variety.com
08.03.2022 / 21:11
Academy of Country Music Awards: Photos and Behind-the-Scenes Chatter From Country’s Return to Vegas
Chris Willman Music WriterIt was as if the Academy of Country Music Awards put up a dare to the upcoming Grammys: Not only are we going to do a show out of Las Vegas a month ahead of yours, but we’re going to do at a stadium, we’re going to do it with four stages, we’re going to do it with no commercials (except for plenty of Prime Video trailers), and we’re going to bring it in at 2 hours, 1 minute and 24 seconds.The ACMs may not have been “Music’s Biggest Night,” but it was Music’s Most Concise Night.“We’re making history tonight,” host Dolly Parton said at the top of the show. “For the first time, we’re coming to you from Allegiant Stadium, and for the first time, we are streaming on Prime Video” — and, although it went unsaid, the truly historic part was not having a network or even cable broadcast component for a major awards show.