Nashville Royalty Assembles: ACM Awards Reveals Glittering Performance Roster

Hold onto your rhinestone-studded boots, darlings — the Academy of Country Music Awards is about to turn Texas into a glitter-bombed spectacle of pure Nashville magic. As the landmark 60th celebration approaches, the first wave of performers has just dropped, and it’s serving exactly the kind of star power you’d expect from country music’s most dazzling night.

The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco (which has become the awards’ sparkling home-away-from-home these past three years) will welcome none other than Blake Shelton to its stage. Perfect timing, really — the country charmer’s latest single “Texas” has been climbing the charts faster than a tumbleweed in a tornado. And wouldn’t you know it? He’s dropping his cheekily titled new album “For Recreational Use Only” right after the show. Talk about strategic planning.

But let’s talk about the real jewel in this bedazzled crown: Lainey Wilson.

Fresh from her absolutely legendary 2024 run (snagging Entertainer of the Year among her three-trophy haul), Wilson’s return to the ACM stage feels like watching a fairy tale unfold in real time. The 32-year-old powerhouse has been writing her own version of country music history, dominating both the 2023 and 2024 ceremonies with the kind of unstoppable momentum usually reserved for runaway trains.

Seven-time ACM Award winner Eric Church is set to inject some much-needed edge into the proceedings. His new album “Evangeline Vs. The Machine” drops May 2 — just enough time for fans to learn every word before his performance on May 8. Because heaven knows country fans take their lyrics seriously.

Speaking of May 8, this marks another milestone in the ACMs’ groundbreaking partnership with Prime Video. Remember 2022? When they boldly went where no major awards show had gone before, becoming the first to exclusively livestream? That gamble paid off better than a royal flush at a Vegas poker table.

The incomparable Reba McEntire returns to host — because honestly, who else could handle this rhinestone rodeo with such perfectly calibrated charm? With Dick Clark Productions running the show and Raj Kapoor serving as executive producer and showrunner, viewers can expect the kind of polished spectacle that makes country music’s biggest nights feel like family reunions (minus the awkward conversations about politics over potato salad).

For those dreaming of witnessing the magic in person, SeatGeek’s got your golden ticket — though you might want to move faster than a fiddle player’s fingers during a bluegrass breakdown. The nomination announcement comes March 27, and if last year’s ceremony taught us anything (looking at you, Chris Stapleton, matching Wilson’s three-trophy triumph), we’re in for another evening of well-deserved victories and jaw-dropping surprises.

This first performer announcement? Consider it merely the appetizer, darlings. In true Nashville fashion, there’s enough star power waiting in the wings to light up the Lone Star state twice over. Stay tuned — this party’s just getting started.