Mickey Guyton Makes History As The first Black Woman to Host The ACM Awards With Keith Urban

The Academy of Country Music®, dick clark productions and CBS announced today that Mickey Guyton will make history as the first Black female to host the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards™, alongside Keith Urban. The 56th ACM Awards® will broadcast live from three iconic country music venues, the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe Sunday, April 18 from 8:00-11:00 PM on the CBS Television Network and steaming live and on demand on Paramount+.

Urban returns for his second year after hosting the 55th ACM Awards in September, while this marks Guyton’s first time hosting the ACM Awards and the 29th time multiple hosts have taken the ACM Awards stage. Guyton’s performance of her critically acclaimed song “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?” at last year’s show featured Urban as a surprise guest on piano.

“I’m beyond thrilled to be co-hosting with my friend Mickey,” said Urban. “I love that finally everyone will get to see her infectious energy and uber creative spirit in full light.”

“Last year I had the opportunity to perform at the Academy of Country Music Awards with someone I long admired, Keith Urban, and this year I am incredibly excited to share hosting duties with him,” said Guyton. “As I’ve said before ‘if you can see it, you can be it,’ and it’s such an honor to step onto the ACM stage as the first ever Black woman to host the show. Over the years, the Academy of Country Music has always been a home for me through opportunities both onstage and throughout their work on diversity and inclusion. This is a moment of great significance for me and I am so thrilled to share it with all the fans.”

“Following Mickey’s groundbreaking and emotional performance featuring Keith Urban at last September’s ACM Awards, the producers knew that they would make a perfect hosting duo,” said ACM, dcp and CBS in a joint statement. “Since then, Mickey had a stratospheric rise and Keith has continued to top the charts. They will make a dynamic pairing that captures the warmth, humor, and comfort that the fans are looking for, and join a legendary list of talented artists that have hosted the ACM Awards over the years.”  

The 56th ACM Awards®, honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in Country Music, will feature exciting performances, unprecedented collaborations, surprising moments and more to be announced in the coming weeks. The health and safety of the artists, fans, industry, staff and partners involved in the ACM Awards is the number one priority. All guidelines set forth by national, state and local health officials will be closely followed and implemented during the production along with additional safety measures to be instated by dick clark productions and the Academy of Country Music. 

For more information, visit ACMcountry.com.