Carrie Underwood, Glen Campbell Named Early ACM Award Winners

The Academy of Country Music has revealed recipients of several special off-camera awards, which will officially be celebrated during the 10th Annual ACM Honors event this fall at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Additionally, the ACM unveiled more of the performers who’ll take the stage when the ACM Awards air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas this Sunday. 

Among the honorees who will be celebrated later this year are country superstar Carrie Underwood, iconic musician Glen Campbell, and three of country’s most enduring acts: Crystal Gayle, Tanya Tucker and the Statler Brothers.

Joining the live telecast on April 3rd are Entertainer of the Year nominee Miranda Lambert, who will perform “Tush” with ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Keith Urban, who will be presented with Mae Boren Axton Award at the ACM Honors. Urban will also perform his new single “Wasted Time” during the ACM Awards telecast. New Female Vocalist of the Year winner Kelsea Ballerini will perform with pop superstar Nick Jonas, while New Orleans musician Trombone Shorty will appear with an unspecified artist (he’s featured on Dierks Bentley’s new album Black, so that’s a possibility). Presenters will include I Saw the Light actor Tom Hiddleston and duo Maddie and Tae.

Also debuting her new single, “Church Bells” on the show, Underwood will receive the ACM Lifting Lives Gary Haber Award, a new honor named in recognition of that organization’s late chairman and designated for a country artist or music industry professional actively dedicated to helping others. 

Glen Campbell will receive the Career Achievement Award, which honors artists who have advanced the popularity and acceptance of country music during the preceding calendar year. The honor is added to Campbell’s 10 ACM awards, as well as the 1998 Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award celebrating his musical legacy. 

The Crystal Milestone Award will go to Grammy-winning group Little Big Town in recognition of the quartet’s 2015 single, “Girl Crush,” which topped Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart for a record-setting 13 consecutive weeks.

The 2016 recipients of the Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award are Crystal Gayle, Tanya Tucker and the Statler Brothers. The Jim Reeves International Award will be awarded posthumously to beloved Nashville marketing and promotion executive Jeff Walker. A native of Australia who championed country music on a global scale, Walker died last August at age 65. Eddie Rabbitt (being awarded posthumously) and Jimmy Webb have been chosen to receive the Poet’s Award, which honors songwriters for outstanding musical and/or lyrical contributions throughout their careers in the field of country music.

A previously announced honoree, Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors” has been chosen as the recipient of the Tex Ritter Award. Parton, who will perform at the ACM’s with pop superstar Katy Perry, will receive her award during the live telecast.

Songwriter of the Year is Ross Copperman, whose songs include Keith Urban’s “John Deere, John Cougar, John 3:16” and Brett Eldredge’s “Lose My Mind” among several others. Dave Cobb, who helmed Chris Stapleton’s Traveller and oversaw the new Southern Family compilation, was named Producer of the Year. 

The 51st ACM Awards will air live from Las Vegas, Sunday, April 3rd, at 8:00 p.m. ET on CBS.