Megan Moroney won’t be in attendance for what could be a very exciting and award winning night for the female country star. The ACM Awards return to Las Vegas, Nevada tonight to shine a spotlight on country music. The event is taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and the great Shania Twain will be hosting the 61st edition of the ACM Awards. Most of the biggest and brightest stars of the genre will be there… but the “Cloud 9” singer was unfortunately double booked. Which is a real shame, because Moroney is the most nominated artist at the 2026 ACM Awards. She had a total of 9 nominations (Miranda Lambert has the second highest with 8), which included: -Entertainer of the Year -Female Artist of the Year -Artist-Songwriter of the Year -Song of the Year – “Am I Okay?” -Single of the Year – “6 Months Later” -Music Event of the Year – “You Had To Be There” with Kenny Chesney -Visual Media of the Year – “6 Months Later” Artist-Songwriter of the Year has already been announced. It went to Ella Langley, and she won over an impressive group of artists that also included Luke Combs, Riley Green, and Morgan Wallen. Visual Media also went to Stephen Wilson Jr. for “Cuckoo” But even with 8 other awards up for grabs, Megan Moroney won’t be at the 2026 ACM Awards. She confirmed that she would be missing out on the night through her Instagram story earlier today, sharing that she’s currently out of the United States at her best friend’s wedding: “I’m so honored to be nominated tonight at ACM Awards and I’m rooting on all my friends from afar! I’m out of the country this week on Maid of Honor duty to get my bestie, Natalie King, married. I love you guys and can’t wait to see y’all in Columbus. Counting down the days!” Guess Moroney’s bestie didn’t check the ACM Awards calendar, eh? It’s weird that the night’s most nominated artist won’t be in attendance, but as they say, the show must go on. And honestly, anything can happen, but I think it’ll b pretty hard for her to do some serious damage tonight. Entertainer of the Year isn’t gonna happen yet, Ella seems like a lock for Female Artist, and maybe even both Song and Single of the Year… she has a real chance of going home completely empty-handed. The 2026 ACM Awards will stream live on Prime Video starting at 8 P.M EST. It will also be broadcasted through the Amazon Music Twitch channel. If you or anyone you know want to see Shania Twain host her first ever Academy of Country Music Awards, and also catch all of the performances from country music stars like Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley, Zach Top, Lainey Wilson, Riley Green, Red Clay Strays and many more, you’ll want to make sure to head over to Amazon’s Prime Video later tonight. Double check the 2026 ACM Award Nominees while you are here: Entertainer of the Year Luke Combs Jelly Roll Cody Johnson Megan Moroney Chris Stapleton Morgan Wallen Lainey Wilson Female Artist of the Year Kelsea Ballerini Miranda Lambert Ella Langley Megan Moroney Lainey Wilson Male Artist of the Year Luke Combs Riley Green Cody Johnson Chris Stapleton Zach Top Group of the Year 49 Winchester Flatland Cavalry Old Dominion Rascal Flatts The Red Clay Strays Duo of the Year Brooks & Dunn Brothers Osborne Dan + Shay Muscadine Bloodline Thelma & James Album of the Year [Awarded to artist(s)/producer(s)/record Company–label(s)] Ain’t In It For My Health – Zach Top; Producer: Carson Chamberlain; Record Company-Label: Leo33 Cherry Valley – Carter Faith; Producer: Tofer Brown; Record Company-Label: Gatsby Records / MCA Don’t Mind If I Do (Deluxe) – Riley Green; Producers: Dann Huff, Michael Knox; Record Company-Label: Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment I’m The Problem – Morgan Wallen; Producers: Joey Moi, Charlie Handsome, Jacob Durrett; Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records Parker McCollum – Parker McCollum; Producers: Frank Liddell, Eric Masse; Record Company-Label: MCA Song of the Year “A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton; Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Jenee Fleenor, Jesse Frasure “Am I Okay?” – Megan Moroney; Songwriters: Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, Jessie Jo Dillon “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley; Songwriters: Ella Langley, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Joybeth Taylor “I Never Lie” – Zach Top; Songwriters: Zach Top, Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols “Somewhere Over Laredo – Lainey Wilson; Songwriters: Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Andy Albert, Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg Single of the Year “6 Months Later” – Megan Moroney “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley “I Never Lie” – Zach Top “Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson “The Fall” – Cody Johnson Visual Media of the Year “6 Months Later” – Megan Moroney “A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton “Cuckoo” -Stephen Wilson, Jr. “Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson “The Fall” – Cody Johnson Music Event of the Year “A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton “Amen” – Shaboozey & Jelly Roll “Don’t Mind If I Do” – Riley Green feat. Ella Langley “Trailblazer” – Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson “You Had To Be There” – Megan Moroney & Kenny Chesney Songwriter of the Year Jessie Jo Dillon Ashley Gorley Charlie Handsome Chase McGill Blake Pendergrass New Male Artist of the Year Gavin Adcock Vincent Mason Shaboozey Hudson Westbrook Tucker Wetmore New Female Artist of the Year Avery Anna Mackenzie Carpenter Dasha Caroline Jones Emily Ann Roberts Artist-Songwriter of the Year Luke Combs Riley Green Ella Langley – Won Megan Moroney Morgan WallenThe post Why Megan Moroney, The Most Nominated Artist At The 2026 ACM Awards, Won’t Even Be There first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

You may not recognize the name yet, but you’ve probably heard her voice. The 61st Annual ACM Awards kick off tonight at 8 PM eastern live from Las Vegas, and there are a lot of familiar names leading the way when it comes to the nominees. Megan Moroney leads the way with nine nominations, the most of any artist, with Miranda Lambert close behind with eight and Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson tied with seven each. When the nominations were announced though, there was one name in particular that it seems many weren’t as familiar with. Thelma & James received their first-ever ACM nomination for Duo of the Year, alongside Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne, Muscadine Bloodline and Dan + Shay. And while you probably know the other four, you may not be as familiar with Thelma & James – although one half of the duo has a hit song you’ve probably already heard. The duo is made up of husband and wife MacKenzie Porter and Jake Etheridge. And if Porter’s name sounds familiar, it’s because she’s also a solo artist signed to Big Loud who released her debut album with the label back in 2024. A native of Canada, Porter had limited success with the album in the United States, but she released five singles that made the charts in her home country, and her debut single “Pickup” even topped the Billboard Canada chart back in 2022. Altogether, Porter has racked up four #1 hits in Canada, including three from her 2020 EP Drinkin’ Songs: The Collection. Her biggest success in the United States, though, came when Porter joined Dustin Lynch for his 2021 single “Thinking ‘Bout You.” The song was originally recorded as a duet with Lauren Alaina for Lynch’s 2020 album Tullahoma, but when it came time to release it as a single, Alaina had just recently released her then-current single “Getting Over Him,” which was a duet with Jon Pardi. Because her label wasn’t sure about having two duets on the radio at the same time, Dustin decided to re-record the song with a new female partner, and held a blind audition for his new duet partner. Well Lynch ended up selecting Porter’s version, without even knowing who she was at the time, and the song ended up reading #2 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. And it may have also helped him up north to have Porter on the song, which also hit #2 on the Canada Country chart. In December of 2024, Porter (who is also an actress with an extensive resumé) had recently split with her longtime manager, and sat down to write a song with her husband, Jake Etheridge. Porter says that because she didn’t have a manager, it allowed them to drop the song called “Happily Ever After You” right away, which quickly led to a record deal for the duo: “For the first time, I didn’t have a manager, so we posted it online. I didn’t have to worry, ‘Is this on brand?’ or ‘Is this part of our strategy?” We just put it up. And literally three days later, we were signing a record deal together.” The couple have been together for 12 years, but only recently started creating music together as a duo. But they’re already seeing success as Thelma & James, having racked up 15 million streams on Spotify for their debut single and scored a spot opening for Luke Combs on his My Kinda Saturday Night stadium tour. So where did the name Thelma & James come from? Well Thelma is Porter’s middle name, and was also her grandmother’s name. And James is Etheridge’s legal first name, and just happened to be his grandfather’s name. The duo released their first album, an 8-song project called Starting Over, back in September 2025. And their latest release, a single called “Alternate Ending,” was released just last month. It’s been a quick rise for the duo who went from writing and releasing their first song to being nominated alongside Brooks & Dunn for an ACM Award in just a year and a half. And there’s no doubt that they’re probably longshots to win tonight. But it’s clear that they’ve found some momentum together, so I wouldn’t be surprised to hear much more from them in the future. The post Who Are ACM Duo of the Year Nominees Thelma & James? One Half Of The Duo Had A Hit Song You Probably Already Know first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Ok, that’s pretty funny. Morgan Wallen was at The Swamp in Gainesville, Florida last night for the second of two stops on his massive Still the Problem stadium tour. The tour features a rotating cast of openers including Brooks & Dunn, HARDY, Ella Langley, Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Flatland Cavalry, Hudson Westbrook, Zach John King, Vincent Mason, and more. And last night at The Swamp, it was Gavin and Zach John King who not only opened the show, but joined Morgan onstage for a performance of “Up Down,” the song from his 2018 debut album “If I Know Me” that was originally recorded as a collab with Florida Georgia Line. Well if you know anything about Gavin Adcock, he’s pretty rowdy and likes to have a good time. So last night, he decided to pull a little prank on Morgan when he came out on stage – by bringing a folding chair with him and offering it to the headliner. Obviously the folding chair was a reference to Morgan’s infamous incident from 2023, when he was arrested for throwing a chair off the rooftop of Eric Church’s downtown Nashville bar, Chief’s. And Morgan clearly found Gavin’s joke hilarious, even jokingly picking up the chair to throw at him as the three ran around on stage. @tippers86 Gavin Adcock brings Morgan Wallen a chair #gavinadcock #morganwallen #gainesville #country #zachking ♬ original sound – Tiffany Good stuff. Clearly these guys have zero fun on tour together. @alex_pistorio Literally dying #gavinadcock #morganwallen #morganwallentiktok #morganwallengainesvillefl ♬ original sound – alex_pistorio Of course one thing that everyone watches for during his shows is who walks out with Morgan during his now-famous “Broadway Girls” intro. So far on this tour he’s been accompanied by Caitlin Clark in Indianapolis, legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa, and Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer in Minneapolis. On night one in Gainesville, Morgan got the crowd fired up with an appearance from Heisman-trophy winning Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow. Tebow Time. Legendary Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow walks out with Morgan Wallen for night 1 at the Swamp.pic.twitter.com/scLaeFmYZ0 — Whiskey Riff (@WhiskeyRiff) May 16, 2026 (As a Tennessee Volunteers fan though, Morgan refused to do the “Gator chomp” with Tebow). And last night, he was joined by legendary Gators coach Steve Spurrier, who won the national championship in Gainesville back in 1996. National championship-winning Florida Gators coach Steve Spurrier walks out with Morgan Wallen on night 2 in Gainesville. pic.twitter.com/6BZAwQPofJ — Whiskey Riff (@WhiskeyRiff) May 17, 2026 Say what you want about Morgan, but he knows how to fire up a crowd. ‘Still The Problem’ Tour Dates May 29 || Denver, Colo. || Empower Field at Mile High w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason May 30 || Denver, Colo. || Empower Field at Mile High w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason June 5 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || Acrisure Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 6 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || Acrisure Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 19 || Chicago, Ill. || Soldier Field w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 20 || Chicago, Ill. || Soldier Field w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 26 || Clemson, SC. || Clemson Memorial Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat June 27 || Clemson, SC. || Clemson Memorial Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 17 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 18 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 24 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten July 25 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ HARDY, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten July 31 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ ​​Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten August 1 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ Ella Langley, Hudson Westbrook, Blake WhitenThe post Gavin Adcock Hilariously Pranks Morgan Wallen With A Folding Chair In Gainesville first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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'I called my manager and said, 'Oh, sorry for everything.' Because now I know what it's like because it's exactly like looking in the mirror,'' Lambert says. Continue reading…