13 best moments, worst and WTF – Rolling Stone

The 54th edition of the ACM Awards on Sunday night was felt as a struggle between the old school traditions of the country and its progressive future, giving rise to truly engaging performances. Others, however, struggled to find their place, while some moments left us questions that turned our heads upside down – like: why did two of the most talented country and Americana musicians play in a near darkness? And why was not Kacey Musgraves' music heard either live or on tape? Here are the 13 best, worst and WTF things we've witnessed.

The best: Luke Combs Is Mr. Versatile
Luke Combs was one of the few selected artists (George Strait, Ashley McBryde, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood) to perform several times on Sunday nights. In both cases, Combs showed why he was one of the most promising young voices of the genre, showing his versatility when he alternated between sensitive ballads during his simplified rendition, performed by Amanda Shires, of "Beautiful Crazy "Shortly before taking down a free and exciting take. Brand New Man from 1991 with Brooks & Dunn. Although he did not win any awards on the screen, the double of Combs earned him one of the impressions of the evening. J.B.

Worse: Charlie Worsham, Amanda Shires are heard, barely seen
It was a treat to see two of Nashville's finest artists – Amanda Shires and Charlie Worsham – unexpectedly come on stage last night, alongside Luke Combs and Keith Urban, respectively. Playing violin for the interpretation of "Beautiful Crazy" by Combs, Shires helped transform the song with his lyrical play, while Worsham, who had just completed the house band during the tribute to the Loretta Lynn's birthday last week, added a masterful guitar to Urban's interpretation by Foy Vance's "Burden." This was the perfect opportunity to introduce Shires and Worsham to an even larger audience, but there was only one problem: MCCs did not bother to announce either. . As a Highwomen member with performers Brandi Carlile and Maren Morris (and ACM winner Natalie Hemby) and 2017 laureate of the emerging artist of the year at the 2017 Americana Honors & Awards, it is little to say that Shires deserved to be presented alongside Combs. Same for Worsham, who should have been nominated for an ACM himself for 2017 Beginning things. It was exciting to see them and hear them in the fold last night (well, we almost see them – Worsham was mostly in the shadows), but the ACM should have given them the recognition that They deserved. M.M.

WTF: Eric Church's Hooded Choir
Eric Church and Ashley McBryde have joined forces to support the church's political allegory: "The Snake" was one of the most disconcerting performances of the ACMs. Here are two of the largest groups of country music songwriters discussing deception, discord and temptation in a typical safe milk forum, where Church is raving about the devilish delivery of her Garden of Eden line: "I bet you my rattle against your copper the bitch takes the apple again. "Yet we could not help but purge the visions of Spinal tap when a hooded choir (were they druids? monks? wizards?) materialized to lend disturbing voices at the end of the song. To quote Tap's Stonehenge, no one knows who they were and what they did. JH

Best: Brandi Carlile debuts ACMs
The year was already triumphant for Brandi Carlile, who impressed viewers with her performance of "The Joke" at the 61st Grammy Awards in February. Dierks Bentley seemed to want to extend Carlile's winning lap, inviting him to join him for a 2018 performance. The mountain "Travelin 'Light". Carlile – who was also seen singing happily with Brooks & Dunn's "Brand New Man" – served as a perfect counterpoint to Bentley, framing his ruthless acrobat with his flawless vocal acrobatics. With future projects such as Highwomen and production work for Tanya Tucker, it could be Carlile's first ACM award. B. M.

Best: Dan + Shay Win Big, Nice Play
Sometimes the nice guys who work hard earn one. Or, in this case, three. After a monster year with at least one monster success in "Tequila", the duo of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney were cleansed during the first half of the ACM Awards. "Tequila", still hovering near the top of the Hot Country Songs standings a year later, was named song and single of the year, while Dan + Shay managed to outsmart friendly rival Brothers Osborne and win his first Vocal ACM. Duo of the year Although Smyers took time during one of his speeches, he took the time to thank all the musicians of the session who helped to give a sound of "Tequila" as powerful. Now, tell us the last time you heard another artist do that. J.F.

The worst: Luke Bryan's oversized boots
Despite simple words like "we must close the doors", the last single of Knockin 'Boots, Luke Bryan, is not terrible. In fact, it's rather attractive, thanks to its inherent clumsiness. The same can be said of Bryan's charm, but his performance was disproportionate with Wayne Newton's Smarm. Drawing the unfortunate chance to follow the thrilling mix of his successes with Miranda Lambert, Bryan's pioneered a path through 'Knockin' Boots ', adopting a performance style that seemed to consist of' a singing line, a big smile , a repetition ". Or while Woody Allen was preaching Broadway Danny Rose: "Star Smile Strong." Such big smiles and gestures usually work for television, but in this case, Bryan's "Boots" were too big. JH

Best: Small Big City Champion Girls
Nashville has tried several times to offer its own version of the anthem "Women's Empowerment" and, so far, has generally missed the mark: "Female" by Keith Urban and "Women" by Florida Georgia Line are among the worst offenders. But the trend is changing: first with "Girl" by Maren Morris and now "Daughters" from Little Big Town, which the quartet played for the first time last night in the midst of a troupe of dancers. Full of powerful lines that not only defy the social norms that women are expected to conform to – especially at shows such as ACMs – it was an extremely moving performance that became even more powerful when the lyrics went from the third person to Karen Fairchild singing on herself. . "Put like a trophy on a shelf," she chanted, visibly shaken. "And dream for everyone but not for me." Country radio probably will not be invited to play a song like "Girls", but it's a song girls need most to hear. M.M.

Best: Ashley McBryde's Wow Moment
Years ago, Ashley McBryde was in high school in Mammoth Springs, Arkansas, where her teacher had told her that her dream of becoming a singer-songwriter would never materialize. Last night, she performed the song she wrote about this experience, "Girl Goin 'Nowhere," on the ACM stage, as the winner of the New Female Artist of the Year. Armed only with her acoustic guitar and her immaculate voice, she stunned the audience with a standing ovation, ending the moment by looking into the crowd and shouting "wow". Back to you, McBryde. M.M.

Worse: Kacey Musgraves does not sing
A press release released late Sunday night said Kacey Musgraves was only the third artist in history to win the CMA Awards, Grammys and ACM Awards Album of the Year in one year, as she does. now. with Gold hour – the precedent was Taylor Swift, if that tells you anything. It was therefore disconcerting to see Musgraves applaud politely in the audience or get on stage to accept his rewards, but never managed to sing one of the songs that had brought him there. It's a lot of frustrating questions, no matter how you look at it. If the ACM did not offer him a place, are they really crazy? If ACM offered her a position – which should be the case – and what she refused, why? Heck, give him half an hour to do tap-dancing, tell jokes or organize a cross episode of RuPaul drag racing race if that's what she wanted to do. We would surely have gone through the evening with only two performances of George Strait (sorry, King). J.F.

WTF: Kacey and Chris's Great Music Mystery
The reason Musgraves did not play is just as disturbing as the reason his actual recorded music remained unplayed during the show. When most of the nominees were announced during the broadcast, a brief excerpt from their music was heard as the camera flew over the artists – "Tequila" for Dan + Shay, "Heaven by Kane Brown", and so on. But generic background music was played when Musgraves and Stapleton's names were announced, leaving many wondering why. A taboo disagreement on rights? One shift per minute? Something else? At press time, the representatives of the two distribution houses, Musgraves and the Artists' House did not respond to the request for comment. J.B.

Worst: Opening Advertising, Uh, Performance
For a show that has presented itself as a mass of remarkable collaborations, the opening number has been disappointing. While Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean offered a clever rendition of their collaboration, "Can not Hide Red," the performance sounded lukewarm compared to more inventive artists typical of previous contests. The choice of performers was also a bit suspicious, as this year the ACM announced the creation of a diversity working group – it would have been a mess for the series to become a bit too bold with its talent, can -being with Kane Brown and Khalid -The intersectorial collaboration of the moment, or Eric Church and the duo inspired by the duo Ashley McBryde on the snake. Tyler Hubbard ended the show by hooking up the duo's Old Camp Whiskey, which was a bitter icing on a tasteless cake. B. M.

Best: Miranda Lambert's Fiery Medley
The first hour of the ACM Awards started slowly, with many of the show's top performances having been saved. Thank God, Miranda Lambert, who very early enlivened the evening with an impressive number of songs from his two decades of career. Starting with the 2005 "Kerosene", Lambert etched the first cuts and hits on the radio for a medley featuring both his vocal chops and his longevity. She finished her set with a triumphal catch Platinum"Little Red Wagon", slipping in ad-libbed lyrics, "I had the hell out of Oklahoma." It was an outstanding performance of one of the best of its kind, and further proof that Lambert deserved to be a leading Year artist. B. M.

The best: Reba roasts the bros
"I'm a woman in the music industry and I do not have time to be tired," Reba McEntire said at the start of her opening monologue. Hosting the ACM Awards for the 16th time, the grande dame of the country has not retained her language regarding the struggles of women in the country music industry predominantly male. "Did you know that it snowed in Las Vegas just a few weeks ago?" She asked the crowd. "It was so cold that we women were excluded from the year presenter." Zing! It may have been a nice way to talk to the elephant in the room, but there is little doubt that some guys started to squirm. JH