The Academy of Country Music® and dick clark productions revealed today the complete list of chart-topping hits and fan-favorite songs that will be performed during ACM® PRESENTS: OUR COUNTRY, a new two-hour special hosted by CBS THIS MORNING’s Gayle King, to be broadcast Sunday, April 5 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT and 7:00-9:00 PM CT) on the CBS Television Network and on CBS All Access. The special will feature intimate conversations and at-home acoustic performances with Country Music’s biggest stars, along with clips from past ACM Awards® moments. It will be a night filled with entertainment, hope and reflection, bringing the healing power of music to Americans at a time when they need it most.

Fans are invited to enjoy more performances by favorite Country Music artists on the official ACM PRESENTS: OUR COUNTRY Pre-Show on the Academy of Country Music’s Facebook page as well as the Amazon Music Twitch channel on Sunday, April 5 at 7:00 PM ET / 6:00PM CT. Lauren Alaina, Ingrid Andress, Gabby Barrett, Lee Brice, Blanco Brown, Lindsay Ell, Riley Green, Mickey Guyton, Caylee Hammack, Ashley McBryde, Jake Owen, Carly Pearce, Tenille Townes and more will appear from their homes to share heartfelt messages with their fans and perform acoustic versions of their hits. The Pre-Show will also pay tribute to 6-time ACM Award nominee Joe Diffie with a special performance by Chris Young. Fans can gear up for the main event with the ACM Presents: Our Country Playlist on Amazon Music. Starting Monday, fans will be able to re-watch the full Pre-Show and the individual performances via the ACM Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, as well as on the newly launched ACMOurCountry.com website.

Beginning today, the Academy invites Country Music artists and fans alike to share a musical moment by posting their own performances to social media, tagging an official Academy social media handle, and using #ACMOurCountry to participate in a celebratory curated feed of performances featured on ACMOurCountry.com! This campaign will continue throughout the weekend leading up to ACM Presents: Our Country special on Sunday.

“The Country Music community came together in an incredible way – and very quickly – for “Our Country,” and that outpouring of immediate artist support led us to develop a digital pre-show so that we could include even more artists in the Country Music celebration Sunday night,” said Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy of Country Music. “This allows more artists to share the positive messages of support and togetherness with the fans.”

ACM PRESENTS: OUR COUNTRY performances will include:

• Kelsea Ballerini – “homecoming queen?”
• Dierks Bentley – “I Hold On”
• Kane Brown & John Legend – “Last Time I Say Sorry”
• Luke Bryan – “Most People Are Good”
• Brandi Carlile – “The Joke”
• Eric Church – “Never Break Heart”
• Luke Combs – “Beautiful Crazy”
• Sheryl Crow – “I Shall Believe”
• Florida Georgia Line – “Blessings”
• Lady Antebellum – “What I’m Leaving For”
• Miranda Lambert – “Bluebird”
• Little Big Town – “Next To You”
• Tim McGraw – “Humble And Kind”
• Old Dominion (Matthew Ramsey and Trevor Rosen) – “Some People Do”
• Brad Paisley & Darius Rucker – “Mud On The Tires” & “Wagon Wheel”
• Thomas Rhett – “Be A Light”
• Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani – “Nobody But You”
• Shania Twain – “Honey, I’m Home” & “Man! I Feel Like a Woman”
• Carrie Underwood – “Drinking Alone”
• Keith Urban – “Wasted Time”
• Kenny Rogers Tribute – featuring Brad Paisley & Darius Rucker performing “Lucille” & “The Gambler” and Luke Bryan performing “Coward Of The County”

As previously announced, iHeartMedia’s leading country radio host and ACM Radio Award National On-Air Personality of the Year Bobby Bones, a long-time ACM Lifting Lives® supporter, will introduce the ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund during the telecast. ACM Lifting Lives, the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music, created this fund to assist individuals working in the Country Music industry who are suffering a financial crisis as a result of the pandemic. Those in need can apply for funds at ACMLiftingLives.org.

For more information on ACM PRESENTS: OUR COUNTRY, visit ACMcountry.com. You can also like Academy of Country Music on Facebook or follow on Twitter at @ACMawards, follow on Instagram at @ACMawards and sign up for the FREE ACM A-List for more immediate updates.

Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Little Big Town, Darius Rucker (with Brad Paisley), Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban are among the all-star lineup of performers for ACM® PRESENTS: OUR COUNTRY, a two-hour special featuring intimate conversations and at-home acoustic performances with Country Music’s biggest stars, along with clips from the Academy of Country Music Awards’™ 55-year history. Kelsea Ballerini,Kane Brown & John Legend, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs, Sheryl Crow, Florida Georgia Line, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Old Dominion, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani will also perform. The special will be broadcast Sunday, April 5th at 8pm ET/PT; 7pm CT on CBS and CBS All Access.

ACM® PRESENTS: OUR COUNTRY will also honor 10-time ACM Award® winner Kenny Rogers with performances by Luke Bryan, Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker. As previously announced, artists will appear from their homes to share heartfelt thoughts and perform acoustic versions of Country hits. Additionally, video clips from previous ACM Award broadcasts will highlight favorite ACM moments from the past. It will be a night filled with entertainment, hope and reflection, bringing the healing power of music to Americans at a time when they need it most.

The special will broadcast during the time slot previously scheduled for the 55^th Academy of Country Music Awards, which will now be broadcast Wednesday, Sept. 16 (live 8:00-11:00 PM ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network and streaming live and on demand on CBS All Access. The 55^th ACM Awards, hosted for the first time by reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year and 15-time ACM Award winner Keith Urban, honors the biggest names and emerging talent in the Country Music industry.

About ACM® PRESENTS: OUR COUNTRY
ACM® PRESENTS: OUR COUNTRY invites fans to join their favorite superstars for a new kind of entertainment special featuring at-home acoustic performances with top Country artists along with clips of their favorite moments from the Academy of Country Music Awards’™ 55-year history. ACM PRESENTS: OUR COUNTRY is produced for television by dick clark productions. R.A. Clark, Barry Adelman, Mark Bracco and Amy Thurlow are executive producers. Damon Whiteside is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music®.

Here’s a list of events you don’t want to miss on Friday (March 27th) with Kylie Morgan, Brandon Lay, Dierks Bentley and more

Singer/Songwriter Jordan Davis Celebrates Reflective New Track with the Song’s Muse, his Wife Kristen, on Instagram Live Tonight at 5 p.m. CT

What you may have missed (but you can catch Brandon on Friday):

Coming up next week–Caylee Hammack

Six years ago today (March 24th), Dierks Bentley topped the country charts with “I Hold On,” a song that has both personal and universal meaning to the artist and seems to have more meaning to all of us during this time in the world than ever before.

“These verses are snippets about my life and just things about me, and it’s kind of a song of self-discovery too, you know,” says Dierks. “Who am I after all these years? What’s important to me? Why do I do certain things that I do? Why do I hold on to certain things that I hold onto? It’s a little bit of me trying to figure out who I am, and then the choruses, it’s who we are as Americans, as a people, as human beings, I guess. There are things that we really value and that we hold on to ‘em really tight – faith, love and freedom.”

“I Hold On” was Dierks’ 11th No. 1, and it’s from his album, Riser.

Little Big Town will perform on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday (January 15th).

Carrie Underwood has been announced as one of the main headliners during the Barefoot Country Music Fest in Wildwood, New Jersey this summer. The three-day festival will take place June 19th – 21st. Tickets are on sale now.

Jon Pardi’s “Heartache on the Dance Floor” has been certified double-platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), while Dierks Bentley’s “Say You Do” has been certified platinum.

This year’s RodeoHouston lineup has been announced and will include headliners Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Chris Stapleton and Jon Pardi, as well as Willie Nelson, Maren Morris, Kane Brown, Chris Young, Brad Paisley, Gwen Stefani, Khalid and many others. The 2020 RodeoHouston will take place March 3rd – March 22nd, with tickets going on sale this Thursday (January 16th).

Dierks Bentley’s 2014 Riser album will be featured on vinyl for the first time in January. The collection celebrating the fifth anniversary includes his No. 1 hits “I Hold On,” “Drunk on a Plane” and “Say You Do” will be available on a translucent orange special edition and on standard black vinyl.

“I named the album ‘Riser’ because the lyrics in that song perfectly articulate who I want to be, who I try to be,” Bentley explained when the album was released in February 2014. “There’s a lot of really intense material on this record, but there’s also a lighter side that is equally important in telling the story of the last two years of my life.” When I first started writing for this album, I was in a place of grief over the loss of my dad, but over the course of the next 18 months, my wife and I had our son Knox, and I ended in a place of real joy and gratefulness. Both sides of that coin are what country music has always been about, and I hope that my fans can feel how much of myself I put into this project. It’s all out on the table, for sure.”

Embraced by Bentley’s fans as well as country radio, Riser topped the Billboard Country Albums chart and marked his fifth career debut in the top spot on the strength of three No. 1 country singles – “I Hold On,” “Say You Do” and the platinum-selling “Drunk On A Plane,” which became his 18^th career single to peak in the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay chart. Produced by Ross Copperman and Arturo Buenahora, Riser, which was also Bentley’s seventh top 10 album on the Billboard 200, debuting at No. 6, was nominated for a GRAMMY for Best Country Album.

Accepting change – and growing from it – is a key theme in Riser, and it is reflected by the tone of the album, which demonstrated a new artistic depth and an extra level of intensity for Bentley. Evolving from track to track, the 12-song album exudes a range of emotions and blends a contemporary sound with Bentley’s obvious love for traditional country music. Riser features six songs co-written by Bentley including the No. 1 hits “I Hold On,” which displays some of the soaring guitar work that has drawn comparisons to U2, and “Drunk On A Plane,” an up-tempo song with an underlying lonesomeness about a guy determined to enjoy his Mexican honeymoon by himself after getting left at the altar.

Opening with “Bourbon In Kentucky,” featuring backing vocals from Kacey Musgraves, the album is loaded with highlights including “Say You Do,” “Damn These Dreams,” “Hurt Somebody,” with backing vocals by Chris Stapleton, and the powerful title track “Riser,” which has become one of Bentley’s signature songs, a fixture at his live shows and the name of his foundation which focuses on the needs of children and families. The song about overcoming life’s obstacles came to him following the death of his father and birth of his son and became the cornerstone of the record. It was accompanied by a poignant video inspired by a “60 Minutes” episode and tells the real-life story of Amy Thomas who was forced to live out of her car with her children after their house was foreclosed on. Throughout the starkly light black and white video, Bentley sings the chorus of strength and resilience: “I’m a riser/I’m a get up off the ground, don’t run and hider/Hey pushin’ comes to shovin’/Baby I’m a fighter/When darkness comes to town, I’m a lighter/A get out aliver, of the fire/survivor.”

Dierks, who just scored his 19th No. 1 song with “Living,” will release the new vinyl editions of Riser January 31st.

Dierks Bentley RISER LP

Side A

1. Bourbon In Kentucky
2. Say You Do
3. I Hold On
4. Pretty Girls
5. Here On Earth
6. Drunk On A Plane

Side B

1. Five
2. Riser
3. Sounds Of Summer
4. Damn These Dreams
5. Back Porch
6. Hurt Somebody

What are some of your favorite stars doing to welcome in the New Year? A few of them are working to help fans celebrate. Several artists have taken the time off around the holidays and will hit it hard when they return to the road in January. Some artists have resolutions, and some are very helpful with their own hangover cures for those who imbibe too much on New Year’s Eve.

Keith Urban is set to headline Music City on New Year’s Eve for the fourth consecutive year. He’ll perform at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park as part of the Jack Daniels Music City Midnight bash. The legendary Stevie Nicks will join Keith, as well as Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Ashley McBryde, Amanda Shires, The Struts and the Fisk Jubilee Singers, among others. The event will include the traditional Music Note Drop and fireworks display to ring in the New Year. Keith will be featured on “NBC’s New Year’s Eve,” which will be hosted by Carson Daly and Julianne Hough. The special will air Monday, December 31st from 10-11pm ET/PT and return 11:30pm – 12:30am ET/PT. Keith, as well Shania Twain, will also appear during CNN’s coverage of the New Year with hosts Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.

Sam Hunt will perform during Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve from New York City. The long-running countdown to the new year, hosted by Ryan Seacrest, will also include performers Keith Urban, Post Malone, BTS, Jonas Brothers, Kelsea Ballerini, Blanco Brown, Dan + Shay, Green Day, Sheryl Crow, Usher, Salt-N-Pepa and many others. The show will air 8pm to 2am ET on ABC.

Lauren Alaina will perform on Fox’s New Year’s Eve with Steve Harvey: Live From Times Square. Other performers include LL Cool J, Florida Georgia Line, The Chainsmokers, The Lumineers, Backstreet Boys and The Killers, among others, to help ring in 2020. The show will air in two parts: 8p-10p ET/CT live; MT/PT tape-delayed with the second part beginning at 11pm – 12:30am ET live; CT/MT/PT tape-delayed.

Gary Allan is set to ring in the New Year with a show at Riverwind Casino in Norman, Oklahoma.

Carrie Underwood’s recent No. 1 hit, “Southbound,” Kip Moore’s “Last Shot,” Maddie & Tae’s “Die From a Broken Heart” and Eric Church’s “Carolina” have been certified gold by the R.I.A.A. (Recording Industry Association of America).

Jon Pardi’s “Dirt on My Boots” has been certified three-times platinum by the R.I.A.A. (Recording Industry Association of America).

Capitol Nashville’s Caylee Hammack and EMI Nashville’s Kylie Morgan have been picked as two of Pandora’s 2020 Country Artists to Watch.

Dierks Bentley and Brandi Carlile are set to headline the Shaky Boots Music Festival May 8th-9th in Central Park in Atlanta, Georgia. Gary Allan, Tanya Tucker, Dwight Yoakam, Morgan Wallen, Clint Black and more will also perform during the two-day festival.