Orleans to the shores of Cuba; Where, through the universal language of music, dark and ancient connections between our people will be reveal the roots of jazz. (World Premiere)

GLOBAL

Hopakuli in “A Little Wisdom”

A Little Wisdom (Nepal)
Director: Yuqi Kang
See he world through the eyes of five-year-old Tibetan novice monk Hopakuli and share in his joys and sorrows as he endures the rigors of monastic life. A Little Wisdom endeavors to tell a story of children who find happiness through religious life. (North American Premiere)

Martyr (Lebanon)
Director/Screenwriter: Mazen Khaled
A young man’s tragic death at Beirut’s seaside causes his friends to grapple with loss and to partake in his community’s rites and ceremonies, exposing the city’s schisms and its society’s fault lines. Cast: Carol Abboud, Hamza Mekdad, Mostafa Fahs, Hady Bou Ayash, Rachad Nassereddine, Rabih el Zaher, Raneem Mourad (North American Premiere)

Number 37 (South Africa)
Director/Screenwriter: Nosioho Dumisa
Number 37 is the story of Randall, wheelchair bound, playing a cat and mouse game blackmailing a powerful criminal whilst evading a sadistic loan shark who will kill him and his girlfriend if his loan is not paid back by the end of the week. Cast: Irshaad Ally, Monique Rockman, Ephraim Gordon, David Manuel, Sandy Schultz, Deon Lotz, Danny Ross, Amrain Essop, Elton Landrew, Jeff Moss (World Premiere)

Rush Hour (Mexico, Turkey, United States)
Director: Luciana Kaplan
Rush Hour is an intimate approach to personal stories of three commuters who spend hours of their lives going from home to work and back, reflection a common reality shared by billions of people. (U.S. Premiere)

Team Hurricane (Denmark)
Director/Screenwriter: Annika Berg
Team Hurricane – Radical Girls in an Ordinary World is a punk chick flick that mixes documentary material with highly stylized fiction. Cast: Eja Penelope Roepstorff, Ida Glitre, Ira Rønnenfelt, Maja Leth Bang, Mathilde Linnea Daugaard Jensen, Mia My Elise Pedersen, Sara Morling, Zara Munch Bjarnum (U.S. Premiere)

Theatre of War (Argentina)
Director/Screenwriter: Lola Arias
Theatre of War is an essay on how to represent war, performed by former enemies. British and Argentinian veterans of the Falklands war come together to discuss, rehearse and re-enact their memories 35 years after the conflict. (U.S. Premiere)

Virus Tropical (Colombia)
Director: Santiago Caicedo
Born in a not-so-conventional family, Paola grows up between Ecuador and Colombia and finds herself unable to fit in any mold. With a unique feminine vision of the world, she will have to fight against prejudice and struggle for her independence. Cast: María Cecilia Sánchez, Alejandra Borrero, Diego León Hoyos, Martina Toro, Mara Gutiérrez, Camila Valenzuela, María Parada

FESTIVAL FAVORITES

“American Animals” (Photo courtesy of The Orchard)

American Animals (United States, United Kingdom)
Director/Screenwriter: Bart Layton
The unbelievable but true story of four young men who mistake their lives for a movie and attempt one of the most audacious art heists in US history. Cast: Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Blake Jenner, Jared Abrahamson, Ann Dowd, Udo Kier

Chef Flynn
Director: Cameron Yates
Chef Flynn captures the coming of age of a prodigy chef, as he navigates a sea of sudden fame, bullying, and his mother’s camera.

Constructing Albert (Estonia)
Directors: Laura Collado, Jim Loomis, Screenwriter: Laura Collado
In the world of haute cuisine, the name Adrià is synonymous with creativity. Constructing Albert is a portrait of the younger brother Albert as he strives to establish his own reputation in the world of international haute cuisine after elBulli.

Damsel
Directors/Screenwriters: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
An affluent pioneer ventures deep into the wilderness of the American West to join his fiancée. Cast: Robert Pattinson, Mia Wasikowska, David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, Robert Forster, Joe Billingiere

Eighth Grade
Director/Screenwriter: Bo Burnham
Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school—the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year—before she begins high school. Cast: Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, Emily Robinson, Jake Ryan

First Reformed
Director/Screenwriter: Paul Schrader
The pastor of a small New England church (Ethan Hawke) spirals out of control after a soul-shaking encounter with an unstable environmental activist and his pregnant wife (Amanda Seyfried) in this taut, chilling thriller. Cast: Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Cedric Kyles, Michael Gaston, Philip Ettinger, Victoria Hill

Generation Wealth
Director/Screenwriter: Lauren Greenfield
Simultaneously personal journey and historical essay, Lauren Greenfield’s latest documentary bears witness to the global boom–bust economy, the corrupted American Dream, and the human costs of late stage capitalism, narcissism, and greed.

Half the Picture
Director/Screenwriter: Amy Adrion
Half the Picture is a feature length documentary about the dismal number of women directors working in Hollywood, featuring top female directors sharing their experiences in the industry.

Lean on Pete
Director/Screenwriter: Andrew Haigh
From acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Haigh (Weekend; 45 Years), and based on the beloved novel by Willy Vlautin, comes Lean on Pete—a deeply moving story about love, loneliness, family, and friendship, told through the unique prism of one boy’s connection to a very special racehorse. Cast: Charlie Plummer, Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Travis Fimmel

Narcissister Organ Player
Director/Screenwriter: Narcissister
This hybrid performance/documentary film explores how the artist’s complex family history, in particular her relationship with her mother, compelled her to create the masked, erotic performance character Narcissister.

Never Goin’ Back
Director/Screenwriter: Augustine Frizzell
Jessie and Angela, high school dropouts, are taking a week off to chill at the beach. Too bad their house got robbed, rent’s due, they’re about to get fired and they’re broke. Now to avoid eviction and get to the beach, no matter what! Cast: Maia Mitchell, Cami Morrone, Kyle Mooney, Joel Allen, Kendal Smith, Matthew Holcomb, Atheena Frizzell, Spencer Rayshon, Marcus Mauldin, Liz Cardenas

On Her Shoulders
Director: Alexandria Bombach
Nadia Murad is a 23-year-old Yazidi survivor of genocide and sexual slavery by ISIS. Repeating her horrific story to politicians, the media, and the United Nations, she must navigate bureaucracy, politics and sudden fame to get the world to listen.

Pass Over
Director: Spike Lee, Screenwriter: Antoinette Nwandu
Academy Award nominee and Honorary Oscar winner Spike Lee captures the poetry, humor and humanity of this urgent and timely play about two young black men talking trash, passing the time, and dreaming of the promised land. A provocative riff on Waiting for Godot, Pass Over is written by newcomer Antoinette Nwandu. Cast: Jon Michael Hill, Julian Parker, Ryan Hallahan, Blake DeLong

The Rider
Director/Screenwriter: Chloé Zhao
After a tragic riding accident, a young cowboy, once a rising star of the rodeo circuit, is warned that his competition days are over. Back home, he struggles to find himself when he can no longer do what what gives him a sense of purpose. Cast: Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, Lane Scott, Cat Clifford

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Director: Morgan Neville
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? looks at children’s television host Mr. Rogers’ hard-fought campaign to influence generations of kids and adults in the ways of kindness.

SPECIAL EVENTS

“The Atomic Café” (Photo by Pierce Rafferty, Kevin Rafferty and Jayne Loader in Rolling Stone, 6/10/82)

The Atomic Café
Director: Kevin Rafferty, Jayne Loader, Pierce Rafferty
The Atomic Cafe is a cult classic documentary from 1982. This is the 4K digital restoration. (World Premiere)

This Is Us
Director: Various
Everyone has a family. And every family has a story. This grounded, life-affirming dramedy reveals how the tiniest events in our lives impact who we become, and how the connections we share with each other can transcend time, distance and even death. Cast: Milo Ventimiglia, Mandy Moore, Chrissy Metz, Sterling K. Brown, Justin Hartley (World Premiere)

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