Last night’s ACM Presents: Our Country television special was actually quite a the pleasant surprise.
Obviously, all of these artists planned to be perfuming in Las Vegas, at the 55th Annual ACM Awards, with a big stage, lots of production, the whole nine yards… but there was something about these acoustic, at-home performances that just felt real.
Stripped down, no bells and whistles, just country music and songs that make it go.
Eric Church debuted a brand new song written specifically for the times we’re in, Shania sang some old favorites with her horse, and during the pre-show stream, Chris Young tipped the cap to the late, great Joe Diffie with a tribute performance of “Pickup Man.”
Of course, Chris also covered Joe’s “Prop Me Up Beside The Jukebox (If I Die)” a couple years back, just before the launch of his “Raised On Country” single.