Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton to host 2023 ACM Awards
Garth Brooks has won more than 20 trophies from the Academy of Country Music, but he’s never hosted the awards show. Until now.
Brooks is set to host the 58th ACM Awards on May 11, with another superstar at his side: Dolly Parton. The ceremony, which starts at 7 p.m. CT, will stream on Prime Video from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. (The ceremony will stream the next day for free on Amazon Freevee.)
It’s the second year in a row for Parton as the ACM host, but will mark the first time Brooks has helmed any awards ceremony, according to a publicist for the event. For the 2022 ceremony, Parton was joined by co-hosts Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett.
The show’s producer, Dick Clark Productions, announced the new hosts on Wednesday, along with the academy and Prime Video. Nominees, performers and presenters will be announced in the weeks to come.
“I am thrilled to return to host the ACM Awards, this time with my friend Garth,” Parton said via a press release. “While I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with him throughout the years, I can’t believe we’ve never had the chance to work together.”
“Anyone with Dolly Parton makes a fantastic couple,” Brooks said in the release.
Brooks, 61, and Parton, 77, are household names in the entertainment world and both artists have a long list of award nominations and wins.
Organizers for the ACM Awards are touting a couple of new projects from the stars: a residency for Brooks at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas; and a double album, “Rock Star,” from Parton, featuring celebrities such as Paul McCartney, Elton John and Miley Cyrus.
Brooks, a favorite in Alabama, made his last appearance here in June 2022, as the first act to headline Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham. Parton hasn’t played Birmingham since 2005, but she’s hugely popular here and Gov. Kay Ivey has said Alabama will establish Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library network throughout the state. (The program mails free books to kids, from birth to age 5.)
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