Hillary Lindsey attends the 53rd Academy of Country Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 15, 2018 in Las Vegas.
Emma Mcintyre/ACMA2018/Getty Images for ACMSongwriter Hillary Lindsey and producer Jay Joyce will each receive top awards at the 14th annual ACM Honors at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Aug. 25.
Lindsey will receive the Academy of Country Music’s songwriter of the year award for the second year in a row. Lindsey, whose past hits include "Jesus, Take the Wheel," "Girl Crush" and "Always Remember Us This Way," is the first songwriter to win this accolade two years running since Dallas Davidson, who took the award in 2011 and 2012. Shane McAnally has also won it twice (in 2013 and 2018) but not consecutively.
Jay Joyce will receive producer of the year for a record-extending fifth time. Joyce produced two of the albums nominated for album of the year at the 56th annual ACM Awards: Brothers Osborne's Skeletons and Ashley McBryde's Never Will. Joyce also produced one of the single of the year nominees: Miranda Lambert's "Bluebird."
Other honorees at the ACM Honors are Ken Burns’ Country Music, RAC Clark, Luke Combs, Ross Copperman, Dan + Shay, Joe Galante, Toby Keith, Lady A, Loretta Lynn, Gretchen Peters, Curly Putman and Rascal Flatts.
The evening is dedicated to recognizing the special honorees and off-camera category winners from the 55th and 56th ACM Awards. Studio recording awards and industry award winners from the 55th ACM Awards weren’t properly recognized last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ACM special awards are voted on by the ACM board of directors. The show is executive produced by Damon Whiteside, CEO of the ACM, and written and produced by Lisa Lee.
Three of the awards will be presented posthumously: the ACM poet's award to songwriter Curly Putman, guitar player of the year to J.T. Corenflos and the 2019 producer of the year award to busbee.
ACM professional members can purchase tickets in a special pre-sale by visiting ticketmaster.com. The pre-sale code will be emailed to all professional members prior to the on-sale date. (Sign-up here for ACM emails.)
Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. CT Friday at Ticketmaster. Prices range from $85 to $142.
A limited number (80) of VIP package tickets will be available starting Friday at 10 a.m. CT. VIP seating includes parking, VIP artist pit seating location, VIP pre-party reception with complimentary beverages and light hors d'oeuvres and an official commemorative ACM Honors Hatch Print. Tickets for VIP are priced at $1,000 at Ticketmaster.
ACM Party for a Cause (benefiting ACM Lifting Lives) will return in August, marking the first time ACM Party for a Cause will be in Nashville.
Here’s a complete list of special award honorees:
ACM Cliffie Stone icon award: veteran label executive Joe Galante and Rascal Flatts. This award is presented to a country music artist, duo/group or industry leader who 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.
ACM Gary Haber lifting lives award: Lady A and songwriter/producer Ross Copperman. 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.
ACM Gene Weed milestone award: Luke Combs. 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.
ACM Jim Reeves international award: Dan + Shay. This award is presented to an artist or industry leader for outstanding contributions to the acceptance of country music throughout the world.
ACM Mae Boren Axton service award: RAC Clark. 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. Clark, president of Lion’s Heart Entertainment, has produced the ACM Awards since 1999. Clark is the eldest child of legendary host and producer Dick Clark.
ACM Merle Haggard spirit award: Toby Keith. This award is presented to a singer-songwriter who is continuing the legacy of country legend Merle Haggard by following his or her own path, crafting great songs and epitomizing Haggard’s spirit through genuine performances and great storytelling.
ACM poet’s award: Loretta Lynn, Gretchen Peters and songwriter Curly Putman (posthumously). 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.
Tex Ritter film award: Ken Burns’ Country Music. This award recognizes an outstanding television movie, series or feature film released during the preceding calendar year which prominently features country music. Country Music, which premiered on PBS in 2019, was directed and produced by Ken Burns, written and produced by Dayton Duncan and produced by Julie Dunfey.
ACM songwriter of the year award: Hillary Lindsey. 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.
56th ACM Awards (2020 studio recording award winners):
Bass player of the year: Tony Lucido
Drummer of the year: Aaron Sterling
Guitar player of the year: J.T. Corenflos (awarded posthumously)
Piano/keyboards player of the year: Dave Cohen
Specialty instrument(s) player of the year: Ilya Toshinskiy
Steel guitar player of the year: Dan Dugmore & Mike Johnson (a tie)
Audio engineer of the year: F. Reid Shippen
Producer of the year: Jay Joyce
55th ACM Awards (2019 industry award winners):
Casino of the year – theater: The Joint: Tulsa – Tulsa, Okla.
Casino of the year – arena: MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, Nev.
Fair/rodeo of the year: Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo – Houston, TX.
Festival of the year: Tortuga Music Festival – Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Club of the year: Joe’s Live – Rosemont, Ill.
Theater of the year: The Beacon Theatre – New York, N.Y.
Outdoor venue of the year: Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, Colo.
Arena of the year: Madison Square Garden – New York, N.Y.
Don Romeo talent buyer of the year: Gil Cunningham – Neste Live!
Promoter of the year: Brian O’Connell – Live Nation
55th ACM Awards (2019 studio recording award winners):
Bass player of the year: Jimmie Lee Sloas
Drummer of the year: Miles McPherson
Guitar player of the year: Rob McNelley
Piano/keyboards player of the year: Gordon Mote
Specialty instrument(s) player of the year: Jenee Fleenor
Steel guitar player of the year: Paul Franklin
Audio engineer of the year: Justin Niebank
Producer of the year: busbee (awarded posthumously)
NEWS
Supergrass are teasing an upcoming announcement with fans, according to a new post.
The British band, fronted by Gaz Coombes, shared a cryptic new post across their social media channels this morning (September 13), suggesting to fans that a new announcement is on the way.
Posted at 9am BST, the post simply shared artwork of the band’s logo in red, alongside next Monday’s date, September 16. In the caption, the band simply wrote: “Sign up now”, alongside a link to their website’s homepage.
Upon clicking the link, the page prompts fans to sign up for future updates, and asks them to input both their email address and the country they live in. Check out the post below.
While details on the announcement remain sparse, the post has already caught fans’ attention, with some speculating that the news could be around the upcoming 30th anniversary of their debut album, ‘I Should Coco’.
Released in May 1995, the release marked the record that first put the band on the map, and contained singles ‘Mansize Rooster’, ‘Caught By The Fuzz, ‘Lose It’ and ‘Lenny’. It also saw Coombes and Co. nominated at the 1995 Mercury Prize, and contained what would soon become their biggest track to date, the Ivor-Novello winning ‘Alright’.
At time of writing, the band haven’t shared any further indication as to whether the announcement is related to the huge upcoming milestone – whether it be an anniversary tour or reissue – nor whether it has anything to do with new music that could be on the way.
The band’s last studio album was ‘Diamond Hoo Ha’, which arrived in 2008. Since then, they have shared remastered versions of both their 1999 self-titled album and their 2003 record ‘Life On Other Planets’.
In other news around the band, last year it was reported that the band’s frontman joined Johnny Marr onstage last month to perform The Smiths‘ classic ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ at Lakefest 2023.
Before then, Coombes opened up about how “nervous” he was about reuniting Supergrass following the success of his solo albums.
Supergrass split up in 2010 but reunited for a series of live shows in 2019. They released a live album in 2020, Live On Other Planets, to celebrate their 25th anniversary and raise money for grassroots venues affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Having got into a flow and the last two albums having done so well, it seemed a bit odd, like a backward step,” he said. “But then I was confident that I could operate both things together and it seems that I did, because I was obviously writing this record mainly during the reunion so I feel like I made best use of both things.”
Coombes’ fourth solo album, ‘Turn The Car Around’, came out in January of last year.
