Giddyap! The 61st Academy of Country Music Awards are almost here. The annual affair, which takes place Sunday, May 17, in Las Vegas, brings together the brightest stars in country music, from up-and-coming artists to some of the genre’s most beloved names.
This year’s awards show features an impressive roster of country music artists. Megan Moroney, Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson are among the evening’s top nominees, and Kacey Musgraves, Thomas Rhett and Little Big Town are just a few of the artists that are slated to perform. As for who’s hosting the coveted country affair? Well, that would be none other than Shania Twain, who is releasing her new song, “Dirty Rosie,” on Wednesday.
“This is fun to me,” Twain recently told ABC. “Hosting the ACMs is a chance to go celebrate all of the other artists, meet the new artists, the up-and-coming artists, [to] celebrate a lot of the artists that have been rockin’ it the last several years that I have not been around much, to say ‘congratulations’ and ‘way to go’ and all that kinda stuff.”
She added, “For me, it is a chance to reconnect with my favorite genre, which is my root music, country, and do my best job representing my genre.”
Below, Yahoo rounded up everything there is to know about this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards, from the evening’s full roster of performers and nominees to who Twain is most excited to meet.
Back to Sin City
For the last three years, the ACM Awards have been held at the Star in Frisco, Texas. But after its contract expired last year, the awards show is officially headed back to its longtime home of Las Vegas, where it will stream live from the famed MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The ACM Awards kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday and will be available to stream on Prime Video and Twitch.
Who Shania Twain is most excited to meet
Langley performs at the 2026 Billboard Women in Music event.
(Rich Polk via Getty Images)
How do you know that you’re rising in the ranks of country music superstardom? When Shania Twain says she’s excited to meet you. During an appearance on the Today show earlier this month, Twain dished on all things ACM Awards, including her excitement to meet Ella Langley.
“When I first heard her song come out, I thought, ‘Wow, this is the real thing,’” Twain said of Langley. “I realized how much I had been missing hearing that authenticity. Musically, production-wise, her voice, her lyrics. So I’m very excited to meet her. I want to know more about where this style came from. Obviously, must have been rooted in something from her childhood, which is really, really great. So I’m excited to meet her.”
Twain has every reason to be excited for Sunday night’s awards show. In addition to meeting an up-and-coming female country star like Langley, the “That Don’t Impress Me Much” hitmaker is reaching a career milestone of her own. This year marks Twain’s first time hosting the Academy of Country Music Awards. The Canadian superstar has won three ACM awards throughout her career: Top New Female Vocalist and Album of the Year for The Woman in Me in 1996 and Entertainer of the Year in 2000. Twain was also given the Double-Diamond Award in 1999 and the ACM Poet’s Award in 2022.
Women lead this year’s crop of nominees
Moroney performs on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on March 4.
(NBC via Getty Images)
The 61st Academy of Country Music Awards will be a female-led affair. Leading this year’s nominees is Megan Moroney, who is up for nine awards on Sunday, including Female Artist of the Year and her first-ever nominations for Entertainer of the Year and Artist-Songwriter of the Year.
Miranda Lambert, the most decorated artist in ACM history, is in second place with eight nominations, while Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson follow close behind with seven nominations apiece. Langley is the reigning ACM New Female Artist of the Year, while Wilson is the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year.
See the full list of nominees here.
Kacey Musgraves to bring ‘Middle of Nowhere’ to Vegas
Kacey Musgraves performs at Nashville Palace on April 29.
(Jason Kempin via Getty Images)
Country music aficionados can expect a star-studded roster of performances at this Sunday’s awards show. Among the evening’s most highly anticipated is first-time ACM performer Kacey Musgraves, who will perform a track from her newly released album, Middle of Nowhere.
Musgraves also famously squashed some long-speculated beef with fellow 2026 ACM Awards performer Lambert, with whom she collaborated on the new duet “Horses and Divorces.”
More female country music stars, including nominees Langley and Wilson, are set to serenade audiences at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, along with male artists including Blake Shelton, Dan + Shay, Kane Brown, Thomas Rhett, Tucker Wetmore and Cody Johnson.
Check out the full list of 2026 ACM performers here.