ACM Awards bring live performances back to TV amid pandemic
At the Academy of Country Music Awards tonight, there won’t be fake fans, canned applause or pre-taped acceptance speeches. After a five-month delay due to the coronavirus pandemic, the awards show wants to bring the live television experience back again.
The 55th annual ACM Awards, normally held in April in Las Vegas, were delayed this year and moved to Nashville, Tenn., for the first time. But while other music award shows have tried a hybrid of virtual stages, music video-style performances or at-home shows, the ACMs will be broadcast at 8 p.m. on CBS from three indoor stages in Nashville.
“We’ve tried to maintain, for lack of a better word, the normalcy of what we do at the ACM Awards, which is presentations of lots of live performances on stages,” said R.A. Clark, who is in his 21st year as executive producer of the show.
The performances, some of which are pre-taped, span three historically important stages in country music history, but none will be open for fans. The smallest, the Bluebird Cafe, accommodated only about 90 people pre-pandemic, and the venue helped to start the careers of Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift, among many others. Miranda Lambert will sing the aptly titled “Bluebird” from the small stage, with other performances from Tim McGraw, Jimmie Allen and Luke Combs. The Ryman Auditorium, an early landmark for gospel and bluegrass as well as country, will feature performances by Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett with Jon Pardi and Kelsea Ballerini.
Even Swift is making her return to the ACMs after seven years with a performance from her new album “Folklore,” which has spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. Swift will perform at the Grand Ole Opry House, the center of operations for the live broadcast where host Keith Urban and presenters will give out the awards. Clark said that’s what is setting this pandemic awards show apart from others.
“Hearing the winners and having live acceptance speeches is essential,” Clark said.
Other performers will include Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Carrie Underwood, Trisha Yearwood, Luke Bryan, Kane Brown, Mickey Guyton, Eric Church, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Morgan Wallen, Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert, Old Dominion, Tenille Townes and Riley Green.