ACM Honors
The ACM Honors was recorded on August 23rd, 2017 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN.
The Honors cover awards in categories that the ACM Awards in the spring (April) were unable to.
Normally, the ACM Honors is not televised but premiered last year on CBS and CBS continued by airing it Friday, September 15th at 9:00 pm EST / 8:00 pm Central and can now be seen on CBS On Demand.
A radio special will follow from honoree, Bob Kingsley’s “Country Top 40.”
The Honors came in first place with “America’s Got Talent” coming in second on NBC in the first hour. “Dateline (NBC)” tied with a 4.66 rating for the second hour Friday night. The other competition was “20/20” and “What Would You Do?” on ABC, which came in at third place, though “20/20” at the 10:00pm hour had slightly higher ratings than “What Would You Do” with 3.39 and 3.01respectively. “Penn and Teller: Fool Us” on the CW claimed fourth place and “Beat Shazam” on Fox, ranking fifth with a 1.29 rating according to tvbythenumbers.
For a Friday, it makes sense the show it came in at number one. According to a study by the Radio Advertising Bureau in June of 2015, Country radio ranks as the number one listened to format in the U.S.
The lead-in was “Big Brother” and local news followed.
According to the website “The Boot,” honorees included, Kelsea Ballerini for the Gene Weed Milestone Award for having three number one hits off her first record.
Eric Church was awarded the Merle Haggard Spirit Award and is the second person to receive it behind Miranda Lambert. This award focuses on the storytelling aspect of performance.
Toby Keith, Willie Nelson and Shel Silverstein (posthumously) received the Poet’s Award for songwriting.
Reba McEntire and D.J Bob Kingsley were recipients of the Mae Boren Axton Service Award for their longevity as part of the Academy of Country Music.
Lori McKenna received the Songwriter of the Year Award.
Nashville was the recipient of the Tex Ritter Film Award for being a show that features country music.
Dolly Parton received the Gary Haber Lifting Lives Award for her work following the wildfires in her native East Tennessee.
Finally, George Strait was awarded the Cliffie Stone Icon Award for assisting in popularizing country music through his participation in it.
Some of the honorees already mentioned will be performing alongside Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Little Big Town, Maren Morris, Brad Paisley, Thomas Rhett, Hillary Scott and Chris Stapleton.
Presenters included, Jason Aldean, Bobby Bones, Ross Copperman, Lady Antebellum and Jimmy Webb among other previously named performers.
At the time of taping, the Troy Gentry helicopter crash had not yet taken place. Gentry was part of Grand Ole Opry inductee Montgomery Gentry. Also, Country Music Hall of Famer, Don Williams also passed away September 8th. Both will most likely be honored at future music award ceremonies.
Photo courtesy of CBS.com