The Academy of Country Music Awards have named their co-hosts for the show’s annual webcast May 11, bringing in Garth Brooks for his first-ever role hosting any awards show — joining repeat ACMs host Dolly Parton, who did it as part of a trio last year and as a solo host back in 2000.
The 58th annual edition of the show will be seen on Amazon Prime Video exclusively for the second consecutive year. The ACM Awards left broadcast television behind last year after having aired on CBS from 1998 through 2021, and on ABC and NBC through the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s.
“While I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with (Brooks) throughout the years,” Parton said in a statement, “I can’t believe we’ve never had the chance to work together.” Parton additionally said that she will be premiering the debut single from her upcoming “rock” album on the show, fulfilling a vow she made to produce a genre-specific record when she was elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
As previously announced, the show will be webcast live for the first time from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, after using Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium as a setting for 2022’s first airing on Prime Video. It marks the second time that the ACM Awards will have a home in the state of Texas, as the 50th anniversary broadcast in 2015 used Dallas’ AT&T Stadium as a base.
Tickets to attend the show are available on SeatGeek.
The ACMs will be preceded in their Texas base by some attendant events, including a golf tournament followed by a concert on the green headlined by Morgan Wallen, events that sold out shortly after their announcement last week.
Nominees, presenter and performers for the May show have yet to be announced.
Having as co-hosts two figures that many would identify as the biggest male and female stars in the history of country music, Brooks and Parton, may go a long way toward distinguishing the ACMs from other country awards shows in the eyes of fans, as the field becomes more crowded. A fourth major country show was recently added to the calendar — the People’s Choice Country Awards, set for September — on top of the CMT Music Awards in April, the ACMs in May and the CMAs in November.
Dick Clark Productions is producing the show for Amazon Prime. Its executive producers are Raj Kapoor, Barry Adelman and Fonda Anita, along with the Academy of Country Music’s Damon Whiteside.
