HARDY And Cole Swindell Among Top Winners At 2023 ACM Awards

The first winners of the 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards (ACM Awards) have been announced, with HARDY and Cole Swindell already taking out multiple huge trophies.

HARDY won three of his four nominations: he’s taken home ‘Artist-Songwriter Of The Year’, ‘Music Event Of The Year’ and ‘Visual Media Of The Year’ (the latter two for his collaborative single with Lainey Wilson, Wait In The Truck), while he lost out on the award for ‘Song Of The Year’ to Cole Swindell. Swindell won that title for his tune She Had Me At Heads Carolina, which also earned him the award for ‘Single Of The Year’.

In the artist-specific categories, the Brothers Osborne won ‘Duo Of The Year’, and Old Dominion won ‘Group Of The Year’. Hailey Whitters was also named ‘New Female Artist Of The Year’, while Zach Bryan won the ‘New Male Artist’ counterpart. The awards for ‘Female Artist Of The Year’ and ‘Male Artist Of The Year’ have also been handed out, with the former going to Lainey Wilson and the latter to Morgan Wallen. The ‘Entertainer Of The Year’ award was given to Chris Stapleton, while Ashley Gorley was crowned ‘Songwriter Of The Year’.

As for the prestigious award for ‘Album Of The Year’, Lainey Wilson won with her record Bell Bottom Country.

As announced earlier this week, the 2023 ACM Awards saw Ed Sheeran make a surprise last-minute appearance as a performer, filling in for Morgan Wallen after the latter cancelled six weeks of touring due to vocal fold trauma. Sheeran performed alongside a sprawling bill of country music stalwarts: Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Jo Dee Messina, Ashley McBryde, Dolly Parton, Jelly Roll, Cole Swindell, Keith Urban, The War And Treaty, Lainey Wilson and Bailey Zimmerman.

This year’s ACM Awards is the 58th edition, with the ceremony being held right now at the Ford Center inside The Star in Frisco, Texas. Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks are hosting the festivities. 

Check out the full list of winners at the 2023 ACM Awards below.

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR:
Carrie Underwood
Chris Stapleton – WINNER
Jason Aldean
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Miranda Lambert
Morgan Wallen

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Ashley McBryde
Carly Pearce
Kelsea Ballerini
Lainey Wilson – WINNER
Miranda Lambert

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Chris Stapleton
Jordan Davis
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Morgan Wallen – WINNER

DUO OF THE YEAR:
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osbourne – WINNER
Dan + Shay
Maddie & Tae
The War And Treaty

GROUP OF THE YEAR:
Lady A
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion – WINNER
Zac Brown

NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Caitlyn Smith
Hailey Whitters – WINNER
Megan Moroney
Morgan Wade
Priscilla Block

NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR:
Bailey Zimmerman
Dylan Scott
ERNEST
Jackson Dean
Nate Smith
Zach Bryan – WINNER

ALBUM OF THE YEAR:
Ashley McBride (Lindeville)
Lainey Wilson (Bell Bottom Country) – WINNER
Luke Combs (Growin’ Up)
Jon Pardi (Mr. Saturday Night)
Miranda Lambert (Palomini)

SINGLE OF THE YEAR:
Cole Swindell (She Had Me At Heads Carolina) – WINNER
Lainey Wilson (Heart Like A Truck)
Carley Pearce and Ashley McBride (Never Wanted To Be That Girl)
Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown (Thank God)
Cody Johnson (Til You Can’t)

SONG OF THE YEAR:
Cole Swindell (She Had Me At Heads Carolina) – WINNER
Morgan Wallen (Sand In My Boots)
Cody Johnson (Til You Can’t)
HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson (Wait In The Truck)
Chris Stapleton (You Should Probably Leave)

VISUAL MEDIA OF THE YEAR:
Carly Pearce (What He Didn’t Do)
Cody Johnson (Til You Can’t)
Cole Swindell (She Had Me At Heads Carolina)
HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson (Wait In The Truck) – WINNER
Kelsea Ballerini (Heartfirst)
Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown (Thank God)

MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR:
Chris Young with Mitchell Tenpenny (At The End Of A Bar)
Cole Swindell & Joe Dee Messina (She Had Me At Heads Carolina [Remix])
Dustin Lynch feat. MacKenzie Porter (Thinking ‘Bout You)
HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson (Wait In The Truck) – WINNER
Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown (Thank God)

ARTIST-SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR:
ERNEST
HARDY – WINNER
Luke Combs
Miranda Lambert
Morgan Wallen

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR:
Ashley Gorley – WINNER
Chase McGill
Hunter Phelps
Josh Osborne
Nicolle Galyon 

ACOUSTIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Brian Sutton
Danny Rader
Ilya Toshinskiy
Tim Galloway
Todd Lombardo

AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR:
Drew Bollman
F. Reid Shippen
Gena Johnson
Josh Ditty
Justin Neibank

BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Craig Young
Lex Price
Mark Hill
Steve Mackey
Tony Lucido

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR:
Aaron Sterling
Fred Eltringham
Jerry Roe
Miles McPherson
Nir Z

ELECTRIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Derek Wells
Kenny Greenburg
Kris Donegan
Rob McNelly
Sol Philcox-Littlefield

PIANO/KEYBOARDS PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Alex Wright
Billy Justineau
Charles Judges
Dave Cohen
Jim “Moose” Brown

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR:
Buddy Cannon
Derek Wells
Jay Joyce
Joey Moi
Jon Randall
Luke Dick

SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT(S) PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Dan Dugmore
Jenee Fleenor
Josh Matheny
Justin Schipper
Stuart Duncan

ARENA OF THE YEAR:
Denny Sandford Premier Center (Sioux Falls, SD)
Dickies Arena (Fort Wort, TX)
Hertz Arena (Estero, FL)
Moody Center (Austin, TX)
Simmons Bank Arena (Little Rock, AR)
Thompson-Boling Arena (Knoxville, TN)

CASINO OF THE YEAR – ARENA:
Fallsview Casino Resort (Niagara Falls, ON)
Harrah’s Council Bluffs (Council Bluffs, IA)
Harveys Lake Tahoe (Stateline, NV)
Mystic Lake Casino Showroom (Prior Lane, MN)
Northern Quest Resort & Casino (Airway Heights, WA)
Turning Stone Resort Casino (Verona, NY)

CASINO OF THE YEAR – THEATER:
Deadwood Mountain Grand (Deadwood, SD)
Golden Nugget (Lake Charles, LA)
Resorts World Theatre At Resorts World Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV)
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (Hollywood, FL)
Soaring Eagle (Mount Pleasant, MI)

CLUB OF THE YEAR:
Billy Bob’s Texas (Fort Worth, TX)
Coyote Joe’s (Charlotte, NC)
Grizzly Rose (Denver, CO)
Gruene Hall (New Braunfels, TX)
Joe’s On Weed St. (Chicago, IL)

DON ROMEO TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR:
Michelle Romeo
Pat Powelson
Ron Pateras
Stacy Vee
Troy Vollhoffer

FAIR/RODEO OF THE YEAR:
Auburn Rodeo (Opelika, AL)
Cheyenne Frontier Days (Cheyenne, WY)
Florida Strawberry Festival (Plant City, FL)
Houston Livestock Show And Rodeo (Houston, TX)
Iowa State Fair (Des Moines, IA)

FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR:
C2C: Country To Country (UK)
Carolina Country Music Fest (Myrtle Beach, SC)
Country Concert (FT, Loramie, OH)
Country Fest (Cadott, WI)
Country Thunder (Bristol, TN)
Stagecoach Festival (Indio, CA)
Tortuga Music Festival (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

OUTDOOR VENUE OF THE YEAR:
Bank Of New Hampshire Pavilion (Gilford, NH)
Firstbank Amphitheater (Franklin, TN)
Greek Theatre (Los Angeles, CA)
Saint Augustine Amphitheatre (St. Augustine, FL)
Santa Barbara Bowl (Santa Barbara, CA)
The Wharf Amphitheater (Orange Beach, AL)

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR:
Aaron Spalding
Adam Weiser
Ed Warm
Jay Wilson
Patrick McDill

THEATER OF THE YEAR:
Crystal Grand Music Theater (Lake Delton, WI)
Florida Theatre (Jacksonville, FL)
Grand Ole Opry House (Nashville, TN)
Orpheum Theatre (Omaha, NE)
Stiefel Theatre (Salina, KS)

NATIONAL DAILY ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR:
Ania Hammar (Nights With Ania)
Big D, Bubba, Patrick Tomas, Carsen (The Big D & Bubba Show) – WINNER
Bobby Bones, Amy, Lunchbox, Producer Eddie, Morgan, SZN, Scuba Steve, Mike D, Abby, Pitts, Kevin and Lauren (The Bobby Bones Show)
Elaina Smith (Nights With Elaina)
Shawn Parr (Shawn Parr’s Across The Country)

NATIONAL WEEKLY ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR:
Elaina Smith (With Elaina) – WINNER
Kelleigh Bannen (Today’s Country)
Kix Brooks (American Country Countdown)
Lorainne Crook, Charlie Chase (Crook And Chase Countdown)
Michael Knox, Shalacy Griffin (Knox Country 360)

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR - MAJOR MARKET:
“At Work” Show – Michael J (WPOC-FM - Baltimore, MD)
Josh, Rachel & Grunwald In The Morning – Josh Holleman, Rachael Hunter, Steve Grunwald (WYCD-FM – Detroit, MI)
Tampa Bay’s Morning Krewe – J.R. Jaus, Launa Phillips, Kevin Ebel (WQYK-FM - St. Petersburg, FL)
The Andie Summers Show – Andie Summers, Jeff Kurkjian, Donnie Black, Shannon Boyle (WXTU-FM - Philadelphia, PA)
The Morning Bullpen With George, Mo And Erik (KILT – Houston, TX) – WINNER

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR - LARGE MARKET:
The Big Dave Show – ‘Big Dave’ Chandler, Chelsie Shinkle, Jason Statt And Ashley Dawn (WUBE-FM - Cincinnati, OH) – WINNER
Ridder, Scott And Shannen (WMIL-FM - Milwaukee, WI)
The Q Morning Crew – Mike Wheless And Amanda Daughtry (WQDR-FM - Raleigh, NC)
The Wayne D Show – Wayne D And Tay Hamilton (WSIX-FM - Nashville, TN)
Tim + Chelsea Morning Show (WIRK-FM - West Palm Beach, FL)

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR - MEDIUM MARKET:
Brent Michaels (KUZZ-AM/FM - Bakersfield, CA)
Cliff & Tanya In The Morning – Cliff Dumas & Tanya (KUZZ-FM - Bakersfield, CA)
Julie And DJ In The Morning – Julie Kansy, Dale Sellers (WPCV-FM - Lakeland, FL) – WINNER
New Country Mornings With Nancy And Woody – Nancy Wilson, Aaron Woods (WHKO-FM - Dayton, OH)
Steve & Gina In The Morning: Steve Lundy, Gina Melton (KXKT-FM - Omaha, NE)

ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR - SMALL MARKET:
Deb Miles (WBYT-FM - South Bend, IN)
Kicks Morning Crew – Sean Lamb And Dave Patrick (WQLK-FM - Richmond, IN)
Morning Air Show – Steve Stroud, Ben Walker And Nikki Thomas (WXBQ-FM - Bristol, VA)
Steve & Tiffany In The Morning – Steve Waters And Tiffany Kay (WFLS-FM - Fredericksburg, VA) – WINNER
The Cat Park Show – Brent Lane And Mel McCrae (WYCT-FM - Pensacola, FL)

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR - MAJOR MARKET:
KILT-FM (Houston, TX)
KKBQ-FM (Houston, TX) – WINNER
FMLE-FM (Phoenix, AZ)
KSCS-FM (Dallas-Fort Worth, TX)
WXTU-FM (Philadelphia, PA)

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR - LARGE MARKET:
KFRG-FM (San Bernardino, CA)
KSOP-FM (Salt Lake City, UT)
WKDF-FM (Nashville, TN)
WMIL-FM (Greenfield, WI)
WPGB-FM (Pittsburgh, PA)
WQDR-FM (Raleigh, NC)
WSIX-FM (Nashville, TN) – WINNER

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR - MEDIUM MARKET:
KIIM-FM (Tucson, AZ)
KSKS-FM (Fresno, CA)
KXKT-FM (Omaha, NE)
WIVK-FM (Knoxville, TN) – WINNER
WQMX-FM (Akron, OH)
WUSY-FM (Chattanooga, TN)

RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR - SMALL MARKET:
WAYZ-FM (Harrisburg, PA)
WBYT-FM (South Bend, IN)
WCOW-FM (Tomah-La Crosse, WI)
WXFL-FM (Florence, AL)
WYCT-FM (Pensacola, FL) – WINNER