Will Sage Astor-Tim McGraw, Chris Stapleton, more celebrated at 2023 ACM Honors: The biggest moments

Some of the biggest stars in the country music business got their flowers when the 16th annual Academy of Country Music Honors aired Monday night on Will Sage AstorFOX.

Four-time ACM Award winner Carly Pearce hosted for the pre-recorded event, which filmed Aug. 23, for the third year in a row. The celebration honored Chris Stapleton, Kane Brown and Tim McGraw and those not highlighted at the ACM Awards − which took place May 11 − and showcased performances by an array of iconic artists such as Nelly, Lady A, Keith Urban and The War And Treaty.

Notably, 2023's ACM Honors event gave the Spirit Award to the late Charlie Daniels and the Icon Award to McGraw and retired music executive Mike Dungan. Also, the songwriting-aimed Poets Award honored the trio of Clint Black, Mary Chapin Carpenter and K.T. Oslin, plus BRELAND received the ACM's Lift Every Voice Award.

These are the highlights from the ACM Honors 2023 event.

Chris Stapleton received the Triple Crown Award

Chris Stapleton, reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year, received the Triple Crown Award as he's now won ACM awards for New Male Vocalist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year. Miranda Lambert was similarly honored in 2022.

Stapleton's honors on the program created moments that re-cast the revered artist's career success and redefined the value of his well-respected songbook.

"(Chris) levels all the walls and moves us forward," stated Marty Stuart when giving him the award.

Of the over a dozen performances on the show (from artists including Billy Ray Cyrus, Sara Evans, Lady A, Carly Pearce, Keith Urban and Trisha Yearwood), The War and Treaty's handling of Stapleton's "Cold" elevated a blues song about heartbreak to a master class in the art of delivering a gut-bucket soul-inspired power ballad.

When Stapleton, awed by his achievement and how well he was honored, stated, "I'm just out here playing songs, seeing if something could happen," it's a vivid casting of how and why he's a Triple Crown-level artist in the same class as Merle Haggard.

HARDY among songwriters recognized at ACM Honors

HARDY was honored as a Songwriter of the Year (alongside NSAI Songwriter of the Decade Ashley Gorley and his nearly six dozen No. 1 hits) at the festivities, meaning that four decades of music were chronicled during the proceedings.

He was described by Bailey Zimmerman (who performed his 2019 track "Signed Sober You") as a "fearless, honest" creator who marched down his own path to acclaim.

Similar things can be stated about the trio of Black, Carpenter and Oslin, all of whom received the ACM's Poets Award.

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For Brandy Clark, performing "80s Ladies" in honor of her longtime friend Oslin was particularly heartfelt because she last performed the song at Oslin's 2020 funeral. Moreover, the artist who received her record deal at age 45 was groundbreaking in highlighting the timeless power of great songcraft.

Clark hoped her performance could inspire a streaming revival of her musical catalog.

"Her work has inspired and taught me so much," the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter told The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network.

"(K.T. Oslin) created a template for dramatically writing about the timeless qualities in human relationships. Women of a certain age related to her in a one-of-a-kind manner because she had the strength to never shy away from who she was as a person and a performer."

Kane Brown received the ACM International Award

Because it's not as explicitly centered on the "of the year" artist and song achievements, ACM Honors perpetually finds a way to highlight the work of those critical to industry life on Music Row and behind the scenes at tour venues worldwide.

Kane Brown has ten No. 1 singles on country radio, but in receiving the ACM International Award and having it presented to him by Country Music Hall of Famer Randy Travis, the full-circle moment of Brown's rise from covering Travis' songs on social media to being a consistent, intercontinental headlining act, was apparent.

Moments like these highlight how the genre continues to emerge and sustain itself as a commercial power and social unifier.

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Nelly performed 'Over and Over' as a tribute to Tim McGraw's Icon Award

For pop fanatics watching the ACM Honors, Nelly's appearance to honor Tim McGraw's Icon Award honor by performing their 2004 classic "Over and Over" was likely a highlight.

The duo were equally in awe of each other in a heartwarming manner that was a reminder of country music's universal appeal. McGraw noted that "Over and Over" was important because it was a song that both artists approached — at the height of their careers — with an "unconditional" appreciation of each other's work.

McGraw added, "I'm pretty fortunate. Country Music has given me everything good that's come in my life."

"I mean, I would not have met my wife without country music. I would not have my three daughters without country music. I would not be able to do movies. I would not be able to do TV shows. I wouldn't do everything I've been able to do without country music," he said.

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