The 46th Academy of Country Music awards, which honor and showcase big names and emerging ones in the country music industry, took to the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 3—and a swirl of related events took over town on its heels. Aptly, the special event programming was known as "The Week Vegas Goes Country."
For the second consecutive year, the Academy of Country Music partnered with the U.S.O. to bring a free, private concert to troops and their families stationed at Nellis Air Force Base just outside of Las Vegas. Luke Bryan, Brett Eldredge, Little Big Town, Blake Shelton (who was also co-host of the big award show), Sunny Sweeney, and U.S.O. Tour vets Montgomery Gentry and Craig Morgan performed. Storme Warren, host of GAC’s Headline Country, returned to M.C. the day.
The academy hosted two days of all-star concerts at the Fremont Street Experience, which offered newcomer category nominees, special guests, and headliners Ronnie Dunn and Sara Evans performing on two different stages to crowds downtown. The weekend-long party leading up to the awards was hosted by Blair Garner, and ACM Weekend on Fremont Street Experience was sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
The first-ever ACM Fan Jam and After Jam Party included performances by Sugarland and others. Also among the events was "Girls’ Night Out: Superstar Women of Country—The Concert of the Year," which taped on April 4 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, to air on April 22 on CBS. The evening honored the likes of the Judds, Martina McBride, and Carrie Underwood.
Dick Clark Productions produced the main show for television, and Orly Adelson and R.A. Clark were executive producers. Barry Adelman was producer, and Bob Bardo the executive in charge of production. Bob Romeo was executive producer for the academy.
