2017 ACM Special Awards Winners Announced
The Academy of Country Music has announced the winners in the ACM Awards special awards categories that will be recognized at the upcoming ACM Honors.
Eric Church, Reba McEntire, Kelsea Ballerini, George Strait and more are among the country stars and legends who will be honored at the 2017 ACM Honors in August in some of the off-camera categories that didn't air during the ACM Awards. Strait will receive the Cliffie Stone Icon Award, which goes to an artist or industry leader who has "advanced the popularity of the genre through their contributions in multiple facets of the industry," according to a press release.
Dolly Parton will be honored with the Gary Haber Lifting Lives Award for her role in improving the lives of others through charitable outreach, while Ballerini will accept the Gene Weed Milestone Award, which is awarded for "unprecedented or outstanding achievement in the field of country music during the preceding calendar year."
McEntire will be honored with the Mae Boren Axton Service Award alongside radio personality Bob Kingsley, "in recognition of years of dedication and service to the Academy of Country Music," while Church will be awarded the Merle Haggard Spirit Award.
Toby Keith and Willie Nelson will receive the Poet’s Award for their longstanding contributions to songwriting, and Shel Silverstein will be recognized in the same category posthumously. Lori McKenna has already been announced as Songwriter of the Year, and Nashville will receive the Tex Ritter Film Award, which salutes "an outstanding television movie, series or feature film released during the preceding calendar year which prominently features country music."
The 2017 ACM Honors ceremony will take place at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Aug. 23, 2017, and will broadcast on CBS at a later date. The hosts, performers and presenters for this year's event have not been announced.
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