Miranda Lambert is among the country musicians who will perform from home.
Video screenshot by Amy Sheridan/CBS
The Academy of Country Music Awards may be postponed until Sept. 16, but country music stars don’t want fans to go without the performances and special moments that make up the awards.
A two-hour special hosted by Gayle King dubbed ACM Presents: Our Country is set to air on CBS on Sunday, April 5, in place of the ACM Awards, which like most other live events, has been postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Disclosure: CBS and CNET are both part of ViacomCBS.)
The special will bring together some of the biggest names in country music for in-home acoustic performances, conversations and a look back at past ACM Awards moments.
“The country music community came together in an incredible way — and very quickly — for Our Country, and that outpouring of immediate artist support led us to develop a digital preshow so that we could include even more artists in the country music celebration Sunday night,” Academy of Country Music CEO Damon Whiteside said in a statement. “This allows more artists to share the positive messages of support and togetherness with the fans.”
The preshow will feature the likes of Lauren Alaina, Lee Brice, Ingrid Andress and more. An acoustic special will include performances by country heavyweights such as Kelsea Ballerini (Homecoming Queen?), Tim McGraw (Humble and Kind), Brandi Carlile (The Joke), Miranda Lambert (Bluebird) and others.
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During the digital preshow, Chris Young is also set to honor the late Joe Diffie, who passed away March 29 after being diagnosed with coronavirus. Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan and Darius Rucker will pay tribute to 10-time ACM winner and country music legend Kenny Rogers with a medley of the late icon’s songs.
How to watch: ACM Presents: Our Country airs on April 5 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS and also streams on CBS All Access for subscribers. Viewers can also tune in to watch on Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV and AT&T Now if you’re a subscriber to one of those services, which all offer a seven-day free trial.
The pre-show will stream on April 5 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ACM’s Facebook page and Amazon Music on Twitch.
How to follow along with the event: Keep up with the special by following the Academy of Country Music’s social handles on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Additionally, you can visit ACMcountry.com or sign up for the ACM A-List for free to get email updates on the event.
Feel free check out a CNET curated list of live streaming concerts daily you can watch during the coronavirus shutdown.
Here’s the full list of performers and songs.
Kelsea Ballerini – Homecoming Queen?
Dierks Bentley – I Hold On
Kane Brown and John Legend – Last Time I Say Sorry
Luke Bryan – Most People Are Good
Brandi Carlile – The Joke
Eric Church – Never Break Heart
Luke Combs – Beautiful Crazy
Sheryl Crow – I Shall Believe
Florida Georgia Line – Blessings
Lady Antebellum – What I’m Leaving For
Miranda Lambert – Bluebird
Little Big Town – Next To You
Tim McGraw – Humble And Kind
Old Dominion (Matthew Ramsey and Trevor Rosen) – Some People Do
Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker – Mud On The Tires” and “Wagon Wheel
Thomas Rhett – Be A Light
Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani – Nobody But You
Shania Twain – Honey, I’m Home and Man! I Feel Like a Woman
Carrie Underwood – Drinking Alone
Keith Urban – Wasted Time
Kenny Rogers tribute – featuring Brad Paisley and Darius Rucker performing Lucille and The Gambler and Luke Bryan performing Coward Of The County