ACM Honors
ACM Honors celebrates the Special Award honorees, off-camera category winners, and the ACM Industry and Studio Recording Awards. The 19th ACM Honors returned on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 to The Pinnacle in Nashville, hosted by Carly Pearce and Parker McCollum.
The Country Music industry's favorite night
Presented by TennPop, Seltzer of the South, the 19th ACM Honors celebrated an extraordinary group of Country Music artists, songwriters, industry leaders and advocates whose contributions have helped shape and advance the genre.
- Date
- Wednesday, August 19, 2026
- Venue
- The Pinnacle, Nashville Yards, Nashville
- Hosts
- Carly Pearce & Parker McCollum
- Special guest
- Brenda Lee
- Awards presenter
- Zach John King
- Presented by
- TennPop, Seltzer of the South
On stage at The Pinnacle
Brenda Lee appeared as a special guest and Zach John King presented the ACM Studio Recording and Industry Awards portion of ACM Honors.
The 2026 honorees
The ACM Special Awards honorees included Bill Anderson, Brett James, C2C: Country to Country, The Carter Family, Dolly Parton, Eric Church, Kacey Musgraves, Paramount+ hit television series “Landman”, Leslie Fram, Mike Curb and Scott Zolke.
Dolly Parton was honored with the ACM Poet's Award, recognizing her extraordinary, decades-long impact as one of Country Music's most gifted and influential songwriters. Hosts Carly Pearce and Parker McCollum kicked off the evening with a special tribute performance to her.
Bill Anderson
Brett James
C2C: Country to Country
The Carter Family
Eric Church
Kacey Musgraves
Landman
Leslie Fram
Mike Curb
Scott Zolke
Winners from the 61st ACM Awards cycle
The ceremony also celebrated ACM Artist-Songwriter of the Year Ella Langley, ACM Songwriter of the Year Jessie Jo Dillon, and the ACM Studio Recording Award and Industry Award winners from the 61st ACM Awards cycle.
Songwriter honors
- Artist-Songwriter of the Year
- Ella Langley
- Songwriter of the Year
- Jessie Jo Dillon
Studio Recording Awards
- Bass Player of the Year
- Jimmie Lee Sloas
- Drummer of the Year
- Fred Eltringham & Jerry Roe
- Acoustic Guitar Player of the Year
- Bryan Sutton
- Piano/Keyboards Player of the Year
- Gordon Mote
- Specialty Instrument(s) Player of the Year
- Stuart Duncan
- Electric Guitar Player of the Year
- Rob McNelley
- Audio Engineer of the Year
- Justin Niebank
- Producer of the Year
- Dann Huff
Industry Awards
- Casino of the Year - Theater
- Choctaw Grand Theater – Durant, OK
- Casino of the Year - Arena
- Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, CT
- Festival of the Year
- Stagecoach – Indio, CA
- Fair/Rodeo of the Year
- Cheyenne Frontier Days – Cheyenne, WY
- Club of the Year
- The Pinnacle – Nashville, TN
- Theater of the Year
- Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN
- Outdoor Venue of the Year
- Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
- Arena of the Year
- Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
- Don Romeo Talent Buyer of the Year
- Ed Warm
- Promoter of the Year
- Adam Weiser
Voted on by the ACM Board of Directors
Read about every ACM Special Award, its inspiration and this year's honorees, or search past winners across six decades.