The Academy of Country Music® revealed the winners of the new artist categories for the 54TH ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS™, Country Music’s Party of the Year®. Luke Combs, LANCO and Ashley McBryde have been named New Male Artist of the Year, New Group of the Year and New Female Artist of the Year, respectively.
The winners each received a surprise phone call from 14-time ACM Award® winner, two-time ACM Entertainer of the Year and current ACM Award nominee Carrie Underwood, who won the 2005 New Female Vocalist category at the 2006 ACM Awards.
These awards mark the first-ever ACM Award wins for Combs, LANCO and McBryde. All three artists are also nominated in the Male Artist of the Year, Group of the Year and Female Artist of the Year categories, respectively.
Carrie Underwood and each of the new artist winners Luke Combs, LANCO and Ashley McBryde will all perform on the show, joining previously announced ACM Awards performers including Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Brandi Carlile, Eric Church, Kelly Clarkson, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Reba McEntire, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton and George Strait along with ACM Dick Clark Artist of the Decade Award honoree Jason Aldean.
The awards telecast, hosted by Reba McEntire, will air LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 8:00 PM ET / delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.
Double-PLATINUM Country band and Arista Nashville hit makers LANCO return with a blast of rafter-shaking energy today, dropping the fist-pumping, outsiders anthem “Rival.” A rowdy, other-side-of-the-tracks tribute to forgetting the haters and standing your ground, “Rival” represents “the next step” in LANCO’s evolution and the first taste of the chart-topping band’s upcoming second album.
Fans can listen to “Rival” at all digital retailers here.
Pounding beats and organic undertones create a unique, tough as nails sonic mix, while anthemic gang vocals join quirky electro-country flourishes, banjo and guitar shredding. Produced once again by Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Brothers Osborne), frontman Brandon Lancaster and drummer Tripp Howell teamed up for the co-write. It was built from an off-kilter groove that Howell took to Lancaster after a show one night. The two instantly wrote the track on the back of their tour bus, and it continued to find life with the rest of the band as they worked it up during soundcheck in the following days. “There’s so much pressure to be like someone else or to live up to some outside expectation, especially with social media and how perfect it makes everything look,” explains Lancaster. “We wrote this song from the perspective of no matter where you come from, be proud of who you are and the way you’re creating your own path. And if anyone doesn’t like it, just chalk them up as a rival and keep doing your thing.”
“We realized that everyone has faced something they have to stand up against. It isn’t about fitting into any mold, it’s about sticking up for what you believe in and having that crew of friends around that will always have your back,” Howell adds. “That’s definitely a big part of our story. We didn’t know anything or anyone when we started out trying to break into this business, and I think that underdog mentality really drove us in the beginning.”
As “the band continues to cultivate an identity as expert showmen” (Rolling Stone), they have already road-tested “Rival” at arenas across the country. To watch the immediate fan reaction, click here or watch below.
The Academy of Country Music® announced today that Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Brandi Carlile, Eric Church, Kelly Clarkson, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line and Ashley McBryde have been added to the powerful lineup of performers for the 54th ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS™, Country Music’s Party of the Year®.
The awards telecast, hosted by Reba McEntire, will air LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 8:00 PM ET / delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. Previously announced ACM Awards performers include Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Reba McEntire, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton and George Strait along with ACM Dick Clark Artist of the DecadeAward honoree Jason Aldean. Additional acts and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tickets for the ceremony are available for purchase now at www.axs.com. For more information on the ACM Awards and all ACM events including ACM Party for a Cause®, visit ACMcountry.com. Ultimate ACM Awards® VIP Experience and the Ultimate ACM Awards VIP Travel Packages are available from CID Entertainment. You can also like Academy of Country Music on Facebook or follow on Twitter and Instagram for more immediate updates.
Maren Morris’ sophomore album, GIRL, continues to make huge strides. The singer/songerwriter’s new collection of music makes streaming history!
With over 24 million streams in its first week, the album breaks the record for the largest streaming week ever for a country studio album by a woman!
Additional, the album debuts at No. 4 on the Billlboard 200 this week and tops the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and the iTunes All-Genre album chart
Hailed for his stripped-down authenticity, RCA Records Nashville artist/songwriter Ryan Hurd has added even more dates to his “To A Tour,” which has played to capacity crowds at some of the most respected music rooms in the country. Joining the tour is official beer sponsor, Corona.
Just added concert stops include Boston, MA (4/19), Jordan, NY (4/20), Grand Rapids, MI (5/16), and Rootstown, Ohio (5/17). Tickets go on sale Friday, March 15.
ET Live said of the LA opener, that Hurd “crushes his first headlining show.” Touring mainstay Pollstar’s review stated, “Not built for flash or two-dimensional bro-downs, his smaller scale works from an honest place. For people struggling to connect in a world increasingly impersonal and alienated, that smaller scale, that basic rock and plangent emotional palette are compelling.”
With career streams exceeding 100 million worldwide, Hurd has a gripping point of view and an eager audience. He recently released his endearing, love letter, “To A T,” to country radio. The song already hit No. 1 on the SiriusXM The Highway’s Hot 30 Countdown and has caught the attention of entertainment tastemakers including men’s lifestyle playbook Esquire.
Hurd co-wrote the sultry “To A T” with Laura Veltz and Nathan Spicer with attention-grabbing bass, sonic guitar work, and drop-you-in-your-tracks harmony from creative muse and wife, Maren Morris.
Hurd’s ascension seems obvious. He was named the only country artist on Sirius XM’s all-genre “Future Five” for 2019. He was tapped by AOL as one of their country artists set for a breakout year, Amazon Music’s Best of 2018, and named an Artist to Watch by VEVO, Pandora, CMT, The Huffington Post, and Rolling Stone Country, which lauded him for “generating major buzz” and “making waves.”
The praise is earned. The native of Kalamazoo, MI is one of Nashville’s most multi-dimensional young songwriters. He has had co-pen credits on some of the format’s biggest hits including “Lonely Tonight” (Blake Shelton), “You Look Good” (Lady Antebellum), and “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset” (Luke Bryan). Now with the release of his own music, fans are discovering the fuel that drives Hurd is often love with all its avatars.
Hurd recently released new music “Michigan For The Winter,” which is available on all digital retailers and streaming platforms with “To A T” and “Diamonds Or Twine.” Listen HERE.
Ryan Hurd’s “To A Tour” includes: March 21 – Gypsy Sally’s, Washington, D.C. March 22 – City Limits Saloon, Raleigh, NC April 12 – Knuckleheads Saloon, Kansas City, MO April 19 – Paradise Rock club, Boston, MA NEW April 20 – Kegs Canal Side, Jordan, NY NEW April 25 – Terminal West, Atlanta, GA April 26 – Georgia Theatre, Athens, GA May 16 – Elevation, Grand Rapids, MI NEW May 17 – Dusty Armadillo, Rootstown, Ohio NEW **Schedule is subject to change and additional dates may be added.
For more on Ryan Hurd and to catch him on tour, visit www.RyanHurd.com.
