Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Mickey Guyton, Alan Jackson, Little Big Town, Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood are among the performers at this year’s ACM Awards. They’re joined by Kelsea Ballerini, Lee Brice, Kane Brown, Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Ryan Hurd, Jack Ingram,  Elle King, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris, Carly Pearce, Jon Randall, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, The War and Treaty, CeCe Winans and Chris Young.

Over 25 artists will perform more than 30 songs from three iconic Country Music venues: the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe. Additional details on the exciting performances including unprecedented collaborations and surprising moments will be announced in the coming weeks. First-time ACM Awards performances from many of the legendary artists in the lineup can be found HERE.

The health and safety of the artists, fans, industry, staff and partners involved in the ACM Awards is the number one priority. All guidelines set forth by national, state and local health officials will be closely followed and implemented during the production along with additional safety measures to be instated by dick clark productions and the Academy of Country Music.

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

The 56^th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton, will air Sunday, April 18th beginning at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

Brothers Osborne went into the studio (pre-pandemic) one day to work on their ACM-nominated album, and they were catching up with the musicians when John Osborne started noodling around on his guitar. The riff he was playing sparked an idea for their latest single, “All Night.”

“We were there (in the studio) just chatting, just catching up with each other, and John just starts playing this lick and he had a baritone guitar, and it was badum, badum, badum and he had a baritone guitar, and I was like, ‘Stop! Everybody stop talking! Like that is awesome. Let’s write that right now!’ And we did,” says TJ Osborne. “And that’s like, obviously, that’s my favorite part of the song. It’s like this badass like awesome guitar part. That type of thing is definitely lost on Zoom, but I think being there in the moment, that was like the leading thing that happened.”

The duo is nominated for two ACM Awards, including Duo of the Year, as well as Album of the Year for Skeletons. The 56th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton, will air live from Nashville April 18th beginning at 8pm ET/7pm CT on CBS. The show will also be available to stream live and on demand on the new Paramount+ channel.

Taylor Swift‘s “Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s version)” is featured in the trailer for the new animated film, Spirited Untamed, from Dreamworks.  The song originally appeared on her 1989 album, and this is the first and only place to hear her re-recorded version of the song.

Become your own legend. Watch the new #SpiritUntamed TV spot, featuring "Wildest Dreams (Taylor's Version)" and see the movie only in theaters June 4. pic.twitter.com/G3LkFbLdVR

— DreamWorks Animation (@Dreamworks) March 12, 2021

The film, which features the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Julianne Moore, Walton Goggins, Andre Braugher, and Isabela Merced, will hit theaters nationwide on June 4th.

Vince Gill, Reba McEntire, Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban are among the artists featured on a limited-edition LP for the Grand Ole Opry’s Unbroken: Empty Room, Full Circle album. The announcement came on the anniversary of the Opry’s decision to pause in-house audiences in March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Available June 4th, 2021, exclusively on Opry.com and at the Opry’s Nashville-based retail outlets,  the LP includes memorable performances recorded live from the Opry stage in front of an empty house. For 29 weeks, Saturday night Opry shows continued uninterrupted despite public health orders that temporarily shuttered many other live productions. These performances were made possible because of the devotion of Grand Ole Opry members, featured performers, Opry staff and local health officials who safely worked together to bring comfort to millions around the world. Brad Paisley, Marty Stuart, Luke Combs and many more.

Chris Stapleton and his wife, Morgane, join actor-singer Leslie Jordan on his song “Farther Along,” which will be featured on his forthcoming debut album of Southern gospel hymns, Company’s Comin’.  Brothers Osborne’s TJ Osborne, Dolly Parton, Ashley McBryde, Tanya Tucker, Brandi Carlile and more are featured on the album. The Tennessee native, best known for his roles in TV shows such as “Ally McBeal,” “Boston Public,” “Reba,” “Boston Legal,” and “American Horror Story,” has become a social media favorite while in quarantine for his endearing videos, including a regular “Sunday Mornin’ Hymn Singin'” series.