Oh what a night it was!
Las Vegas went country this evening for the 51st Academy of Country Music Awards. Held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the biggest names in country music were in their finest clothes to celebrate each other’s talent.
Country Music’s Biggest Party kicked off with a performance from Blake Shelton. Although Blake Shelton was not quite ready to give up his ACM Awards hosting gig yet, he passed the reins to Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley.
The night lead to stellar performances from Old Dominion and Kenny Chesney leaving the crowd ready and roaring for the rest of the evening. The first duet of the night was Chris Young and Cassadee Pope singing Think of You; let us tell you, it did not disappoint.
Chris Young & Cassadee Pope – Photo Courtesy of Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America
Eric Church hit the stage with a tribute to David Bowie, Scott Weiland, Glenn Frey & Lemmy Kilmister, which left everyone feeling nostalgic. Dierks Bentley lightened the mood with a performance of his hit song Somewhere on a Beach which was closely followed by a performance from his tourmate Cam.
Cam – Photo Courtesy of Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America
Jason Aldean rocked the house with his latest single Lights Come On. Garth Brooks joined the festivities via webcam in order to present Chris Stapleton with the Album of the Year award. The tears really began to flow during Cole Swindell’s performance of You Should Be Here, a song dedicated to Swindell’s father, but the mood picked right back up with Brett Eldredge’s performance of Drunk on your Love. Eldredge even gave a member of the crowd flowers! She’s probably drunk on his love now.
Cole Swindell – Photo Courtesy of Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America
Prior to Keith Urban’s performance, host, Luke Bryan, poked fun at Urban in regards how many awards he has won. Urban fired up the crowd with his performance of Wasted Time; this performance happened to come with a lot of pyrotechnics. Coming after was Trombone Shorty joining Little Big Town on stage in order to bring some funk to the evening.
Kimberly Schlapman (Little Big Town) & Trombone Shorty – Photo Courtesy of Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America
The next performance was the long-awaited duet of Kelsea Ballerini and Nick Jonas. The duo performed a mashup of Love Me Like You Mean It and Peter Pan that left the crowd wanting more. Next up was Tim McGraw with the television debut of his smash hit Humble and Kind; the entire crowd was rocking light-up bracelets that were programmed to match the song.
Kelsea Ballerini & Nick Jonas – Photo Courtesy of Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America
New dad, Charles Kelley then hit the stage to perform Lonely Girl off his solo album. We may miss Lady Antebellum, but we are loving Kelley’s solo music!
Charles Kelley – Photo Courtesy of Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America
Carrie Underwood finally graced us with her presence in order to perform her latest single Church Bells for the first time on television. The performance was nothing shy of fierce! Sam Hunt hit the stage next looking like an angel wearing all white hiding his new hairdo. Next up was Thomas Rhett who absolutely nailed his performance. Meanwhile, his wife was watching with pride and tears in her eyes; talk about marriage goals.
Carrie Underwood – Photo Courtesy of Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America
Female Vocalist of The Year, Miranda Lambert was joined by Keith Urban and Billy Gibbons in order to cover Tush by ZZ Top. This trio rocked the stage and got everyone dancing.
Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert & Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) – Photo Courtesy of Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America
After paying tribute to Dolly Parton, it was finally time for the highly-anticipated Katy Perry & Parton performance. This once in a lifetime performance is something that everyone watching will remember for the rest of their lives.
Dolly Parton & Katy Perry – Photo Courtesy of Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America
Everyone’s favorite vocal duo, Florida Georgia Line, brought viewers to the woods during their live performance of Confession. To wrap up the night, the man of many awards himself, Chris Stapleton, finally gave us the pleasure of watching him live. Stapleton was joined by his wife, Morgane.
Chris & Morgane Stapleton – Photo Courtesy of Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America
The night wraps up with the Entertainer of the Year award, which went to Jason Aldean!
Jason Aldean – Photo Courtesy of Ethan Miller/Getty Images North America
There you have it, a full recap of this year’s ACM Awards! In order to check out all of the ACM Awards Red Carpet appearances, check out our recap here. You can also find a complete list of the winners of an ACM Award here.
What was your favorite performance or moment of the ACM Awards? Tweet us and let us know! Until next year, ACM Awards!
