The 2026 Academy of Country Music Awards return for their 61st annual show Sunday night.
There’s a lot that’s noteworthy: Women lead the nominations for a second year in a row. Shania Twain will host for the first time, taking over for Reba McEntire. The awards ceremony will also take place May 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, leaving the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas, after three years.
And the ACM festivities actually began ahead of Sunday’s event.
Before the show, a few trophies were handed out. Jessie Jo Dillon was named songwriter of the year, becoming the first artist to win three times in a row. Stephen Wilson Jr. was awarded visual media of the year for “Cuckoo.” And Avery Anna and Tucker Wetmore were presented with new female and new male artist of the year, respectively.
Here’s what you need to know before the main ACMs attraction begins.
The 2026 ACM Awards will stream on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, as well as the Amazon Music app, on May 17 at 8 p.m. EDT.
Women dominate the 2026 ACM Award nominations. First up: Megan Moroney, who leads with nine nods.
She’s followed by Miranda Lambert, the most-decorated artist in ACM Awards history, with eight, as well as Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson with seven each.
Then there’s Chris Stapleton with six, Zach Top with five and Cody Johnson with four.
In addition to Moroney, those competing for entertainer of the year are Wilson, Stapleton, Johnson, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and Morgan Wallen.
In the album of the year category, Wallen’s “I’m the Problem” faces off against Top’s “Ain’t in It for My Health,” Riley Green’s “Don’t Mind If I Do,” Parker McCollum’s “Parker McCollum” and first-time nominee Carter Faith’s “Cherry Valley.”
Performers will include Lambert, Langley, Top, Wilson, Johnson, Green, Faith, Anna, Wetmore, McCollum, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town, Blake Shelton, Dan + Shay, Jordan Davis, Kane Brown, The Red Clay Strays, Thomas Rhett and Lee Ann Womack.
McCollum and Womack will perform “Killin’ Me” from his 2025 self-titled album. All the nominees in the album of the year category will perform, except for Wallen.
Ashley McBryde, Keith Urban, Lauren Alaina, Michael Bublé, Shaboozey, The War and Treaty, and TJ Osborne are among this year’s presenters.
There will also be a few non-musician presenters: Super Bowl champion Andrew Whitworth, NASCAR Hall of Famer Carl Edwards, NASCAR driver and podcast host Corey LaJoie and former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
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For more coverage of this year’s ACM Awards, visit https://apnews.com/hub/academy-of-country-music-awards.
