Willie Nelson
ACM Awards 2014: Final Thoughts
This year’s ACM Awards were mediocre and broverwhemingly male-centric, despite women winning most of the major awards. As with last fall’s CMA show, the best moment was the final one, when George Strait won Entertainer of the Year.
Here’s a rundown of all the major winners:
Entertainer of the Year
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Luke Bryan
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Miranda Lambert
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Blake Shelton
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George Strait
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Taylor Swift
George Strait winning at the ACMs this year was even more surprising than at the CMAs last year, given how the fan-voted element of this award has favored stars with young fanbases in previous years. King George, indeed. – KJC
While it’s disheartening to see Strait’s mainstream support dwindling, it’s great to see the fans come through for King George. – BF
Even if Strait did unintentionally but hilariously leave Miranda Lambert hanging on her attempted hi-five, it was nice to see the genuine support for Strait’s win among the other artists in attendance. Too bad radio seems to have turned their back on him. – JK
Country Universe’s Best Albums of 2013, Part One: #40-#21
For the second year, Country Universe is publishing a 40-deep list of the year’s best albums. Part One includes releases from talented newcomers, genre legends, and quite a few entries from the outskirts of country music. As usual, that’s where most of the cool stuff can be found.
Country Universe will close out our year with the conclusion of this list tomorrow. As always, share your thoughts and opinions in the comments!
#40
Ventucky
Dan Grimm
Individual rankings: #12 – Jonathan
The EP format doesn’t leave much margin for error, but with a knack for unconventional imagery and a style that blends vintage SoCal rock with authentic honky-tonk, Dan Grimm ensures that every track on his freewheeling, endlessly likable Ventucky is a standout. – Jonathan Keefe
In Memoriam: Ray Price (1926-2013)
Country Music Hall of Famer Ray Price has passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 87.