PRESS CONTACTS:
Brooke Primero
/ Melissa Armstrong
BNC
Ph 310.854.4800
FIRST ROUND OF PERFORMERS SET FOR
THE 40th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC
AWARDS,
COUNTRY’S NIGHT TO SHINE™
TELECAST
TO AIR LIVE FROM Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in LAS
VEGAS
TUESDAY,
MAY 17th AT 8:00 PM ET/PT ON CBS TELEVISION NETWORK
Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts and George Strait Set to Perform
BURBANK (March 17, 2005) – Today the Academy
of Country Music is announcing that country music superstars Alan Jackson,
Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts and George Strait will perform as part of the 40TH ANNUAL
ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS. The
ceremony, which honors country music’s top talent as well as the industry’s
hottest emerging talent, will be broadcast LIVE from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 17th, 2005 at 8:00 PM ET/PT
on the CBS Television Network.
Three-time Academy of Country Music Awards Top
Male Vocalist Alan Jackson repeats
as a Top Male Vocalist nominee this year in addition to his nomination for
Vocal Event of the Year (“Hey Good Lookin’”). Toby
Keith has won Entertainer of the Year
honors for the past two years, and is nominated for that same award again
this year. He is also nominated for Top Male Vocalist, Song of the Year (“American
Soldier”), and Vocal Event of the Year (“Hey Good Lookin’”). Keith
will perform via satellite from his USO tour overseas.
Rascal Flatts is
nominated for three awards including Top Vocal Group, which they have won
the past two years, Single Record of the Year and Song of the Year (both
for “Bless the Broken Road”). George Strait is nominated for Vocal
Event of the Year ("Hey
Good Lookin'") and has a total of 15 Academy of Country Music Awards,
including five awards for Top Male Vocalist, six awards for Album of the
Year, two awards for Single Record of the Year, one Entertainer of
the Year award and one Gene Weed Special Achievement Award.
The Academy of Country Music was founded in 1964 with
a mission to support, promote, and enhance the advancement of the country
music industry worldwide. The Academy, which is comprised of 3,800+
professional members and a newly established Associate Membership, is headquartered
in Burbank, CA. For more information on the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY
MUSIC AWARDS and the Academy
of Country Music, please visit www.acmcountry.com.
ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS is
produced for television by dick clark productions. The show is executive
produced by Dick Clark and R.A. Clark, and produced by Barry
Adelman. The executive in charge of production is Bob Bardo, and the executive
in charge is Fran LaMaina.
Southwest Airlines is the official airline of the Academy of Country Music
Awards.
The ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS will
be broadcast LIVE from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino
in Las Vegas on Tuesday, May 17th, 2005 at 8:00 PM ET/PT
on CBS Television Network.
# # #