Photos from the 2014 ACM Awards....the event took place April 6th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas....George Strait had a huge evening....first he performed his hit "I Got a Car"....then he and Dallas Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones made a special announcement....later George teamed up with Miranda Lambert to honor Merle Haggard...and he capped the evening in style by being named ACM Entertainer of the Year....I've placed the photos in order in an attempt to tell this eventful night's story.....
Here George is performing "I Got a Car"....I like to see that lip bite too....;)
George Strait and Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones announced the ACM's 50th anniversary in 2015 would take place in Dallas at AT&T Stadium....tickets went on sale a few days after and promptly sold out....BTW, George told the press that evening that he was looking forward to taking part in that event....let's hope he's able to participate....the ACM's anniversary would be incomplete without him, especially since he'd be the reigning EOTY and he's won the most ACM awards in its 50-year history....
For The Hag's tribute, George sang "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive", which was Merle's first #1 hit....Miranda sang "Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down".....
Once they each finished their songs, George and Miranda had a moment on stage to congratulate each other....their interpretations of Merle's songs provided two of the few moments of real country music on stage that night....
Immediately after, Garth Brooks walked back on stage to present Merle Haggard the ACM Crystal Milestone Award...but not before Garth, Miranda and George sang "Happy Birthday" to Merle since it was his 77th birthday that day.....
George was first to greet Merle on stage....later on in the Pressroom he commented that he had been a huge fan of The Hag going back to his Army days in Hawaii....that his tribute album to Bob Wills was still one of his favorite albums of all time....and told the story of going to see him play "live" at Conroy Bowl in Hawaii....
After his name was announced for EOTY, George made his way onto the stage...being congratulated by Taylor Swift.....looking sophisticated in her J. Mendel ensemble.....George was also congratulated by Tim and Faith as he walked by and shook hands with Keith Urban.....
Once on stage, the King was all smiles....after an initial "Wow!"...taking in the crowd's applause, he made the point to thank his fans...telling the audience he "had the best fans in the world" and reminding everyone this was a fan-voted award, he gleefully said "I rest my case!"...LOL
King George also thanked his record label...MCA...."the only label I've ever been on"....as well as his Nashville staff and his family....he then thanked God "for all the stuff he's blessed me with"...it was a touching moment....
In the Pressroom, George graciously posed for hundreds of photos...then answered some questions from Journalists....
Asked about today’s younger artists who have such a respect and a reverence for him .... he laughed and said, “What are they thinkin’?” ...after more laughs in the pressroom, he explained: “I gotta feel like it’s maybe somethin’ like that, the way I’ve looked up to George Jones and Merle Haggard, not that I’m comparin’ myself to them at all, ‘cause I’m not. Nobody can do that, but if it’s some kind of a little piece of that, then I’m flattered by it.”
Jerry Jones surprised George in the Pressroom with a handshake and a big hug....it's obvious these two guys are good friends....
Backstage, George was photographed with many artists...here with Tim and Garth.....and below with Album of the Year winner Kacey Musgraves, looking lovely in her ice blue gown, and who later gushed to the press: "George Strait is a huge influence on me. He's stayed so true to what he is since day one. He's never wavered. It's just quality. He's just so classy, and he's not hard to look at either."
Backstage with George, Garth, Miranda and Merle...holding the Crystal Milestone Award....
