Dolly Parton Tapped as Host of 57th Annual ACM Awards
This year's show will be much different.
National treasure Dolly Parton has be tapped to host the ACM Awards this year, with one of country’s biggest night’s getting a massive makeover.
Described by organizers as a “nonstop party” the 57th annual ACM Awards will be very different than in years past. Airing on Monday, March 7 at 8 p.m. EST, the 2022 show will mark the first major awards show to livestream exclusively. Fans can tune in to Amazon’s Prime Video for a two-hour live broadcast — shorter by a whole hour than it used to be — but in another twist, this year’s show will run without commercial breaks. Meanwhile, Parton will be playing host in a pretty big room, as the action is set for Las Vegas’ massive Allegiant Stadium (home of the Las Vegas Raiders NFL team).
Set to feature “legendary artists” getting onstage with current stars, plus “surprising moments, and world television-premiere performances,” Parton will also be joined by co-hosts to be announced soon. Likewise, this year’s nominees will be revealed next week.
“I am so excited to be hosting the ACM Awards on March 7 from Vegas,” Parton says. “Watch for us because we’re going to have some fun.”
A 13-time ACM Award winner, Dolly Parton previously hosted the show in 2000. Academy of Country Music CEO Damon Whiteside says she’s the perfect person to help the show begin a new chapter.
“There is no one better than Dolly to represent the ACM Awards brand and country music on a global scale as we move to streaming and show the world that ‘this is how we country’ by delivering one of the most exhilarating and innovative shows in our history to audiences worldwide,” he says.
It’s more proof that the 76 year old icon is far from slowing down — and may even be speeding up. Yesterday (February 2) she was announced as a nominee for inclusion in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and is set to release her Run, Rose, Run album on March 4. The project is a complement to her first original novel, Run, Rose, Run, which Parton co-wrote with best seller James Patterson and will arrive March 7. Her current single from the album is “Big Dreams and Faded Jeans,” and she was also recently chosen as one of People’s 2021 People of the Year.
