ACM Honors 2024 Sneak Peek: Church's Flight of Fancy, Yearwood's Love Letter and Wilson's Double Win

Of course, everyone knows who’s going to win the awards, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any surprises at the annual ACM Honors show. Perhaps this year’s biggest success was Eric Church’s extremely imaginative interpretation of Alan Jackson’s classic “Neon Rainbow”.

Admittedly, Church warned the audience at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

“I want to take some liberties with this song,” the country rebel announced in his introduction to the tribute to Jackson, who received an ACM Poet’s Award for his songwriting.

Eric Church performs at the ACM Honors in Nashville on August 21, 2024.

Brett Carlsen/Getty

For Jackson’s reaction to Church’s creativity, you can catch the show airing Tuesday night on the Merit Street Network. Taped last month, this is the 17th edition of the always-entertaining event, which gives the Academy of Country Music an opportunity to celebrate artists’ career achievements as well as honor behind-the-scenes musicians, songwriters and industry figures who have contributed to the genre.

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Here are some more sneak peeks of what you can look forward to:

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Carly Pearce has hosted the event on her own for the past two years, joined this year by Jordan Davis (and the two reveal they’ve known each other since Davis served Pearce when he was a bartender in Nashville).

Both perform songs from their latest albums: Pearce sings the ethereal title track, “Hummingbird,” and Davis delivers her energetic single, “I Ain’t Sayin’.” The two also open the show with traditional renditions of multiple Alan Jackson hits, “Chattahoochee” and “Don’t Rock the Jukebox”.

Carly Pearce and Jordan Davis at the ACM Honors on August 21, 2024 in Nashville.

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Wilson’s big night

Country’s newest crossover king, Post Malone, is a surprise host for Lainey Wilson, and he’s clearly a raving fan, introducing her as “the one and only, absolutely stunning Lainey…uh, I’m not going to swear…Wilson.”

Wilson accepts two honors: the ACM Milestone Award for overall career achievement and the rare, coveted Triple Crown Award, given to artists who have won the ACM’s Entertainer of the Year, New Artist and Artist categories. Only nine other domestic performers have won the triple crown.

“I started to realize that maybe I don’t have that many people left to prove wrong,” Wilson says of her slow-burning career that has turned into a firestorm over the past three years. “Maybe it’s about proving these people right who gave me opportunities and chances… Wow, did those 13 years pay off in this city.”

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Post Malone and Lainey Wilson at the ACM Honors in Nashville on August 21, 2024.

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Did she say that?

Trisha Yearwood offers by far the cutest non-tribute to her husband, fellow superstar Garth Brooks, when accepting the ACM Icon Award: “Of course I’m married to an icon, and he and I… we agreed a long time ago that we wouldn’t say nasty things about each other. to another on stage, so I won’t do that. But if I was going to do it, I would say this: He is the love of my life, and it was and remains the greatest adventure of my life to share it with him, but I won’t say that because we shouldn’t say that.”

Yearwood is honored by two generations, mentor Emmy Lou Harris and protégé Lauren Alaina (whom Yearwood refers to as “Junior”). The two skillfully perform a duet with Yearwood’s “A Song Remembers When”.

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Trisha Yearwood at the ACM Honors in Nashville on August 21, 2024.

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sweet Caroline

Luke Bryan unabashedly appreciates his wife of 18 years, Caroline, as he accepts the ACM Lifting Lives Award for his philanthropic work.

“If I go hunting, my wife approves about 60 percent,” Bryan tells the crowd. “Fishing gets about 55 percent. … [But] anytime — no matter how long I’ve been on tour — I call my wife and say, ‘Honey, I’ve got to do this charity thing,’ she hits a thousand, saying, ‘Yeah, go do it.'”

Jason Aldean covers Bryan’s hit “Someone Else Calling You Baby” in a musical tribute to his longtime friend.

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Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan at the ACM Honors on August 21, 2024 in Nashville.

Terry Wyatt/Getty

Musical magic

Vince Gill and Ashley McBryde earned a standing ovation for their duet of Gill’s 1989 classic “When I Call Your Name,” a tribute to his legendary producer, ACM Icon Award winner Tony Brown. With McBryde picking up the low harmonies, the two voices blend in a way that proves the song’s vivid timelessness — though Gill can’t help but sagely say in his intro, “This song is so slow, the drummer once told me I had to count off the calendar.”

Brown proves a show-stealer with his short acceptance speech, in which he simply recounts an encounter in a supermarket parking lot with a stranger who recognized him and told him, “You used to be really good.”

Brown laughs and jokes, “Hey man, if you’re here tonight, you were right!”

Vince Gill and Ashley McBryde perform at the ACM Honors on August 21, 2024 in Nashville.

Jason Kempin/Getty

Urban Amazes

The event features many more star-studded performances, including Keith Urban, Kameron Marlowe, Jamey Johnson, Jackson Dean, Lee Ann Womack and Terri Clark. Urban’s tribute to songwriter Jessie Jo Dillon is among the highlights. He performs recent single “Messed Up as Me” written by Dillon, who was honored as Songwriter of the Year by the ACM. For accompaniment, Urban chooses only his solo electric guitar, offering a rare moment to experience the superstar’s vocal and instrumental gifts at first hand, as well as Dillon’s excellent lyrics.

“Jessie just has a way with words and putting feelings into a song, putting visuals into a song,” says Urban in the introduction to his song. “And this is the best example of that. I heard, ‘When I go blue, I go deep blue,’ and I went, I know that guy.”

Keith Urban performs at the ACM Honors on August 21, 2024 in Nashville.

Tibrina Hobson/Getty

The 17th ACM Honors airs at 9:00 PM ET/8:00 PM CT Tuesday on Merit Street. To access the network, enter your zip code at www.meritstreetmedia.com. You can find Merit Street on DirecTV, Dish, U-Verse, Samsung TV Plus and additional television, cable and satellite channels. The free Merit+ streaming app is also available for download on iPhone and Android mobile devices, Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV and Roku.

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Source: HIS Education