ML - Vegas Magazine

2014 - Issue 2 - Spring

Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY TK; ILLUSTRATION BY TK many of the genre's biggest stars capturing top honors at both the CMAs and the ACMs. But there are still things that set the Vegas festivities apart, such as the important fan vote in the ACM categories of entertainer of the year and new artist of the year. A nd t hen t here's t he sheer number of t rophies handed out. "One big thing the ACMs have going for them is that they have more categories, specifically in regard to new acts," says Brian Mansfield, USA Today's Nashville correspondent and an old hand at covering country awards shows. "Because the ACMs split new artists into three categories—male vocalist, female vocalist, and duo or group of the year—before award- ing an overall new artist of the year award, artists often win their first major award from the ACMs." Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan, who return as the show's cohosts this year, happen to be tied at four ACMs apiece, counting Shelton's Gene Weed Special Achievement Award for his coaching role on NBC's The Voice. Besides that, "They're good friends with a natural chemistry that comes across on camera," says ACM Awards producer Barry Adelman. "The audience senses they really like each other, so they can get away with say- ing anything to each other… and it makes for really funny exchanges." Right out of the gate last year, Shelton gave a shout- out to Sherwin Williams "for spray-paintin' Luke's jeans on tonight." Considering that Bryan held a press conference this January announcing that he has graduated to playing NFL stadiums and major-market arenas, and that Shelton has spent five seasons on one of prime-time TV's most watched reality shows, these two reigning country music chart-toppers have just about the highest profiles possible. And for a celebration in Vegas of the genre's greatest, bigger is definitely better. Tickets to the second annual ACM Party for a Cause Festival, on April 4 and 5 at the Linq, are available at ticket master.com; tickets to the April 6 awards show are sold at acmawards.com. V What was once a one-night event has expanded into a weeklong marathon blowout. Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton performed at last year's ACM Awards (alongside Brad Paisley and Sheryl Crow), and the country cutups will host again this year. VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 73 PHOTOGRAPHY BY ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES 072-073_V_SC_HT_CountryAwards_Spring14.indd 73 2/10/14 5:18 PM

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