Dan + Shay were among the honorees at last night's (Wednesday, August 25th) ACM Honors event which took place at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. The duo received the ACM Jim Reeves International Award, which honors “outstanding contributions to the acceptance of country music throughout the world.”
After accepting their award on stage, the Dan Smyers told reporters: “You know, when we started having some more success with our songs and when they started spreading internationally — you know, I think the peak of that was when we did a collaboration on '10,000 Hours' with Justin Bieber. We were getting messages and DMs from all over the world and places we had never been to before and to know that we were one of the folks spreading country music to these different places was an incredible thing, and for us to be a part of that to get this award here tonight is a nice token of that and, yeah, we're so grateful. It's amazing.”
Other honorees last night included Luke Combs, Loretta Lynn, Toby Keith, Lady A and Rascal Flatts.
Loretta, as well as songwriters Gretchen Peters and the late Curly Putman, received the ACM Poet's Award, which honors songwriters “for outstanding and longstanding musical and/or lyrical contributions throughout their career, with special consideration given to a song or songs’ impact on the culture of country music.
Rascal Flatts took home the ACM Cliffie Stone Icon Award for “advanc(ing) the popularity of the genre through their contributions in multiple facets of the industry.”
Lady A was presented with the ACM Gary Haber Lifting Lives Award, in recognition of their “devot(ion) to improving lives through the power of music … generosity of spirit … and commitment to serving others.”
Luke Combs was honored with the ACM Gene Weed Milestone Award for earning a double-platinum album in 2021 and being the only country artist to take his first 10 career singles to No. 1 (he now has 11 with “Forever After All”).
Toby Keith received the ACM Merle Haggard Spirit Award, which is “presented to a singer-songwriter who is continuing the legacy of country legend and 20-time ACM Award winner Merle Haggard by following his/her own path, crafting great songs and epitomizing Merle’s spirit through genuine performances and great storytelling.”
