Eric Church, Jelly Roll and Luke Combs are all set to receive special recognition at the 2025 ACM Honors ceremony, which will take place in Nashville next month.
Luke Combs, Cody Johnson and Randy Travis are three more special ACM honorees.
Rissi Palmer, Mac McAnally, Lori Badgett, Ben Vaughn and the movie Twisters round out the group of artists, songwriters and country music standouts who will get the spotlight during the ACM’s annual off-camera awards show celebration.
Church and Vaughn — the latter of whom died in January — will receive the Icon Award, which is presented to recipients who have “advanced the popularity of the genre through through their contributions in multiple facets of the industry.”
Church’s recognition with this award highlights his contributions to Hurricane Helene relief efforts in 2024, along with his continuing prominence as one of the biggest stars of the genre.
Vaughn is being honored for his lifetime legacy of fostering country music talent, playing a pivotal role in the development of artists careers like Chris Stapleton, Dan + Shay and Kacey Musgraves.
Read More: 12 Things the ACMs Wouldn’t Show You on TV
Combs is receiving the ACM International Award in honor of his global fanbase, and Jelly Roll will receive the ACM Lifting Lives Award in recognition of his philanthropic work.
Travis’ longstanding contributions to the genre’s shape and sound will earn him the ACM Milestone Award, and songwriter Mac McAnally will be feted with the ACM Poet’s Award, a trophy presented to standout songwriters.
Johnson is being honored with the ACM Spirit Award, a trophy that is presented to singer-songwriters who best epitomize the songwriting craft and independent career trajectory of Merle Haggard.
Rissi Palmer will be presented with the ACM Lift Every Voice Award in honor of her longstanding contribution to uplifting Black and minority voices within the country genre, and Lori Badgett — a prominent Nashville figure with strong ties to ACM Lifting Lives — will receive the ACM Service Award.
As previously announced, Lainey Wilson and Jessie Jo Dillon are also set to be celebrated at the ACM Honors this year. This year’s ceremony will take place on Aug. 20 at the Pinnacle in Nashville.
Country Stars Who Skipped the 2025 ACM Awards
A dozen country music A-listers skipped the 2025 ACM Awards in Texas. One was sick, one had a tee time and two had shows in another state the next day. As for the other eight … well, it’s personal.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
