The Future of Country

ACM Awards hosts free 2-day festival with new artist nominees and up-and-comers in Frisco

New Male Artist of the Year nominee Dylan Scott will be one of the performers at ACM Country Kickoff at the Star.

Photo courtesy of Dylan Scott

The full lineup for the ACM Country Kickoff at The Star festival has been released, featuring a slew of New Artist of the Year nominees and various up-and-coming musicians. The two-day event is free and open to the public.

Taking place on May 9 and 10 at The Star in Frisco, leading up to the Academy of Country Music Awards on May 11, the festival will be headlined by five ACM Award nominees. They include ACM New Male Artist of the Year nominees Dylan Scott and Nate Smith; ACM New Female Artist of the Year nominees Caitlyn Smith and Hailey Whitters; and ACM Music Event of the Year nominee MacKenzie Porter.

Other performers will include up-and-coming artists Chayce Beckham, Chapel Hart, Hannah Ellis, Tiera Kennedy, Corey Kent, Randall King, Erin Kinsey, Chase Matthew, Neon Union, Catie Offerman, Frank Ray, Josh Ross, and MaRynn Taylor.

The event will be held from 3-10 pm on both days, and there will also be special performances at 8 pm on May 9 as part of Live From the ACMs: ACM New Artist Winners Celebration, airing live on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch. The New Female and Male Artist of the Year winners for the 58th ACM Awards will be revealed and celebrated during that show.

The festival is a chance for fans to get up close and personal with some of their favorite Country artists and celebrate the ACM Awards’ return to North Texas. A beer garden presented by Coors Light will be on hand, in addition to a VIP space presented by Lucas Oil with a prime view of the stage.

There will also be food trucks, photo opportunities, ACM Awards show merchandise, and activations by partners like ACM Lifting Lives, Amazon Music, Ashley HomeStore, Kendra Scott, Lucchese, North Texas Ford, and Visit Frisco.

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All cylinders

Post Malone to headline 2025 Dallas Cattle Baron's Ball

Photo by Adam DeGross

Post Malone will play at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on May 9, 2025.

Superstar singer/rapper Post Malone will headline the 2025 Dallas Cattle Baron's Ball at Southfork Ranch.

"Cattle Baron's Ball is thrilled to announce Grammy-nominated global superstar Post Malone as the headlining entertainer for the 2025 Cattle Baron's Ball, the world's largest single-night fundraiser for the American Cancer Society," the organization announced in an email to subscribers on May 15.

The 52nd Cattle Baron's Ball will take place October 25, 2025 under the leadership of co-chairs Courtney Derderian and Nina Sachse. They've chosen the theme "All Cylinders."

Chandler Walters will be the VIP Stage Performer. He's best known as the writer of Post Malone and Morgan Wallen's hit song "I Had Some Help" and is currently on tour with Post Malone.

Post Malone is no stranger to DFW; his family moved to Grapevine when he was 10 years old when his dad got a job as manager of concessions for the Dallas Cowboys.

His most recent show in DFW was "Post Malone Presents: The BIG ASS Stadium Tour," which played to a rollicking crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on Friday, May 9. The tour was in support of Post's debut country album, 2024's F-1 Trillion, his third No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Album, and two songs from the album were also nominated for Grammys.

Since 1974, Cattle Baron's Ball has raised over $105 million for cancer research. The 2025 ball is presented by Texas Oncology, with entertainment sponsored by White Rhino Coffee.

The early-bird ticket deadline for the always sold-out ball has been extended to June 1, organizers say. Following that, all tickets, tables, and underwriting levels will increase by 10 percent. According to the website, ticket and table packages currently run $3,500 to $150,500.

For more information, tables and tickets, visit the CBB website.

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