ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC (ACM)® ANNOUNCES SPECIAL AWARD HONOREES FOR 19TH ACM HONORS INCLUDING BILL ANDERSON

NASHVILLE, TN — June 24, 2026 — The Academy of Country Music® announced today the special honorees to be celebrated at the 19th ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC® HONORS. Honorees for the “Country Music Industry’s Favorite Night” will include Bill Anderson, Brett James, C2C:

Country to Country, The Carter Family, Eric Church, Kacey Musgraves, Paramount + Hit Television Series: “Landman”, Leslie Fram, Mike Curb and Scott Zolke. The ceremony is set to take place on Wednesday, August 19th at The Pinnacle in Nashville. Four-time ACM Award winner Carly Pearce is back for the sixth year as the evening’s host, this year alongside three-time ACM Award winner Parker McCollum co-hosting for the first time. Performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

Presale tickets and early bird ticket pricing for ACM Honors will be available Wednesday, June 24 for ACM A-List subscribers and ACM Members and public on-sale tickets will be available on Friday, June 26 through AXS. Additionally, previously announced ACM Artist-Songwriter of the Year winner Ella Langley, ACM Songwriter of the Year winner Jessie Jo Dillon, as well as ACM Studio Recording Award and Industry Award winners, will be feted at ACM HONORS and announced the week of July 6.

ACM A-LIST AND MEMBER TICKET PRE-SALE: Tickets for the 19th ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC® HONORS will be available for ACM A-List subscribers and ACM Members beginning Wednesday, June 24 at 10:00 AM CT,. To gain access to presale tickets before they go on sale to the general public, sign up for the ACM A-List free email newsletter and you’ll be sent a pre-sale code that will grant you access to purchase tickets in advance of the public on-sale.

GENERAL PUBLIC TICKET ON-SALE: Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10:00 AM CT on Friday, June 26 through AXS.

ACM ICON AWARD – Bill Anderson and Mike Curb will each be honored with the ACM Icon Award, inspired by Cliffie Stone, which honors a Country Music artist, duo/group, or industry leader whose multifaceted contributions across songwriting, recording, production, touring, film, television, literary works and philanthropic efforts have positively impacted the Country Music genre and community.

Known as “Whisperin’ Bill,” Bill Anderson rose to fame in the late 1950s with writing the song “City Lights,” which was first performed by Ray Price and quickly became a massive number one hit. He went on to become one of Country Music’s most successful songwriters and artists, with songwriting credits including George Strait’s “Give It Away,” Brad Paisley and Allison Krauss’ “Whiskey Lullaby,” Kenny Chesney’s “A Lot of Things Different,” and more. He won an ACM Award in 2007 for co-writing “Give It Away,” and was the first recipient of the prestigious ACM Poet’s Award in 2008. Other accolades over the course of his remarkable career include multiple GRAMMY nominations and inductions into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Songwriters Hall of Fame, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the longest- standing member of the Grand Ole Opry. Beyond songwriting and performing, Anderson is also known for being an acclaimed author, television personality and radio personality, bringing Country Music to wider audiences and influencing multiple generations of Country Music artists, songwriters and fans.

Past recipients of the ACM Icon Award include, Alabama, Brooks & Dunn, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, Eric Church, Charlie Daniels, Mike Dungan, Joe Galante, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Alan Jackson, George Jones, The Judds, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Charley Pride, George Strait, Conway Twitty, Ben Vaughn, Hank Williams, Trisha Yearwood, and Dwight Yoakam, among others.