Fox country awards move to Nashville this year
If the American Country Awards fell into the woods (of Nashville) last summer and no one in Las Vegas heard them fall, did they make a sound?
Fox’s awards show will not be back to Mandalay Bay for a fifth time during the National Finals Rodeo next month. It has been replaced by the very similar-sounding American Country Countdown Awards, which will be broadcast from Nashville’s Music City Center on Dec. 15.
It turns out this was announced way back in June. The lack of impact from that news only furthered the “Does anybody really care?” stigma that country music’s third awards show fought from its inception.
Still, executive producer Bob Bain said last year, “It’s pretty safe to say we have successfully institutionalized” the Las Vegas awards, which admittedly existed primarily as “a great opportunity to sell music going into the holiday season.”
At least he didn’t say “very safe.”
Combine this loss with the more noticeable evacuation of the Academy of Country Music awards to Cowboys Stadium next April, and Las Vegas suddenly went from feast to famine when it comes to cue-card joking, all-star musical collaborations, and first-of-all-thank-God thank-you speeches.
The ACM producers have vowed their awards will be back to Las Vegas after the one-time 50th-anniversary staging in Texas.
However, the ACMs sold out a football stadium in 18 minutes there, reflecting a lot more fan excitement than when the show is at the MGM Grand Garden. Here it’s a tight ticket mostly controlled by record labels, with the more affordable fan access restricted to the companion ACM Fan Jam and other peripheral events.
Well, at least we don’t have to worry about parking or beer prices in our living room.
Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.
