Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton will co-host the 2023 ACM Awards.
Brooks is hosting the ACMs for the first time and any other major country music awards ceremony. Parton co-hosted the event with Gabby Barrett and Jimmie Allen in 2022 and presented it alone in 2000.
According to Billboard, who broke the story first, this co-hosting assignment provides a rare opportunity for the two living superstars to collaborate on a project.
“We’ve always wanted to do something together because we’ve always admired each other musically, as individuals, and how we conduct our business,” Parton says.
“So this is a huge excitement for me, and I think the public will love seeing us together because Lord knows he’s got fans, and I have a few.”
Brooks admits to being “nervous as hell” about sharing the stage alongside Parton.
“What I’m looking forward to the most — and forgive me for comparing you to someone else, but when you get to work with Reba McEntire, you just wear out pencils on a notebook because you take notes, right?” the singer says.
“A woman in this industry — and I’m married to one of the greatest singers ever [Trisha Yearwood] — they must work a thousand times harder to get a tenth as much.”
“So you watch them go to work,” Brooks continues, “and when it’s your turn, your time, you work like a girl.” “You work harder than anyone.”
When asked what fans should expect from the show, Parton says she hopes the genuine friendship between the two hosts shines through. “I believe it’s going to be one of the things that hopefully comes across on camera, that we enjoy each other,” she says.
“Sometimes you get people onstage, and everyone’s a pro and can stand up there and talk, but I think the magic is when you genuinely feel the warmth between two people, and we both have it in us.”
Fans should not expect a musical duet between the two hosts at the 2023 ACM Awards, but Parton has a surprise in store: she plans to debut the first track from her next rock album from the ACMs stage.
Though many firsts surround Parton and Brooks’ upcoming hosting gig, both artists have a long history with the ACM Awards. Parton has 13 ACM trophies, including the coveted Entertainer of the Year Award in 1977, and Brooks has 22 ACM trophies, including a record six Entertainer of the Year wins and the award for ACM Artist of the Decade for the 1990s.
The 2023 ACM Awards will be held on May 11 at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas, just outside of Dallas, and will be streamed live on Amazon Prime Video for the second year.
