Artists Who Didn’t Attend The ACM Awards
on May 17, 2026
The 61st ACM Awards Were Held On May 18
On Sunday, May 18, country music’s biggest stars flocked to Las Vegas for one of the biggest award shows of the year. The Academy of Country Music Awards were hosted by Shania Twain at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The night was filled with incredible performances from Ella Langley, Miranda lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Riley Green, Cody Johnson, and many more.
Not only were there countless memorable performances that people will be talking about for years on end, ten awards were handed out during the live broadcast, with four being given out before the show even started: New Female Artist of the Year, New Male Artist of the Year, Visual Media of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year.
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Despite the epic performances and surprise wins, there were several notable singers who skipped out on the ACM Awards. See them below.
Megan Moroney
When ACM Award nominations were announced in April, Megan Moroney became the most nominated artist with nine total nominations!
Despite this, she did not attend the ceremony. On the day of the awards, she revealed that she was out of the country doing Maid of Honor duties, as her very best friend was getting married.
See her social media post below.
Jelly Roll
Jelly Roll is usually an awards show darling, whether he be nominated or perform, but he was nowhere to be seen at the 61st Annual ACM Awards.
He was up for Music Event Of The Year for his song “Amen” with Shaboozy, as well as the biggest award of the night, Entertainer of the Year.
He doesn’t kick off his Little Ass Shed Tour until May 28th, and after a cancellation of six tour dates with Post Malone, he doesn’t start his joint tour with Posty until June 9.
No word yet on why he didn’t attend.
Morgan Wallen
In recent years, Morgan Wallen has chosen to avoid award shows, despite still receiving nominations, and even some wins.
He was up for Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year for I’m the Problem, and Artist-Songwriter, which he lost out to to his tour opener Ella Langley.
He did perform in Florida the night before the performance, but so did Langley, and she walked the red carpet and is scheduled to perform at the show.
Were there any other singers you noticed who didn’t attend?
