The Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards will be airing live from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco on Thursday, May 11.
While many will not be able to attend the ACM Awards themselves, The Star in Frisco will host a live “country kickoff” with free attendance.
Prior to the award show, the Star will be open on Tuesday, May 9, and Wednesday, May 10, from 3 to 10 p.m. with live music, food trucks, a beer garden, and merchandise tables.
There will be photo opportunities with neon cacti, a bull, and a cowboy boot amidst Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton murals.
Additionally, The Star district has many opportunities to shop, eat or drink while attending the event. Some highlights include Ascension Coffee, Cane Rosso, Snowbird Cocktail Lounge and Kitchen, Wahlburgers, Dallas Cowboys Pro Shop, and many more.
The lineup for the event includes some up-and-coming country music artists, along with some of the ACM award show nominees. Headlining the event will be Mackenzie Porter, Dylan Scott, Caitlyn Smith, Nate Smith, and Hailey Whitters.
Hailey Whitters and Caitlyn Smith are both nominated for New Female Artist of the Year. Whitters has over 1.6 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and her song “Everything She Ain’t” from her 2022 album “Raised” has garnered over 65.5 million listens.
Dylan Scott and Nate Smith are nominated for New Male Artist of the Year. Scott boasts of over four million monthly listeners on Spotify, while Smith has over five million.
Mackenzie Porter is up for the Music Event of the Year Award for her performance “Thinking ‘Bout You” with Dustin Lynch. The song has almost 128 million streams on Spotify, and Porter has over 2.8 million monthly listeners.
Coverage of the ACM Awards begins at 6 p.m. CDT and will include performances from some of the juggernauts of the country music industry. The Queen of Country herself, Dolly Parton, will be making an appearance alongside performances from the likes of Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, and Morgan Wallen.