Prominent awards show to make ‘homecoming’ on Las Vegas Strip
The Academy of Country Music Awards show, once a staple on the Strip, is coming back to Las Vegas after three years in Texas.
The 61st ACM Awards are set for MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 17, announced Monday morning by the ACMs, Prime Video and Dick Clark Productions. The show will stream live on Prime Video.
In recent years the show has been hosted by such legends Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire. Famous for its unique collaborations, the ACMs have paired Ed Sheeran with Luke Combs, Dua Lipa with Chris Stapleton, Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelly of Florida Georgia Line with the Backstreet Boys, and Rascal Flatts with BTS.
ACM Awards Week launches on May 15. Details to be announced, with tickets for the awards show and related events going on sale early next year.
The show most recently played Allegiant Stadium in 2022, with Parton hosting. Aside from its 50th anniversary show at AT&T Stadium in Dallas in 2015 and the 2020-21 show in Nashville, the ACMs performed primarily in Las Vegas since 2003. Michelob Ultra Arena (then Mandalay Bay Events Center) hosted from 2003-2005, moving to MGM Grand Garden Arena for the next 12 years. The show played T-Mobile Arena in 2017, returning to MGM in 2018-‘19.
From 2023 through this year’s 60th-anniversary show, the event was staged at Ford Center in Frisco, Texas. McEntire hosted, with performances from Stapleton, Backstreet Boys, Rascal Flatts, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Ella Langley, Eric Church, Jelly Roll, Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson, LeAnn Rimes, Miranda Lambert and Wynonna Judd.
Academy of Country Music CEO Damon Whiteside said his organization “couldn’t be more thrilled” to return to MGM Grand, saying the venue is “a place that holds a lot of history and special memories for the Academy. It truly feels like a homecoming for us.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
