Roots, Toots n' Hoots Blog

ACM Awards: And the Entertainer of the Year should go to...

Jeffrey Remz  |  April 19, 2015

Will Garth Brooks make a full comeback and win the big kahuna - the Academy of Country Music award tonight for Entertainer of the Year? Or will Miranda Lambert continue her run of winning awards? And then there are fellow nominees Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line.

Brooks returned form self-imposed hiatus by releasing a new disc, "Man Against Machine," in November and launching a massive tour where he plays multiple dates in the same city. While his return is welcome - the performance I witnessed by Brooks in Boston in January was superb - he has yet to make much of a return to radio. He said in January that was something he would work on this year.

Somehow it feels a bit premature to give the award to Brooks.

I suspect Bryan and FGL are likely to knock each other out since they fall into the same category of bro country. Aldean seems to get nominated, but doesn't win (are you reading this Toby Keith?). To these ears, he just shouldn't be in the running for the award.

That leaves Lambert, and I think she does deserve the win. Her latest release, "Platinum," has not only been a commercial success, but, far more importantly, was an excellent album musically ranging from hard core to more mainstream country. This was one meaty release with lots of excellent songs, including "Automatic" and the snarling "Little Red Wagon."

Lambert received eight ACM nominations. An article in the Washington Post pointed out how she has more wins than any other artist since 2005 in CMAs and ACMs. Looks like she ought to add one more to the list.