The Academy of Country Music has announced some planned performances for the 56th ACM Awards hosted by Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton on Sunday, April 18.

This year’s show will take place at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House and the Ryman Auditorium, with performances at the Station Inn, Bridge Building, and Broadway.

Performances for this year’s award show include collaborations with Elle King and Miranda Lambert opening up the show with “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home);” Dierks Bentley performing U2’s classic “Pride (In The Name of Love)” with husband and wife duo The War and Treaty; Miranda Lambert with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall (“In His Arms”); Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd (“Chasing After You”); Chris Young and Kane Brown (“Famous Friends”); Carly Pearce and Lee Brice duetting on “I Hope You’re Happy Now”; Carrie Underwood performing a medley from her new album of gospel hymns, My Savior, which will also feature a duet with CeCe Winans; and Kelsea Ballerini and Kenny Chesney performing together for “Half Of My Hometown.”

Other performances include Brothers Osborne (“I’m Not For Everyone”); Kenny Chesney (“Knowing You”); Eric Church (“Bunch Of Nothing”); Luke Combs (“Forever After All”); Dan + Shay (“Glad You Exist”); Mickey Guyton (“Hold On”); Alan Jackson with “You’ll Always Be My Baby” and a special mashup for “Drive (For Daddy Gene);” Thomas Rhett premiering “What’s Your Country Song” and “Country Again;” Blake Shelton celebrating the 20th anniversary of his first hit single “Austin” as well as “Minimum Wage:” and Chris Stapleton (“Maggie’s Song”).

It was also announced that Lady A will join the lineup in addition to recently revealed New Male Artist of the Year, Jimmie Allen, and New Female Artist of the Year, Gabby Barrett, who will all perform on this year’s show. Previously announced performers include, Little Big Town, Ashley McBryde, and Keith Urban. Additional details on these performances, this year’s presenters, and more will be announced in the coming days.

The ACM Awards show will broadcast live on Sunday, April 18 at 7 p.m. CST on CBS, and will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

Gabby Barrett. Photo: Robby Klein

Warner Music Nashville’s Gabby Barrett has scored her second consecutive No. 1 country hit with “The Good Ones.”

The ACM New Female Artist of the Year‘s Platinum-certified single marks the first time in five years a solo female artist has sent her first two radio singles to the top of Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. “The Good Ones” also hit No. 1 on MusicRow‘s CountryBreakout Radio Chart on March 19. The hit, written by Barrett with Zach Kale, Emily Landis and Jim McCormick, has tallied more than 245 million global streams rising to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart last week.

Barrett’s debut single “I Hope” has been Platinum-certified five times and earned her a nomination for Single of the Year at the 56th ACM Awards. She is set to perform at Sunday night’s award show which airs on CBS at 7 p.m. CST.

Carrie Wilkins. Photo: Ed Rode

Endurance Music Group announced that Carrie Wilkins has been named as Vice President of Administration for their administration division, Amplified Administration.

Wilkins will oversee all aspects of royalty collection, processing and distribution for the company’s clients and will report directly to EMG’s Senior Vice President Mark Ahlberg.

“Carrie’s dedication to the craft of royalty administration is second to none,” says Ahlberg. “Her expertise in the field speaks for itself, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to utilize her talents to benefit the EMG roster of songwriters, our present and future catalog, and our growing list of independent publisher, artist, and distributor clients. We’re excited to welcome Carrie to the Endurance family and confident she’ll be an incredible asset to our team.”

Wilkins, a graduate of Belmont University’s music business program, has spent more than 25 years in royalty tracking, collecting, and auditing. Most recently, she held the role of Head of Royalty Administration at HoriPro Entertainment Group/Mojo Music & Media, where she and her team utilized state of the art royalty software to provide fast and accurate payments to the company’s clients.

Reach Wilkins at [email protected].

Circle announced today (April 13) that they will be ringing in the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards with a special collection of programming leading up to the live award show.

ACM Awards Circle will kick off their 16 hours of programming at 10 a.m. CST on Saturday, April 17, during which past and present ACM Award winners and nominees will be highlighted with special guests, including Jimmie Allen, Gabby Barrett, Brothers Osborne, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Toby Keith, Parker McCollum, Blake Shelton, Tenille Townes, and more.

ACM Awards Circle will celebrate with an ACM themed Opry Live performance on Saturday, April 17 at 9 p.m. CST at the Ryman Auditorium featuring Suzy Bogguss, Vince Gill, and this year’s ACM New Male Artist of the Year Jimmie Allen as well as a special appearance by New Female Artist of the Year Gabby Barrett. Immediately before Opry Live, a special livestream of Circle Sessions: ACM Awards with Luke Bryan, John Rich, Josh Turner and more will stream on Circle’s Facebook, YouTube and Twitter at 7:30 p.m. CST.

“We are thrilled to work with Circle TV once again for the ACM Awards Circle special to kick off on April 17. Showcasing some of the biggest names in the genre, both past and present, as well as rising country stars, the 16-hour special is the perfect lead-in to the Award show,” says CEO of the Academy of Country Music Damon Whiteside. “This special offers something for every country fan to enjoy and serves as the perfect way to build anticipation leading up to this year’s show. A huge thanks to Circle TV for making this happen, and we look forward to seeing fans’ excitement as a result leading into the live telecast April 18!”

“Circle is honored to partner with the ACM Awards for the second year in a row to help with the lead up to the big night. Viewers can look forward to a curated mix of fan-favorite episodes featuring some of the biggest names in country music who have been a part of the awards throughout the years,” shares Circle Network’s General Manager Drew Reifenberger. “Our multi-platform network has been able to bring Nashville to the homes of millions around the world throughout the pandemic and we look forward to continuing this with ACM Awards Circle.”

ACM Awards Winners’ Circle will lead viewers into the highly anticipated 56th ACM Awards on Sunday, April 18 live at 7 p.m. CST on CBS and will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. The show will make history as it airs live from Nashville, TN broadcasting from three of Music City’s most legendary venues – the Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium, and Bluebird Cafe.

The ACM Awards Circle full programming schedule can be found here: https://www.circleplus.com/schedule/.

The First Annual Gatlinburg Songwriters Festival is set to take place in downtown Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge on August 19-22. The nights will be filled with performances from top songwriters including Tony Arata, Lee Roy Parnell, Will Nance, Steve Dean, and many more.

Songwriters attending the conference will have the opportunity to be mentored one-on-one by industry professionals, perfect their craft, perform live shows, collaborate in writing sessions, and advance their careers. Industry executives attending this year include Mark Brown, SVP & GM Round Hill Music, Blake Chancey, music producer and owner of RPM Music Group. Devon O’Day, songwriter, career radio host, and streaming host of Mainstream Today will be hosting the event.

Nestled in the heart of The Great Smoky Mountains, the three-day conference and live music event will feature nightly shows by hit songwriters in venues including The Listening Room—Pigeon Forge, Ole Red, SkyLift Park, Park Vista Hotel and The Historic Gatlinburg Inn.

“The Listening Room is thrilled to support the Gatlinburg Songwriters Festival,” says Chris Blair, owner and operator of The Listening Room. “As we open our new music venue in Pigeon Forge this summer, we are excited to host these talented songwriters, and infuse even more live music into the Smokies.”

On August 19, there will be a special kick-off celebration commemorating the legacy of Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, the writers behind many hits, including “Rocky Top,” which has become the unofficial anthem of East Tennessee. The Bryants, who are highlighted in Ken Burns acclaimed documentary, Country Music, will be remembered with the installation of a new TN Music Pathways Marker at The Historic Gatlinburg Inn. Conference attendees will also have the opportunity to book writing sessions in historic room #388 where many of the Bryant’s tunes were penned.

There are a variety of options to attend, with most performances free and open to the public. Special events can be attended with a $30 membership, one-night show tickets, or special event tickets, all of which are available at gatlinburgsongwriters.com/attend.