The ACM Awards Will Return To Texas in 2024

It looks like Texas is the new home of the Academy of Country Music Awards. The ACM announced this week that they will return to Amazon Prime Video for the next two years, with the 59th ACM Awards streaming live in May 2024 from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

The renewal comes on the heels of the 58th Awards show, which garnered more than 7.7 million viewers, making the 2023 ACM Awards one of the most-watched awards shows of the year.

Making history, the 2022 ACM Awards became the first major awards show to exclusively stream live for a global audience and deliver an unforgettable concert event that put fans center stage across Amazon Prime platforms.

Academy of Country Music CEO Damon Whiteside said, "The Academy is proud to extend our relationship with Amazon for the next two years, through the historic milestone of the 60th ACM Awards, and continue to bring Country Music's Party of the Year live to a global audience on Prime Video."

He added, "Thanks to the biggest host pairing of all time, Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, the comprehensive, cross-platform program with our partners at Prime Video and Amazon Music, and the dedicated fans in Texas and around the world, the May 2023 show was a groundbreaking success and illustrates that our pioneering and innovative move to streaming was absolutely the right one at the right time! We're eager to see everyone back in Texas once again at the home of the Dallas Cowboys next May for another groundbreaking ACM Awards show!"

The Academy's highest honor, ACM Entertainer of the Year, was awarded to Chris Stapleton for the first time. His multiple wins at the 58th ACM Awards qualified him for the coveted ACM Triple Crown Award, celebrating artists who have won New Female/Male Artist of the Year, Female/Male Artist of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year. HARDY and Lainey Wilson led the night in total wins with four each, followed by Cole Swindell with three wins.

The 59th ACM Awards will mark a return to Texas for the second year. Ford Center at The Star in Frisco opened in 2016 and serves as the state-of-the-art practice facility for the Dallas Cowboys, as well as the home for many major sporting events throughout the year. Last year's ACM Awards were the first awards show to take place at Ford Center.

Every time awards show nominations come out, it happens: artists will be left out for one reason or another. There are only so many slots for nominees and so much talent in country music. When the ACM Awards nominations were read, there were quite a few surprising omissions and snubs.

As we wait to see the winners for the ACM Awards, which will play out in Texas and air live on Amazon on May 11, we look at some acts that should have gotten some love from the ACM.

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Jelly Roll has had a fantastic year charting his first country number-one hit, "Son of a Sinner." On his current headlining tour, this guy also sold out arenas all over the country and was a massive hit at the 2023 CMT Music Awards, where he won three awards. Jelly should have at least gotten a nomination in the Visual Media category.

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I know there are many country male singers coming up and getting their shot in the Male Artist category. Keith has had his share over the years of winning Male Artist and earning nominations in the category. Keith toured extensively, and his show is amazing. He clearly should have been in the Entertainer of the Year category this year.

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Thomas consistently puts out great music and recently kicked off his current headlining tour. It's sad not to see Thomas' name in any category at all this year.

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This guy has had a wonderful year at country radio, on the road, and with his latest album, Same Truck, which came out in 2021. While his album is a bit old to get an album nod this year, McReery has never missed a beat vocally, and it would have been nice to see him in the Male Artist category. Maybe that category, like Entertainer, should have also had seven nominees this year.

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Yes, Carrie did get a 2023 ACM nomination for Entertainer of the Year, and she was appreciative. Still, Underwood is not in the Female Artist category with a huge and successful tour, a new album, and one of the best voices in country music. That is wrong on so many levels.