The 56^th Annual ACM Awards went down last night in Nashville, taking place mainly in iconic Nashville locations – The Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, Bluebird Cafe, The Station Inn and more- with the show watched by an in-person audience made up of healthcare workers from Vanderbilt Hospital.

The night’s big award, Entertainer of the Year, went to Luke Bryan, who was not in house after testing positive for COVID, but did accept his award via Zoom. This was Luke’s third time winning the big trophy.

The night’s other big winner was Maren Morris, who won two trophies, Female Artist of the Year (for a second year in a row) and Song of the Year for “The Bones.” Carly Pearce and Lee Brice also took home two awards, Song of the Year and Music Event of the Year for “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”

Other winners included: Chris Stapleton’s “Starting Over,” named Album of the Year (his third Album of the Year win), Thomas Rhett, who won Male Artist of the Year (his third), Old Dominion, nabbed Group of the Year (for a fourth straight year), and Dan + Shay  won Duo of the Year for the third straight year. (click here for a complete winner’s list)

Of course, what everyone tunes into the ACM for are the performances, and there certainly were a ton of them.

• The show kicked off with Miranda Lambert and Ell King, decked out in fringed leather jackets, performing the world television premiere of “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).”
• Thomas Rhett treated fans to a pair of songs from his upcoming album, the title track, “Country Again,” and his latest number one, “What’s Your Country Song.”
• Chris Stapleton performed “Maggie’s Song,” about his late dog, at the Bluebird Café. Dog lover Miranda Lambert filled in on background vocals because Chris’ wife Morgane had a “prior doula commitment.”
• Maren Morris and hubby Ryan Hurd brought the heat for their collab “Chasing After You,” ending the performance with a kiss.
• Dierks Bentley performed U2’s “Pride (In The Name of Love), with War and Treaty at the Station Inn, dedicating it to the club’s owner JT Gray, who passed away last month.
• Carrie Underwood performed a “My Savior” medley, including “Amazing Grace,” “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” with guest CeCe Winans, and “How Great Thou Art.”
• Miranda Lambert returned for a third time to perform her “Marfa Tapes” song “In His Arms,” with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall.
• Dan + Shay performed “Glad You Exist,” although there seemed to be something really wrong with their feed because their lips didn’t match up with what they were singing. They later addressed the issue on Twitter.
• New Artist winner Jimmie Allen performed “Freedom Was A Highway,” and was surprised mid-song by his collaboration partner Brad Paisley.
• Kenny Chesney performed “Knowing You,” as the In Memoriam video of stars who passed in the last year played in the background.
• Carly Pearce and Lee Brice performed their Single of the Year winner “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”
• Alan Jackson performed a medley featuring his classic “Drive (For Daddy Gene),” and his new single “You’ll Always Be My Baby (Written For Daughter).”
• Blake Shelton kicked off his performance with his debut single “Austin,” which is celebrating its 20^th anniversary, and then followed that with his latest track “Minimum Wage.”
• Host Mickey Guyton once again showed off her pipes during her performance of “Hold On,” backed by a chorus who sang from the audience.
• Host Keith Urban reunited with his band to perform “Tumbleweed,” the first time he’s gotten to perform the track with them.
• Little Big Town, who was without Philip Sweet who tested COVID positive (although there was a cutout of him), performed “Wine Beer Whiskey” from the streets of downtown Nashville, backed be a horn and drum section.
• Brothers Osborne performed “I’m Not For Everyone,” and then wrapped the show with “Dead Man’s Curve.”

• The night’s performances included: Chris Young and Kane Brown performed “Famous Friends” at the Ryman, Lady A performed “Like A Lady” on an outside stage in Nashville; New Artist winner Gabby Barrett performed “One Of The Good Ones,” Eric Church debuted the brand new song “A Bunch of Nothing,” Luke Combs performed “Forever After All,” Ashley McBryde performed “Martha Devine” on the boardwalk in Nashville, and Kelsea Ballerini and Kenny Chesney performed a beautiful rendition of “half of my home town.”