FRISCO, TEXAS – The 59th annual Academy of Country Music Awards took place at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, with Reba McEntire hosting the event for the 17th time. Luke Combs led the nominations, closely followed by Morgan Wallen and Megan Moroney. Despite being the most nominated artist, Combs was notably absent from the award show.
During the pre-show, streamed on Prime Video, country artist Jelly Roll expressed his hopes of winning entertainer of the year, a category that included nominees like Kane Brown, Luke Combs, and Chris Stapleton. Ultimately, Lainey Wilson clinched the coveted entertainer of the year award.
The night saw various wins, with Lainey Wilson taking home both the entertainer of the year and female artist of the year awards. Chris Stapleton was named male artist of the year, while Dan + Shay won duo of the year. Newcomer Nate Smith was awarded new male artist of the year, and Megan Moroney received new female artist of the year.
Veteran duo Old Dominion was recognized as group of the year, with Tigrilily Gold winning new vocal duo or group. The album of the year was awarded to Chris Stapleton for “Higher,” and Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” secured single of the year.
Jordan Davis’ “Next Thing You Know” was named song of the year, while visuals for “Burn It Down” by Parker McCollum won visual media of the year. The evening also honored songwriters, with Chris Stapleton receiving artist-songwriter of the year and Jessie Jo Dillon named songwriter of the year.