Academy of Country Music Awards takes over arenas at MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay

Bob Romeo remembers touring the MGM Grand Garden seven years ago and thinking, "This is a big place. I don't know if we're ever going to fill it."

The president of the Academy of Country Music decided his annual awards would be safer across the street at the Mandalay Events Center, which seats about 11,000 for concerts; 5,000 less than the MGM. "We probably could fill this," he decided. "This is where we should come."

Three years later, "We outgrew it, and went to the MGM." And Sunday night, "We're going to be in both arenas."

The new "Fan Jam" at Mandalay Bay will run concurrent with the main event, cutting back and forth with the annual awards show -- which airs on CBS -- and then offering the ticketed arena audience more music from Sugarland and newer country stars.

"Experiment or not, what's a little bit of a draw to me is I get to walk out there and play in front of people who are fans, as opposed to the industry -- the front 10 or 20 rows over at the MGM," says Eric Church, who plays "Fan Jam" as a Best New Artist nominee.

Romeo says it's hard to separate the overall explosion of country's popularity from adventurous tweaks to the awards show, which has been rewarded with higher ratings each year.

Changes include trimming down presenter chit-chat at the podium in favor of novel duets -- this year including James Taylor with the Zac Brown Band -- and putting some categories to the vote of fans.

"It's fun to be part of the history of that show," says Dierks Bentley, who is set to perform and also find out if "Up on the Ridge" wins Album of the Year.

"It was a little looser" when Bentley remembers watching the show growing up in Arizona. "Nowadays, it's a big deal. Country music's big, it's big money... It's not just, get up there and sing your song. There's a lot of time and thought that goes into each performance."

"The goal is to keep it fresh. Grow your audience," says Orley Adelson, president of Dick Clark Productions, which helms the broadcast. "Country is a crossover in a much bigger way than it used to be," in both directions: "The influence of pop into country, and country into pop."

This year, Rihanna drops by to sing her single "California King Bed" with Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles. This was booked before Lady Gaga's surprise release of a country version of her new single "Born This Way."

Movie stars such as Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson also are booked for cameos. "Movie companies realize the power of country music reaching a heartland demographic," says executive producer Richard A. Clark.

On the other hand, the traditional urban-rural cultural divide is preserved by Church. His new single, "Homeboy," has the narrator pleading with his brother to get back to his small-town roots: "You were too bad for a little square town, with your hip-hop hat and your pants on the ground ... Here you are runnin' these dirty old streets, tattoo on your neck, fake gold on your teeth."

Church says he is "a little surprised at some of the passion of the people and the comments" about the song. He will sing his previous hit, "Smoke a Little Smoke" on the ACMs, but only because the new one is "storming up the charts a little faster than I thought," not because he is one to duck controversy.

"It got a lot of people talking. That's not a bad thing," he says. "I think any time you can make music and it evokes dialogue and an intellectual response ... I think you've made the kind of music you need to make.

"I think that's healthy."

Here's a closer look at this weekend's ACM-related activity. See the Showguide for more detailed time and ticket information:

The Awards Show

Blake Shelton shares the hosting duties this year with its veteran host, Reba McEntire. Zac Brown managed to score four writing and producing nominations on top of five for his Zac Brown Band; Miranda Lambert has seven nods, including her first for Entertainer of the Year.

Tickets were limited and expensive -- more than $300 to sit in the upper deck of the MGM Grand Garden -- but still available earlier this week. The show starts at 5 p.m. to air live on the East Coast but will be broadcast locally at 8 p.m. on KLAS-TV, Channel 8.

Fan Jam

The idea is to combine an ACM satellite broadcast with a straight-ahead concert at fan-friendly prices. The big duet between Rihanna and Nettles will happen at Mandalay Bay, as well as on-camera time for New Artist nominees Church and The Band Perry.

Little Big Town and Laura Bell Bundy are among the half dozen younger acts building up to the headlining set from Sugarland.

Girls' Night Out: Superstar Women of Country

For the third year in a row, Dick Clark Productions gets more bang for its production buck with a second event to be filmed Monday and air on CBS on April 22.

This one takes a page from the annual Kennedy Center Honors. Lambert, Nettles, Carrie Underwood and other stars of the 2000s will be honored alongside influences such as Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn and The Judds.

"In country music, it's more touching than any other (genre) because they really celebrate each other, Adelson says. "They're friends. They're on the road together. It's a cameraderie that is very apparent in that world."

The only question: Where's Taylor Swift?

"We love Taylor, of course, but there are many (honors) to come," Adelson says. "She's young."

The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the MGM Grand Garden.

Fremont Street freebies

A 10:45 p.m. set from Sara Evans headlines a full evening of free concerts on Friday, while Ronnie Dunn's first solo act without Kix Brooks does likewise at the same time Saturday.

Friday's roster (alternating between stages at First and Third Street) also includes Sarah Darling, 6:15 p.m.; Casey James, 7 p.m.; Brett Eldredge, 7:45 p.m.; Chris Young, 8:30 p.m. and Lee Brice, 9:35 p.m.

Saturday's show also features Thompson Square, 6:15 p.m.; the JaneDear Girls, 7 p.m.; Steel Magnolia, 8:05 p.m.; Randy Houser, 9 p.m. and Easton Corbin, 9:55 p.m.

Dierks Bentley

Bentley might be a brave man to go up against the free shows on Fremont Street with a ticketed concert on Saturday.

But he has Mandalay Bay's fun beach stage working in his favor. And he plans to "bring some guests out as well and make it a once-in-a-lifetime show." The friends he might coerce include Lambert, Lady Antebellum and the Zac Brown Band.

The pressure of performing one song on national television is "a whole different head space" from a regular show, he says.

"Performing's just fun. I think all of us who got into this, we do it because we love to sing with a band onstage. That's what we all look forward to."

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.