ACM Awards Announce First Round of New Performers

The sixtieth Academy of Country Music Awards will air on May 8. Hosted by Reba McEntire, the ceremony will take place at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, and stream on Prime Video and Amazon Music.

With awards coming soon, the Academy of Country Music announced their first round of performers for this year’s ceremony: Blake Shelton, Eric Church, and Lainey Wilson.

Shelton recently hosted NBC’s Opry 100 celebration, and his next album, For Recreational Use Only, drops on May 9, the day after the ceremony.

Church also made an appearance at the Opry 100, where he gave an emotional tribute performance of “Why Not Me” for the victims of the 2017 Route 91 Harvest Music Festival shooting. The “Springsteen” singer spoke to the audience about the festival as he was in attendance that year. On May 2, he’s set to release his new album, Evangeline Vs. The Machine.

Wilson was last year’s Entertainer of the Year at the ACM Awards. She released her latest album, Whirlwind, in 2024. She recently began her “Whirlwind World Tour,” which starts its North American leg in May.

The “Heart Like a Truck” artist was one of last year’s biggest winners at the award ceremony alongside Chris Stapleton. In addition to Entertainer of the Year, she won Female Artist of the Year and Music Event of the Year, while Stapleton won Male Artist of the Year, Artist-Songwriter of the Year, and Album of the Year for Higher.

Official nominations for the ACM Awards will be announced later this week. Other performers will continue to be announced leading up to the ceremony.