Stripping it back to honor a legend.
Earlier this week, Alan Jackson was honored with the Academy of Country Music’s Poet’s Award at the 2024 ACM Honors.
The award, which has been presented in the past to artists like Hank Williams, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson, recognizes artists for their songwriting contributions to country music – and with a catalog like Alan’s, it only makes sense that he should be honored with the award.
Eric Church was on hand to present the award to Alan, and spoke about the impact that his songwriting has had on country music:
“Alan Jackson is an institution. I was thinking about the Poet’s Award…thinking about Alan…thinking about what he’s meant to not just me, but to music.”
He then shared a quote from poet Robert Frost:
“He said, ‘Poetry is when emotion finds its thought…and then that thought finds its words.’
Alan Jackson has always found my words.”
And not only did Eric hand out the award, he also honored Alan with a stripped-back, acoustic cover of one of his biggest hits – and one that seems appropriate for the moment, recognizing a legendary career in country music – “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow.”
The performance even earned high praise from Alan himself:
“Hearing that song tonight, I began to tear up back there…
It brought back a lot of memories.”
And then Alan spoke about the importance of songwriting to his career, and what it means to be honored with the Poet’s Award:
“I’ve always put songwriting at the top of my list when it comes to making music…
I realized a long time ago life gives you a lot of ingredients for songwriting. It typically makes the best songs. And I’ve been fortunate to pull a lot of stuff out of my life and turn it into music over the years. My biggest pride as an artist is to write a song, have people enjoy it and be touched by it or moved by it.”
Great to see Alan getting the recognition he deserves.
