Lainey Wilson was the big winner at Thursday night’s 59th ACM Awards, winning three trophies, including the coveted Entertainer of the Year award.
Lainey also nabbed her second straight Female Artist of the Year honor and shared Music Event of the Year with Jelly Roll for “Save Me,” a song they debuted on the ACMs last year.
Chris Stapleton also landed three wins, including his fourth for Male Artist of the Year, his fourth for Album of the Year and Artist Songwriter of the Year.
Plus, it was another year, another win for Old Dominion, who nabbed their seventh straight Group of the Year trophy, while Dan + Shay won Duo of the Year for the first time since 2020, their fourth win in the category.
Host Reba McEntire kept the audience chuckling throughout the night, but the funniest moment came from Ashley McBryde and Schitt’s Creek star Noah Reid, who sang original songs poking fun at, among other things, Morgan Wallen’s arrest for throwing a chair, with Ashley advising Morgan, “You should smile in the mug shot.”
The show also included a poignant tribute to the late Toby Keith, with good friend Jason Aldean performing Toby’s first #1 hit, “Should’ve Been A Cowboy,” with Toby’s family in the audience.
As for the night’s performances, Stapleton offered up the biggest surprise: Dua Lipa, who joined him for “Think I’m In Love With You.”
And Post Malone shared a preview of his country album, performing a previously unreleased tune and “I Had Some Help,” sans singing partner Wallen. Posty and Reba also sang a bit of “Ramblin’ Man” in tribute to the late Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts.
Among the other performances: Lainey kicked things off with “God Bless Texas,” followed by “Hang Tight Honey”; Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan performed a mashup of “Mountain With A View” and “Stick Season”; Miranda Lambert debuted “Wranglers”; and Kane Brown covered the classic “Georgia On My Mind.” Reba then wrapped the show with her new tune “I Can’t.”
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