Shania Twain to host Las Vegas return at Acm Awards 2026
Shania Twain will host acm awards 2026 for the first time when the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards take over Las Vegas on Sunday, May 17, 2026. The show starts at 8 p.m. ET and will stream live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Prime Video and Twitch.
Twain's first ACM hosting gig
Twain called the job “fun” and framed it as a night to celebrate other artists, meet newer voices, and reconnect with country music, the genre she called her “root music.” That puts a familiar ACM winner in a new role: she has already collected three ACM awards, including Top New Female Vocalist and Album of the Year in 1996 for The Woman in Me, Entertainer of the Year in 2000, the Double-Diamond Award in 1999, and the ACM Poet's Award in 2022.
Her turn comes after Reba McEntire hosted last year, when Ella Langley led with eight nominations. This year’s top nominee is Megan Moroney, who has nine awards in play, and the pattern makes the 2026 telecast a women-led setup for the second year in a row at the top of the bill.
Las Vegas after Frisco
The Academy of Country Music Awards are returning to Las Vegas after three years at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Moving the show back to the MGM Grand Garden Arena restores a setting that has long been part of the awards’ identity, while also keeping the broadcast in a venue built for a live, network-style production.
That matters for the performers too. Kacey Musgraves, Thomas Rhett, and Little Big Town are slated to play the show, giving the telecast a lineup that mixes established hitmakers with the night’s central competitive story. Twain also brought fresh momentum into the week by releasing her new song, “Dirty Rosie,” on Wednesday.
Moroney, Lambert, Langley, Wilson
Megan Moroney, Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley, and Lainey Wilson are among the evening’s top nominees, so the awards race will run alongside Twain’s hosting debut rather than getting lost inside it. For viewers, the practical setup is simple: the ACMs begin at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 17, with streaming available on Prime Video and Twitch.
That is the useful takeaway from this year’s show. Twain gets a first hosting credit, Las Vegas gets the ceremony back, and the nomination slate puts Moroney at the center of the competition before a note is handed out in front of the MGM Grand Garden Arena crowd.
