In its 12th year, the Academy of Country Music will host the 2018 ACM Honors to give a special nod to several country musicians' contributions to the industry as chosen by members of the ACM Board of Directors. Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson, Darius Rucker and Sam Hunt will be featured, each with a different honor.
Bentley will receive the Merle Haggard Spirit Award, which suggests that he carries on part of Haggard's essence through honest storytelling and engaging performances. In the prior two years, this award has gone to Eric Church and Miranda Lambert.
This year's Cliffie Stone Icon Award will awarded to Jackson since he has considerably boosted the popularity of country music across the globe. The trophy should pair nicely with Jackson's 2011 ACM Jim Reeves International Award.
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Thanks to the ACM Lifting Lives Board of Directors, Darius Rucker will take home the Gary Haber Lifting Lives Award. This honor goes to artists who have enhanced lives through music and charitable efforts. Among his many accomplishments, Rucker has raised $1 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and held the "Homegrown Concert" for 15 years to raise money for children's school supplies.
And this year, the Gene Weed Milestone Award, given for new achievements in country music, goes to Sam Hunt for consistently breaking streaming records with his track "Body Like a Backroad." In addition to Hunt, Jackson, Rucker and Bentley, several other individuals within the country music industry will be recognized on Aug. 22 at the Ryman Auditorium at the 2018 ACM Honors, making for a special night.
