Chris Stapleton, Dan + Shay Lead ACM Nominations

Al Wagner/Invision/AP, File – Chris Stapleton

Chris Stapleton and Dan + Shay lead the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards with six nominations each while Grammy album of the year winner Kacey Musgraves comes in with five nominations.

Reba McEntire, who is hosting the show for a record 16th time, announced the nominees in top categories on “CBS This Morning” on Wednesday.

The top category, entertainer of the year, is all male for the second year in a row, which includes Stapleton, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban. And Musgraves is the sole female artist in the album of the year category along with Stapleton, Dan + Shay, Eric Church and Dierks Bentley.

The ACMs will be aired on CBS on April 7 from the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Stapleton is nominated twice as producer and artist for album of the year for “From A Room: Volume 2,” which he won last year for “From A Room: Volume 1.” He also seeks to win his second consecutive male artist of the year trophy and is nominated twice for song of the year for “Broken Halos,” for which he is also nominated as a producer.

Stapleton is a live favorite, too, averaging 11,516 tickets sold per show and gross of $567,043 per show over the last three years.

Dan + Shay could make good on their first Grammy win for best country duo/group performance for “Tequila,” which has earned them three nominations as a duo at the ACMs. They are also nominated for vocal duo of the year, album of the year for their self-titled release and musical event of the year for a duet with Kelly Clarkson. Dan Smyers earned four individual nominations for his work as a producer and songwriter.

See Also – Hotstar: Dan + Shay

Musgraves beat out the biggest-selling albums of the year by Cardi B and Drake for album of the year at this year’s Grammy Awards, but her lack of airplay meant she missed out on a single of the year nomination at the ACMs. She won four total Grammys this year, including best country album and best country song.

She is nominated twice as producer and artist for album of the year for “Golden Hour,” and twice for song of the year for “Space Cowboy,” which only reached top 30 on Billboard’s Hot Country chart. She’s also nominated for female artist of the year.

Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Florida Georgia Line, Bebe Rexha also had four nominations each.

This year, the ACMs are bringing back their artist of the decade honor, which will be announced later. Previous honorees include Marty Robbins, Loretta Lynn, Alabama, Garth Brooks and George Strait.

INDUSTRY AWARDS:

CASINO OF THE YEAR – SMALL CAPACITY

• Choctaw Casino & Resort – Durant, OK

• Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort – Cherokee, NC

• The Joint: Tulsa – Tulsa, OK

• Peppermill Reno – Reno, NV

• Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort – Mt. Pleasant, MI 

CASINO OF THE YEAR – LARGE CAPACITY 

• Casino Rama – Orillia, ON

• Grand Casino Hinckley – Hinckley, MN

• Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, CT

• Sandia Casino Amphitheater – Albuquerque, NM

• WinStar Global Event Center – Thackerville, OK

FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR 

• Boots & Hearts – Oro-Medonte, ON

• Faster Horses – Brooklyn, MI

• Stagecoach – Indio, CA

• Tortuga Music Festival – Ft. Lauderdale, FL

• Windy City Smokeout – Chicago, IL 

NIGHTCLUB OF THE YEAR 

• Dusty Armadillo – Rootstown, OH

• Grizzly Rose – Denver, CO

• Joe’s on Weed St – Chicago, IL

• Joe’s Live – Rosemont, IL

• Stoney’s Rockin’ Country – Las Vegas, NV

VENUE OF THE YEAR – SMALL CAPACITY 

• House of Blues – Anaheim, CA

• House of Blues – Boston, MA

• Floore’s – Helotes, TX

• Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN

• Surf Ballroom – Clear Lake, IA

VENUE OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM CAPACITY 

• Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO 

• Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, NH 

• Ascend Amphitheater – Nashville, TN

• The Wharf Amphitheater – Orange Beach, AL 

• The Anthem – Washington, DC

VENUE OF THE YEAR – LARGE CAPACITY

• Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN

• BOK Center – Tulsa, OK

• Budweiser Stage – Toronto, ON

• PNC Bank Arts Center – Holmdel, NJ

• Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center – Noblesville, IN 

DON ROMEO TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR 

• Todd Boltin – Variety Attractions

• Billy Brill – Billy Alan Productions

• Gil Cunningham – Neste Event Marketing

• Kell Houston – Houston Productions

• Nicole More – Wilson Events, Inc. 

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR

• Brent Fedrizzi – AEG Presents

• Stacy Vee – Goldenvoice

• Ed Warm – Joe’s Bar

• Adam Weiser – AEG Presents

• Jason Wright – Live Nation

STUDIO RECORDING AWARDS:

BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR 

• Mike Brignardello

• JT Cure

• Ian Fitchuk

• Tony Lucido

• Glenn Worf 

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR

• Matt Chamberlain

• Ian Fitchuk

• Evan Hutchings

• Aaron Sterling

• Nir Z

GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR 

• Tom Bukovac

• Jedd Hughes

• Danny Rader

• Adam Shoenfeld

• Ilya Toshinsky

• Derek Wells

PIANO/KEYBOARDS PLAYER OF THE YEAR 

• Dave Cohen

• David Dorn

• Ian Fitchuk

• Tony Harrell

• Charlie Judge

• Gordon Mote

SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT(S) PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Ian Fitchuk

• Jenee Fleenor

• Carl Miner

• Mickey Raphael

• Ilya Toshinsky 

STEEL GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Dan Dugmore

• Steve Hinson

• Mike Johnson

• Russ Pahl

• Justin Schipper 

AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR 

• Craig Alvin

• Ryan Gore

• Jeff Juliano

• Vance Powell

• F Reid Shippen 

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

• Buddy Cannon

• Ian Fitchuk

• Dann Huff

• Jay Joyce

• Michael Knox