Well, at least two of the performances won’t suck. This morning, the first group of ACM performers were announced for the awards show that’s returning to Texas this year with Miss Reba McEntire also returning as host of the ACM Awards. The first round of performers includes Eric Church, Lainey Wilson and Blake Shelton will take the stage at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco on May 8th, 2025. While we all know these shows are usually nothing to write home about, I’m assuming they’ll pull out some extra stops since this is a special edition of the ACM Awards with the show celebrating its 60th anniversary. Eric is of course gearing up to put out his next project Evangeline Vs. The Machine, and Lainey is the reigning Entertainer of the Year. We don’t have a ton of further information on performers and nominees yet, but the nominations will be announced on Thursday, March 27th, 2025. More performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Eric Church (@ericchurchmusic) For the most part, in the day and age of streaming, I don’t think most country fans, or music fans in general, really care all that much about award shows, as is evidenced by the fact that this show now streams on Amazon rather than airing on a major TV network, but there were a few neat moments last year. I think Reba’s a good host, and she performed a tribute to the late Dickey Betts, the former Allman Brothers Band guitarist, with Post Malone singing a duet of “Ramblin’ Man.” He played a big role in the popularization of country music, so it was only right that he too got a tribute during the show: @reeves.jpg Post Malone and Reba McEntire sing Ramblin’ Man tribute to Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers at the ACM Awards #postmalone #rebamcentire @Post Malone @Reba McEntire ♬ original sound – reeves.jpg But the best part of that happened offstage, in a moment that was shared on a Post Malone fan account where you see Post strumming his acoustic guitar as they harmonize together and discuss the plan, and he seems really excited about it at the end letting out a “f*ck yeah,” though he quickly realized he cussed in front of the country legend herself and quickly apologized and corrected himself: “And then I’ll rip the solo on it… okay, yeah. F*ck yeah. I mean hell yeah, sorry .” Actually, I’m pretty sure he said “sorry miss,” and it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen… just precious. He also pats Reba on the shoulder when he says it, and I need more guys to take notes because this is the most gentlemanly thing I’ve seen in quite a while (is that sad? Probably…): View this post on Instagram A post shared by Extra Posty (@extraposty) Is that worth sitting through the rest of the show where many artists I honestly don’t care about get awards that really don’t mean much in the grand scheme of a truly successful music career? No, but I’m sure Lainey and Eric will at least put on some noteworthy performances. Eric most recently released the second single from his aforementioned project “Hands Of Time,” which you can listen to below. “Hands Of Time” The post Eric Church And Lainey Wilson Announced As First Performers For 60th Anniversary ACM Awards first appeared on Whiskey Riff.