First Round of Performers Announced for the 53rd Annual ACM Awards

The Academy of Country Music® announced the first group of performers for the 53RD ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS™. ACM® Award nominees Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, and Thomas Rhett will take the stage for must-see performances.

Bebe Rexha will make her debut appearance at Country Music’s Party of the Year®, performing the chart-topping collaboration “Meant to Be” with Florida Georgia Line. The 53rd ACM Awards® will broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 15, 2018 at 8:00 PM ET/PT on the CBS Television Network.

As previously announced, multimedia superstar Reba McEntire will return to host the 53rd ACM Awards, which honors and showcases the biggest names and emerging talent in country music, and is produced for television by dick clark productions. This year’s show will mark Reba’s fifteenth time hosting the ceremony. She last co-hosted the ceremony with Blake Shelton in 2012.

Additional acts and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks. For event updates, tickets and hotel information, please visit www.ACMcountry.com.

Dan + Shay Deliver Picturesque Music Video for “Tequila”

Hit country duo Dan + Shay (Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney) travel to the mountains of Colorado in the cinematic new music video for their reflective single “Tequila.”

Conceptualized by Smyers alongside director Patrick Tracy, the film-like video for “Tequila” was shot in the mountains of Breckenridge, CO and explores a whirlwind romance between stars Nyle DiMarco and Mica Von Turkovich. Noted deaf activist and model DiMarco brought his own unique experience to the project, allowing for a visual exploration into the depths of communication within a relationship.

“Working with Nyle was truly an honor,” said Smyers. “He was an absolute pro, on and off camera, and just a rad guy to hang out with. After the video wrapped, we got to hit the town of Breckenridge together along with his awesome co-star Mica. We are so inspired by Nyle’s advocacy to improve accommodations for the deaf community, and we hope that the ‘Tequila’ video will serve as another platform for him to do just that.”

Introduced by the title host herself as the “biggest duo in country music,” Dan + Shay performed “Tequila” last week on Ellen – just hours after receiving their fifth consecutive nomination for ACM Vocal Duo of the Year. Released only six weeks ago, “Tequila” is already nearing 20 million on-demand streams and has moved into the Top 40 at country radio. The “ambitious” and “multilayered” (Billboard) single has become a staple on SiriusXM’s The Highway, where it has been the No. 1 most played song for five weeks in a row.

Fans and critics nationally and abroad are taking notice – after reaching No. 4 in Australia and topping the iTunes Country Charts in the U.S., U.K. and Ireland upon its debut, outlets including Entertainment Focus applauded the “emotional ballad” with its “fresh spin.” Described as an “aching, reflective heartbreak tune” with “unreal” vocals (One Country), “Tequila” is currently featured on Spotify playlists spanning the globe, including Nashville’s Worldwide Hot 50 and Hot Country.

Dan + Shay are in the studio working on their highly-anticipated third studio album, expected for release later this year. Fans can catch the duo live this summer as they join Rascal Flatts on their Back To Us Tour.

Delta Rae Shares Details About Their Ryman Auditorium Experience Opening for Chris Janson

Valory Records recording artists Delta Rae took to the iconic Ryman Stage for an unforgettable evening last month during Country Radio Seminar. The group shared with us details about their experience as they opened for Chris Janson at the Mother Church of Country Music. It was not only a memorable evening for them, but for Chris Janson as well as he was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Check out Delta Rae recapping the evening below, or click here.

Delta Rae’s current EP, The Blackbird Sessions, is available now and features their latest single, No Peace In Quiet. Grab your copy on iTunes here.

Jon Pardi To Make Debut Performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

ACM Awards nominee Jon Pardi will make his debut performance on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” tonight, Tuesday, March 6. Pardi’s GOLD-certified album California Sunrise is nominated for ACM Awards Album Of The Year and highlights him as the artist, co-producer and songwriter on several of the tracks. Tune in to watch a special performance of his current single “She Ain’t In It” and his #1 hit “Heartache On The Dance Floor” on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Tuesday, March 6th at 10:35 CST or check local listings for air-times.

“She Ain’t In It” follows three consecutive #1 hits including “Dirt On My Boots,” Platinum-selling “Head Over Boots” and “Heartache On The Dance Floor.” The song about long-lost love was written by Clint Daniels and Wynn Varble. Billboard called it “…a stone-cold weeper that would make George Strait nod with approval.” Directed by Jim Wright, the song’s cinematic music video was filmed entirely in black-and-white and debuted exclusively on Entertainment Tonight. View it HERE.

The reigning CMA New Artist Of The Year and ACM New Male Vocalist is performing nationwide with Miranda Lambert’s Livin Like Hippies Tour and will join Luke Bryan’s What Makes You Country Tour this summer. Pardi was nominated for iHeartRadio Music Awards Country Song Of The Year (“Dirt On My Boots”) and was also nominated for Best New Country Artist. Most recently, he was featured in two large-event TV commercials including Michelob ULTRA’s “I Like Beer” campaign, which aired during the Super Bowl and the “truth” campaign, which aired during the Grammy Awards.

Ryan Kinder Goes Back To His Roots with New Single “Leap Of Faith”

With unbreakable concentration and masterful guitar skills, Warner Bros./Warner Music Nashville artist RYAN KINDER delivers his latest offering, “Leap of Faith” with a mesmerizing visual and an audio accompaniment available at all digital retailers.

Written by Kinder along with Fred Wilhelm and Luke Sheets, “Leap of Faith” features his now-signature intricate guitar licks and introspective lyrics. Flexing his string expertise, Kinder supplies electric guitar, acoustic guitar and resonator guitar contributions in addition to his gritty vocals. Frequent collaborators Kristen Rogers and April Rucker offer their backing vocals throughout “Leap of Faith.”

Earning a coveted spot on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist, the Birmingham, AL native’s latest track has been a staple in his live show and was only recently recorded in the studio. Kinder explains, “With ‘Leap of Faith,’ I’ve had the chance to live with it, rework it, go back to the original version, play with 1,000 different solos and test it out with my fans. I dug through the catalog and found what made me fall in love with songwriting. I got to go back to my roots with this song and it rocked.”

His latest offering drives home Billboard’s assertion that he is “a singer-songwriter with an intense, urgent vocal style.” The accompanying video – filmed at The Foundry in Athens, GA – was directed by Justin Key and highlights Kinder’s musicianship. With the sun soaking through the windows, the majority of the video captures the singer-songwriter in his prime before opening to a full band performance in the unique space. The style echoes his previous hits “Close,” which has amassed over 30 million streams on Spotify alone, and the heartwarming “Still Believe in Crazy Love.”

As People notes, “Ryan Kinder is making a name for himself in Nashville” and the singer-songwriter will propel that momentum as he performs overseas later this month at C2C Festival in London and Glasgow before heading to Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.

For the latest updates, visit www.RyanKinder.com.