ACM Awards news

Garth Brooks joins Dolly Parton to host 2023 ACM Awards in Frisco

Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton will host the 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards.

Photo by Art Streiber

Country music icon Dolly Parton will grace the stage for the third time as host of the American Country Music Awards, and she's bringing along a newcomer: Garth Brooks. The two superstars will emcee the58th annual ACMstaking place, for the first time, at The Star in Frisco on Thursday, May 11. The show will stream on Prime Video.

“I am thrilled to return to host the ACM Awards, this time with my friend Garth,” Parton says in a release. “While I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with him throughout the years, I can’t believe we’ve never had the chance to work together. In addition to getting to see all this great new talent in country music, I am excited to have the chance to premiere the lead single from my upcoming rock album on the show!”

Adds Brooks, “Anyone with Dolly Parton makes a fantastic couple."

As Billboard reminds, Parton hosted the big awards show solo in 2000, and again last year with co-hosts Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett. It's Brooks' first time to take on co-hosting duties at any awards show. He's coming off a world tour that included a smash-hit show at AT&T Stadium in Arlington in August 2022.

“We are elated to have beloved icon Dolly Parton return to co-host the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards alongside the legendary Garth Brooks,” says Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon and MGM Studios. “As we bring back the Emmy-nominated Academy of Country Music Awards to our global audience, we are thrilled to continue to showcase the power of Amazon to create what will be an unforgettable night of live entertainment experiences with Dolly and Garth at the helm of ‘Country Music’s Party of the Year.’”

According to Billboard, fans shouldn't expect a Parton-Brooks musical collaboration on stage. However, Parton - a recent inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - will be debuting a single from her forthcoming rock album, Rockstar, on the show.

The 2023 edition of the Academy of Country Music Awards will mark a return to Texas for the first time since the landmark 50th ACM Awards, which took place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington in 2015.

A limited number of tickets remain (starting around $400) via SeatGeek, organizers say.

As with any worldwide, Super Bowl-level event, there'll be many happenings leading up to it, including a benefit concert headlined by Morgan Wallen. The country music bad boy (and current superstar and reigning ACM Album of the Year winner) takes top billing on "ACM Lifting Lives LIVE: Morgan Wallen & Friends," a fundraiser for Lifting Lives, the philanthropic partner of the Academy of Country Music.

The show will be held at 7:30 pm Wednesday, May 10 on the golfing green at Topgolf in The Colony. Tickets ($350) for the benefit concert are on sale now through AXS.

Additional events plus ACM award nominees, performers, and presenters for this year’s show will be announced in coming weeks.

ACM Awards Country Music Dolly Parton Garth Brooks awards celebrities

This Week's Hot Headlines

Dallas Steak and Ale opening gets derailed in this week's top stories

Steak and Ale

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Editor's note: It's time to look back at the top Dallas news of the week, which includes a change in plans for Steak and Ale and major transportation updates. Plus, two closures, including one with rock star ties. Get the details on the most popular Dallas stories below, then check out this guide to Memorial Day weekend fun.

1. Local opening of Dallas chain Steak and Ale gets derailed. The long-in-the-works return of Steak and Ale in Dallas is being shelved for now. The casual steakhouse chain, which in its heyday had nearly 300 locations, is no longer opening a location it planned for in Grand Prairie.

2. Dallas farm-to-table champion Profound Farms closes produce operation. A Dallas farm-to-table champion is pulling the plug: Profound Microfarms, the small farm in Lucas that provided locally grown produce to chefs and the general public for nearly a decade, is shutting down its growing operation and discontinuing deliveries.

Profound Microfarms is shutting down.Photo courtesy of Profound Microfarms

3. Greyhound bus finds new location to replace downtown Dallas terminal. There's a new location for the Greyhound bus terminal, which had been in downtown Dallas for more than 85 years. Flix North America, the parent company of FlixBus and Greyhound, will be relocating service to a new intercity bus terminal in northwest Dallas in late September 2025.

4. Dallas approves $14.5 million for Buckner DART station project. The Dallas City Council unanimously approved a $14.5 million incentive for the Palladium Buckner Station Project, a proposed mixed-income and transit-oriented development project at the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Buckner Light Rail Station at 8008 Elam Rd.

5. Rock & Brews restaurant founded by KISS members closes in The Colony. A restaurant chain with rock star ties is closing. Rock & Brews, founded by KISS members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, will close its location in The Colony after nine years.