By Holly Gleason
It should’ve been April. It should’ve been Las Vegas. It should’ve been a live audience. It should’ve been a lot of things. But when the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards actually hit the airwaves, the sheer relief of finally getting the music moving was palpable.
A lot went into making the first mostly live awards show work. RAC Clark, Raj Kapoor and Glenn Weiss—alongside recently installed ACM chief Damon Whiteside—figured out a quick cut, three-location, green-screen extravaganza that celebrated The Grand Ole Opry, the teeny songwriter room The Bluebird Café and the Opry’s original home, The Ryman Auditorium.
By Holly Gleason
It should’ve been April. It should’ve been Las Vegas. It should’ve been a live audience. It should’ve been a lot of things. But when the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards actually hit the airwaves, the sheer relief of finally getting the music moving was palpable.
A lot went into making the first mostly live awards show work. RAC Clark, Raj Kapoor and Glenn Weiss—alongside recently installed ACM chief Damon Whiteside—figured out a quick cut, three-location, green-screen extravaganza that celebrated The Grand Ole Opry, the teeny songwriter room The Bluebird Café and the Opry’s original home, The Ryman Auditorium.