It was a muggy 95-degrees in Nashville yesterday (Aug. 30), but it was even hotter in the Ryman Auditorium last night for the 10th annual ACM Honors. Seriously, the Mother Church needs a new AC, but that didn’t stop the capacity crowd from enjoying a bevy of performances from country music’s biggest stars as they took the stage to pay tribute to the night’s honorees.
The five standout performances of the evening included ditties from a handful of country’s most talented ladies—and one pop/R&B star—as well as an all-star medley from four of country’s top crooners.
Top 5 Performances
5. Maren Morris’s cover of “Delta Dawn” in honor of Tanya Tucker
4. Cam and Alicia Keys teaming up for “Girl Crush” in honor of Little Big Town
3. Kelsea Ballerini’s “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” in honor of Crystal Gayle
2. Miranda Lambert’s performance of “Misery & Gin” before she was presented with the inaugural Merle Haggard Spirit Award
1.All-Star Medley Tribute to Glen Campbell
In a special moment that concluded the show, Blake Shelton, Toby Keith, Keith Urban and Dierks Bentley performed an all-star medley in a tribute to Glen Campbell that featured “Southern Nights,” “Gentle on My Mind,” “Wichita Linemen,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” and the iconic “Rhinestone Cowboy.”
Other performances included Dierks Bentley’s “Freedom” in honor of Ross Copperman; Luke Bryan and Cole Swindell’s “I Love a Rainy Night” in tribute to Eddie Rabbitt; Chris Young and Dan + Shay’s “Flowers on the Wall” in honor of the Statler Brothers; and The Band Perry’s performance of “MacArthur Park” in honor of Jimmy Webb.
To see which performances make the two-hour ACM Honors television special, tune in to the CBS Network on Friday, Sept. 9, at 9 p.m. ET.
