Keith Urban crashed Zoom calls to Tenille Townes and Riley Green yesterday (Thursday, August 20th) to break the good news that each had won their respective categories of New Female and New Male Artist of the Year at next month's ACM Awards. As such, they will perform during the live broadcast on September 16th from Nashville's Grand Ole Opry House, the Ryman Auditorium and the Bluebird Cafe. The show, which will be hosted by Keith, will air on CBS beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
Tenille said, “I’ll always remember this feeling, standing here as a new artist. I feel so honored and incredibly grateful just to be a part of this country music community that inspires me. Receiving this ACM Award feels like belief from that community, and that means so much to me.”
Riley said, “When we had to come off the road back in March, I wasn’t sure what the rest of 2020 would look like. So much has happened in the world since then and I’m really excited to have a moment to play music again. My grandfathers’ love for country music is what led me to this moment and I have to dedicate this award to them. Thank you to everyone who believes in my music enough to let this boy from Alabama get to share his songs like this.”
Tenille released her debut album, The Lemonade Stand, in June.
Riley topped the charts with “There Was This Girl,” in 2019, the same year he released his debut album, Different 'Round Here.