ACM Awards 2023: The Official Nominees

For those who relish the twang and rhythm of Country Music, it would be a grave mistake to overlook the upcoming 2023 ACM Awards ceremony.

It’s a night with sparkling allure, showcasing nothing less than the best of this beloved genre. First, however, before the glorious occasion, we must delve into the Official Nominees List.

The Complete List of Nominations Revealed

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards nominees have been announced, with HARDY leading the pack with seven nominations. Collaborator Lainey Wilson closely follows with six nods. Additionally, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, and Cole Swindell each received five nominations.

Miranda Lambert earned her record-breaking 17th Female Artist of the Year nomination, surpassing Reba McEntire’s 16 nominations in the same category. The live Amazon Prime Video show, scheduled for Thursday, May 11, will be hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks. The event will be held at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

This year’s nominees reflect the remarkable talent and diversity present in the country’s music industry. From established performers like Miranda Lambert and Garth Brooks to rising stars like Lainey Wilson and HARDY, the nominations showcase the genre’s vibrant and ever-evolving landscape. In addition, the event co-hosted by Parton and Brooks, two of country music’s most beloved and iconic figures, promises an unforgettable evening.

2023 ACM Awards To Be Hosted By Dolly Parton And Garth Brooks

The 58th annual Academy of Country Music Awards has recently announced that renowned country artists Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks will host the event. The awards ceremony is set to take place on Thursday, May 11, at the Ford Center at The Star, located in Frisco, Texas.

Parton expressed her enthusiasm regarding her return as a host for the ACM Awards, this time with Brooks as her co-host, after co-hosting alongside Gabby Barrett and Jimmie Allen. Parton further stated that although she has spent time with Brooks throughout the years, she has just had the opportunity to collaborate with him.

She also mentioned that in addition to observing the emerging talents in country music, she is thrilled to premiere the lead single from her upcoming rock album during the show.

Complete List Of ACM Awards 2023 Nominations

The upcoming 2023 edition of the ACM Awards are set to be streamed live on Prime Video, commencing at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, May 11. Notably, a comprehensive rebroadcast of the event will be available for streaming at no cost on Amazon Freevee on a subsequent day.

As for the contenders, a comprehensive list of nominations has been compiled and is presented below.

Entertainer of the Year

• Jason Aldean
• Kane Brown
• Luke Combs
• Miranda Lambert
• Chris Stapleton
• Carrie Underwood
• Morgan Wallen

Female Artist of the Year

• Kelsea Ballerini
• Miranda Lambert
• Ashley McBryde
• Carly Pearce
• Lainey Wilson

Male Artist of the Year

• Kane Brown
• Luke Combs
• Jordan Davis
• Chris Stapleton
• Morgan Wallen

Duo of the Year

• Brooks & Dunn
• Brothers Osborne
• Dan + Shay
• Maddie & Tae
• The War and Treaty

Group of the Year

• Lady A
• Little Big Town
• Midland
• Old Dominion
• Zac Brown Band

New Female Artist of the Year

• Priscilla Block
• Megan Moroney
• Caitlyn Smith
• Morgan Wade
• Hailey Whitters

New Male Artist of the Year

• Zach Bryan
• Jackson Dean
• ERNEST
• Dylan Scott
• Nate Smith
• Bailey Zimmerman

Album of the Year

Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Label(s)

•     Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville – Ashley McBryde; Producer: John Osborne; Label: Warner Music Nashville
•     Bell Bottom Country – Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce; Label: Broken Bow Records
•     Growin’ Up – Luke Combs; Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton; Label: Columbia Records
•     Mr. Saturday Night – Jon Pardi; Producers: Jon Pardi, Bart Butler, Ryan Gore; Label: Capitol Records Nashville
•     Palomino – Miranda Lambert; Producers: Jon Randall, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Mikey Reaves; Label: Vanner Records/RCA Records Nashville

Single of the Year

 Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Label(s)

•     Heart Like a Truck – Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce; Label: Broken Bow Records
•     Never Wanted to Be That Girl – Carly Pearce & Ashley McBryde; Producers: Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally; Label: Big Machine Records/Warner Music Nashville
•     She Had Me at Heads Carolina – Cole Swindell; Producer: Zach Crowell; Label: Warner Music Nashville
•     Thank God – Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown; Producer: Dann Huff; Label: RCA Nashville
•     ‘Til You Can’t – Cody Johnson; Producer: Trent Willmon; Label: Warner Music Nashville/CoJo Music

Song of the Year

 Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)

•     Sand In My Boots – Morgan Wallen; Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Josh Osborne, Michael Hardy; Publishers: Relative Music Group; Sony/ATV Accent; Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing; Sony/ATV Tree Publishing
•     She Had Me at Heads Carolina – Cole Swindell; Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Cole Swindell, Jesse Frasure, Mark D. Sanders, Thomas Rhett, Tim Nichols; Publishers: Ashley Gorley Publishing Designee; Be A Light Publishing; Colden Rainey Music; EMI Blackwood Music Inc; Songs Of Roc Nation Music; Sony Tree Publishing; Telemetry Rhythm House Music; Universal Music Corp; WC Music Corp; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp
•     ‘Til You Can’t – Cody Johnson; Songwriters: Ben Stennis, Matt Rogers; Publishers: Anthem Canalco Publishing; Dead Aim Music; The Stennis Mightier Music
•     wait in the truck – HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson; Songwriters: Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt, Michael Hardy, Renee Blair; Publishers: Humerus Publishing Global; Nontypical Music; Pile of Schmidt Songs; Rednecker Music; Relative Music Group; Round Hill Verses Publishing; Sony/ATV Accent; Sony/ATV Tree Publishing; The Money Tree Vibez; WC Music Corp; Who Wants to Buy My Publishing
•     You Should Probably Leave – Chris Stapleton; Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Chris DuBois, Chris Stapleton; Publishers: One77 Songs; Sea Gayle Music; Songs of Southside Independent Music Publishing; Spirit Two Nashville; WC Music Corp

Visual Media of the Year

Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)

•     HEARTFIRST – Kelsea Ballerini; Producers: Christen Pinkston & Wesley Stebbins-Perry; Director: P Tracy
•     She Had Me at Heads Carolina – Cole Swindell; Producer: Troy Jackson; Director: Spidey Smith
•     Thank God – Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown; Producer: Luke Arreguin; Director: Alex Alvga
•     ‘Til You Can’t – Cody Johnson; Producer: Maddy Hayes; Director: Dustin Haney
•     wait in the truck – HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson; Producer: Inkwell Productions; Director: Justin Clough
•     What He Didn’t Do – Carly Pearce; Producer: Ryan Byrd; Director: Alexa Campbell

Songwriter of the Year

• Nicolle Galyon
• Ashley Gorley
• Chase McGill
• Josh Osborne
• Hunter Phelps

Artist-Songwriter of the Year

• Luke Combs
• ERNEST
• HARDY
• Miranda Lambert
• Morgan Wallen

 The Music Event of the Year

Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Label(s)

•     At the End of a Bar – Chris Young with Mitchell Tenpenny; Producers: Chris DeStefano, Chris Young; Label: RCA Nashville
•     She Had Me at Heads Carolina [Remix] – Cole Swindell & Jo Dee Messina; Producer: Zach Crowell; Label: Warner Music Nashville
•     Thank God – Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown; Producer: Dann Huff; Label: RCA Nashville
•     Thinking ‘Bout You – Dustin Lynch feat. MacKenzie Porter; Producer: Zach Crowell; Label: Broken Bow Records
• Waitin the truck – HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson; Producers: Derek Wells, HARDY, Joey Moi, Jordan Schmidt; Label: Big Loud Records

STUDIO RECORDING AWARDS

Bass Player of the Year

• Mark Hill
• Tony Lucido
• Steve Mackey
• Lex Price
• Craig Young

Drummer of the Year

• Fred Eltringham
• Miles McPherson
• Jerry Roe
• Aaron Sterling
• Nir Z

Acoustic Guitar Player of the Year

• Tim Galloway
• Todd Lombardo
• Danny Rader
• Bryan Sutton
• Ilya Toshinskiy

Piano/Keyboards Player of the Year

• Jim “Moose” Brown
• Dave Cohen
• Charles Judge
• Billy Justineau
• Alex Wright

Speciality Instrument Player of the Year

• Dan Dugmore
• Stuart Duncan
• Jenee Fleenor
• Josh Matheny
• Justin Schipper

Electric Guitar Player of the Year

• Kris Donegan
• Kenny Greenberg
• Rob McNelley
• Sol Philcox-Littlefield
• Derek Wells

Audio Engineer of the Year

• Drew Bollman
• Josh Ditty
• Gena Johnson
• Justin Niebank
• F. Reid Shippen

Producer of the Year

• Buddy Cannon
• Luke Dick
• Jay Joyce
• Joey Moi
• Jon Randall
• Derek Wells

INDUSTRY AWARDS

Casino of the Year – theatre

• Deadwood Mountain Grand – Deadwood, SD
• Golden Nugget – Lake Charles, LA
• Resorts World Theatre at Resorts World Las Vegas – Las Vegas, NV
• Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Hollywood, FL
• Soaring Eagle – Mount Pleasant, MI

Casino of the Year – arena

• Fallsview Casino Resort – Niagara Falls, ON
• Harrah’s – Council Bluffs, IA
• Harveys Lake Tahoe – Stateline, NV
• Mystic Lake Casino Showroom – Prior Lake, MN
• Northern Quest Resort & Casino – Airway Heights, WA
• Turning Stone Resort Casino – Verona, NY

Festival of the Year

• C2C: Country to Country – UK
• Carolina Country Music Fest – Myrtle Beach, SC
• Country Concert – Fort Loramie, OH
• Country Fest – Cadott, WI
• Country Thunder – Bristol, TN
• Stagecoach Festival – Indio, CA
• Tortuga Music Festival – Fort Lauderdale, FL

Fair/Rodeo of the Year

• Auburn Rodeo – Opelika, AL
• Cheyenne Frontier Days – Cheyenne, WY
• Florida Strawberry Festival – Plant City, FL
• Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo – Houston, TX
• Iowa State Fair – Des Moines, IA

Club of the Year

• Billy Bob’s Texas – Fort Worth, TX
• Coyote Joe’s – Charlotte, NC
• Grizzly Rose – Denver, CO
• Gruene Hall – New Braunfels, TX
• Joe’s on Weed St. – Chicago, IL

Theatre of the Year

• Crystal Grand Music Theatre – Wisconsin Dells, WI
• Florida Theatre – Jacksonville, FL
• Grand Ole Opry House – Nashville, TN
• Orpheum Theater – Omaha, NE
• Stiefel Theatre – Salina, KS

Outdoor Venue of the Year

• Bank of NH Pavilion – Gilford, NH
• FirstBank Amphitheater – Franklin, TN
• Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA
• Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA
• St. Augustine Amphitheatre – St. Augustine, FL
• The Wharf Amphitheater – Orange Beach, AL

Arena of the Year

• Denny Sanford PREMIER Center – Sioux Falls, SD
• Dickies Arena – Fort Worth, TX
• Hertz Arena – Estero, FL
• Moody Center – Austin, TX
• Simmons Bank Arena – Little Rock, AR
• Thompson-Boling Arena – Knoxville, TN

Don Romeo, Talent Buyer of the Year

• Ron Pateras
• Pat Powelson
• Michelle Romeo
• Stacy Vee
• Troy Vollhoffer

Promoter of the Year

• Patrick McDill
• Aaron Spalding
• Ed Warm
• Adam Weiser
• Jay Wilson

With the recent announcement of the official nominees for the 2023 ACM Awards, preparations for the highly anticipated event are underway. This occasion provides music enthusiasts and fans a unique opportunity to rally behind their preferred artists or revel in the country music industry’s musical tunes. So who will take the award home? Share your thoughts in the comments.