Tim McGraw; Clint Black; Chris Stapleton.Photo:Jason Kempin/Getty; Terry Wyatt/Getty; Terry Wyatt/Getty
Jason Kempin/Getty; Terry Wyatt/Getty; Terry Wyatt/Getty
You won’t see any envelopes getting opened at the ACM Honors — winners have long been announced — but once again, this year’s edition of the awards show proves there’s always sizzle in store.
The annual event offers theAcademy of Country Musicthe opportunity to honor the overall career accomplishments of artists, as well as celebrate behind-the-scenes musicians, songwriters and industry honchos who have contributed to the genre.
PEOPLE was at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium on Aug. 23 for the live show, which lasted a leisurely three-and-a-half hours. The televised version has been distilled to two hours, and we’re hoping these are some of the highlights that will make the cut:
McGraw Admits He’s a ‘Weeper’
Tim McGraw at the ACM Honors on Aug. 23, 2023 in Nashville.FOX Image Collection via Getty
FOX Image Collection via Getty
Tim McGraw’s acceptance speech, for an ACM Icon Award, is seven minutes of heartfelt gratitude, and the 56-year-old artist warns the packed hall from the start, “I’m gonna try to get through this, but I’m a weeper.”
He fails — especially when he gets around to thanking his wife, fellow superstarFaith Hill, sitting on a front-row pew with two of the couple’s three daughters, Maggie, 25, andAudrey, 21(and all of whom monochromatically coordinated their couture for the occasion).
Faith Hill, Audrey McGraw, Tim McGraw and Maggie McGraw at the ACM Honors on Aug. 23, 2023 in Nashville.John Shearer/Getty
John Shearer/Getty
Black’s love for lyrics
Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood of Lady A with Clint Black at the ACM Honors in Nashville on Aug. 23, 2023.Jason Kempin/Getty
Jason Kempin/Getty
Clint Black at the ACM Honors on Aug. 23, 2023 in Nashville.FOX Image Collection via Getty
Lily Pear Black, Clint Black and Lisa Hartman Black at the ACM Honors on Aug. 23, 2023 in Nashville.Jason Kempin/Getty
Carpenter’s pure poetry
Trisha Yearwood, 58, offers a three-minute, 21-second workshop on lyric writing, holding the audience spellbound with the story of … a shirt. The song is Mary Chapin Carpenter’s 1989 album track, “This Shirt,” and Yearwood says she picked it to honor her friend because it “embodies [her] spirit perfectly.” Carpenter isn’t present to accept her ACM Poet’s Award but extends her thanks in a video.
Trisha Yearwood performs at the ACM Honors in Nashville on Aug. 23, 2023.Jason Kempin/Getty
Travis’ bond with Brown
Kane Brown,29, receives the ACM International Award for his contributions to the growth of country music worldwide, but his presenters, Country Music Hall of Fame memberRandy Travis,64, andhis wife, Mary, also honor him for his friendship.
Randy Travis, Mary Travis and Kane Brown at the ACM Honors on Aug. 23, 2023, in Nashville.Jason Kempin/Getty
Mary Travis tells the story of the two artists’ unlikely bond after Travis lost the ability to speak and sing from a stroke in 2013. “There’s no silence that music is afraid of,” Mary Travis says before Travis himself softly speaks Brown’s name to bring him onto the stage.
Double the pleasure
He tookhome ACM songwriter of the year in 2022, andHARDYreturns to pick up this year’s award for artist-songwriter. Most recently bestowed with four CMA nominations, the 32-year-old hyphenate delights in his dual honor: “It’s such an appropriate title … because I truly am an artist in the sense that I love singing songs and I truly am a songwriter.”
Bailey Zimmerman and HARDY at the ACM Honors in Nashville on Aug. 23, 2023.Terry Wyatt/Getty
Terry Wyatt/Getty
An admittedly nervousBailey Zimmermanperforms a wistful version of HARDY’s confessional “Signed, Sober Me.”
A songwriting GOAT
He’s not a household name, but if you’re a country music fan, you live inAshley Gorley’sworld. The songwriter of the year recipient has so far racked up an astonishing 67 No. 1 singles, a feat unmatched in any genre.
Ashley Gorley at the ACM Honors in Nashville on Aug. 23, 2023.FOX Image Collection via Getty
Show host Carly Pearce and Emily Shackleton — Gorley’s co-writers on Pearce’s most recent chart-topper, “What He Didn’t Do” — join forces to offer a stunning acoustic version that Pearce describes as “like the day we first wrote it.”
Emily Shackelton and Carly Pearce perform at the ACM Honors in Nashville on Aug. 23, 2023.Maggie Friedman/Variety via Getty
Maggie Friedman/Variety via Getty
‘The highest honor’
BRELAND and Keith Urband perform at the ACM Honors on Aug. 23, 2023 in Nashville.Jason Kempin/Getty
Keith Urban joins up-and-comerBRELANDfor a rowdy performance of their recorded collab, “Throw It Back,” before BRELAND accepts what he calls “truly the highest honor I’ve received in my career”: the inaugural ACM Lift Every Voice Award, presented to a member of the country music community who plays a pivotal role in elevating underrepresented voices in the genre.
His moving acceptance speech offers generous nods to the many Black pioneers in country music: “All we’ve ever wanted is a chance to put our music out.”
BRELAND at the ACM Honors in Nashville on Aug. 23, 2023.FOX Image Collection via Getty
Dynamite duo
The War and Treatyoffer their formidable voices in tribute to ACM Triple Crown recipient Chris Stapleton, who watches in awe as the husband-and-wife duo torch their way through his “Cold.” (Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, Stapleton tourmates, just picked up their first CMA nomination for duo of the year.)
Chris Stapleton with Tanya Trotter and Michael Trotter Jr. at the ACM Honors on Aug. 23, 2023 in Nashville.John Shearer/Getty
The Academy of Country Music Honors airs at 7 p.m. CDT/8 p.m. EDT Monday on Fox. The broadcast will be available to stream on Hulu, beginning the following evening.
source: people.com
