Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton are the co-hosts for the 2023 ACM Awards.
It’s Brooks’ first time hosting the ACMs, or any other major country music awards show. Parton co-hosted the event in 2022 with Gabby Barrett and Jimmie Allen, and she also hosted it solo back in 2000.
For the two living legends, this co-hosting gig represents a rare chance to work together on a project, according to Billboard, who first reported the news.
“We are excited about this because we’ve always wanted to do something together. We’ve always admired each other musically and as people and how we handle our business,” Parton explains. “So this is a great thrill for me. I think the fans are going to enjoy seeing us together, ’cause Lord knows he’s got fans and I got a few.”
Brooks admits he’s “nervous as hell” to share a stage with Parton.
“What I’m looking forward to the most — and forgive me for comparing you to somebody else, but when you get to work with Reba McEntire, you just wear out pencils on a notebook because you take notes, right? A woman in this industry — and I’m married to one of the greatest singers ever [Trisha Yearwood] — they have to work a thousand times harder to get a tenth as much,” the singer says.
“So you watch them go to work, and when it’s your turn, your time, you work like a girl,” Brooks adds. “You outwork everybody you can.”
When it comes to what fans can expect from the show, Parton says she hopes that the real camaraderie between the two hosts will shine through. “I think that’s going to be one of the things that hopefully shows up on camera, that we like each other for real,” she notes. “I think sometimes you get people onstage and everybody’s a pro and can get up there and talk, but when you really feel the warmth between two people, I think that’s where the magic is, and I think we both have that in us.”
Fans shouldn’t expect to see a musical collaboration between the two hosts at the 2023 ACM Awards, but Parton does have a surprise in store: She’s planning to premiere the first single off her upcoming rock album from the ACMs stage.
Though there are plenty of firsts surrounding Parton and Brooks’ upcoming hosting gig, both artists have substantial history with the ACM Awards. Parton has won 13 trophies at the show, including the coveted Entertainer of the Year Award in 1977. Brooks has 22 ACM trophies under his belt, including a record six Entertainer of the Year wins, plus the award for ACM Artist of the Decade for the 1990s.
The 2023 ACM Awards will take place on May 11 at Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas, just outside of Dallas. The show is now in its second year of streaming live on Amazon Prime Video.