Tenille Townes and Riley Green are already big winners ahead of the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards.
Host Keith Urban surprised the rising stars during a video conference to deliver the news, announcing Townes as the New Female Artist of the Year and Green as the New Male Artist of the Year. He also shocked the rising stars with the news that they get to perform on the upcoming ACM Awards, which will broadcast on Wednesday, September 16 (live 8:00-11:00 PM ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.
“When we had to come off the road back in March, I wasn’t sure what the rest of 2020 would look like,” said Green. “So much has happened in the world since then and I’m really excited to have a moment to play music again. My grandfathers’ love for Country Music is what led me to this moment and I have to dedicate this award to them. Thank you to everyone who believes in my music enough to let this boy from Alabama get to share his songs like this.”
“I’ll always remember this feeling, standing here as a new artist,” said Townes. “I feel so honored and incredibly grateful just to be a part of this Country Music community that inspires me. Receiving this ACM Award feels like belief from that community, and that means so much to me.”
“This year’s New Artists have experienced astounding success already, and the Academy feels honored to be able to present them with their first ACM Award win,” said Damon Whiteside, CEO of the Academy of Country Music. “We hope this is a memory that they will carry with them as their careers continue to thrive. A huge congratulations to all of this year’s well-deserving nominees and a special thank you to the artists’ teams who helped the Academy pull off the surprise, especially our host Keith Urban for making this moment monumental. We can’t wait to see Riley and Tenille on the 55th ACM Awards stage on September 16!”
The ACM Awards will take place in Nashville for the first time in history, broadcasting from three iconic country music venues: Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe.
The 55th Annual ACM Awards will air Wednesday, Sept. 16 (live 8:00-11:00 PM ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and will stream live and on-demand on CBS All Access.
