The Academy of Country Music will host the 2018 ACM Honors on Aug. 22 at the Ryman Auditorium for the 12th year, and will give special honors to several country musicians, as chosen by members of the ACM Board of Directors. Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson, Darius Rucker and Sam Hunt will be featured, each with a different honor. Bentley will receive the Merle Haggard Spirit Award, which suggests that he carries on part of Haggard’s essence through honest storytelling and engaging performances. Jackson will receive the Cliffie Stone Icon Award, since he has considerably boosted the popularity of country music across the globe. Rucker will take home the Gary Haber Lifting Lives Award, which goes to artists who have enhanced lives through music and charitable efforts. The Gene Weed Milestone Award, given for new achievements in country music, will go to Sam Hunt for consistently breaking streaming records with his track “Body Like a Backroad.”
Editorial credit: Danny E Hooks / Shutterstock.com