Dolly Parton sends love to Ukraine during ACM Awards

Dolly Parton says she always follows what her heart tells her to say. Parton took that lead again Monday, as her heartfelt support of Ukraine opened the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards show at Allegiant Stadium.

“I don’t want to be political, and this is not. I’d rather pass a kidney stone than do that,” said Parton, wearing a mirrored, Vegas-fashioned pantsuit to kick off the show. “I want us to send our love and hope to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Let’s dedicate this whole show to them and pray for peace around this crazy old world.”

The crowd roared, as Parton proved again her ability to preach powerfully and positively.

Hers was not the only compelling moment in a fast-paced show heavy with live performances. Jason Aldean and Chris Stapleton furnished another. Aldean, forever connected to Las Vegas as the performer onstage when the shooting broke out at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Oct. 1, 2017, introduced Stapleton’s “Watch You Burn.” The song evokes the emotions of the tragic night, for Aldean (who lived it) and Stapleton (who wrote of it).

Aldean brought Stapleton out by saying, “The mass shooting of Oct. 1 was an attack on our country music family. … It’s hard for me to put something that horrific into words, to capture how many of of us feel. But it’s not a surprise that my friend Chris Stapleton has.”

Stapleton then glowered through the number, peppered by the lyrics, “I wasn’t there, I didn’t see, but I had friends in your company. If I could snap my fingers, if I could flip a switch, I’d make that last bullet first, you son of a bitch.”

Aldean and Resorts World headliner Carrie Underwood performed the song that won the ACM Award for Single of the Year, “If I Didn’t Love You.” After the appearance, Aldean talked of his long relationship with Las Vegas, and with Route 91.

“It’s not quite the way I want to be attached to the city, by any means,” Aldean said. “But I do feel a special connection to the city, and more so since Route 91. I enjoy coming back here, I have always had a great time being here. Some of the highlights of my career happened in this town, at this particular show, so I have a lot of great memories from here. With the exception of the one time, it’s always been great.”

Aldean closed, “For me, personally, I’m kind of at peace with everything. I just try to move on and make the best of a bad situation. It’s all you can do.”

Breaking new ground

The aged show broke ground in a couple of pertinent ways. It was the first awards telecast from Allegiant Stadium, and also the first ACM Awards event to jumps from network TV to a streaming-only, no-commercials telecast on Amazon Prime Video.

Miranda Lambert came away with Entertainer of the Year, the top award to cap the night. Lambert was not present, touring in London, but checked in remotely to accept. “I have waited a long time for this,” said Lambert, a first-time winner.

Stapleton was Male Artist of the Year; Carly Pearce, Female Artist of the Year; Morgan Wallen’s “Dangerous: The Double Album,” Album of the Year; and Lainey Wilson’s “Things a Man Oughta Know,” Song of The Year, among the major awards.

As promised by producer Rac Clark, the two-hour show felt more like a concert than an awards presentation. At one point, there was a 35-minute stretch of performances with no awards presented. As a televised-music venue, Allegiant Stadium was showcased effectively. So was the very theme of Las Vegas, beginning with the show’s co-hosts. Jimmie Allen sang “Viva Las Vegas” and Gabby Barrett “Let’s Go to Vegas” at the Al Davis Memorial Torch. The nominees were seated on the floor at cocktail tables in what looked like a giant lounge.

Walker Hayes performed his TikTok sensation, “Fancy Like,” starting at Twitch Lounge and loping through the crowd to the main stage.

The use of multiple stages worked, though, with circular auxiliary platforms complementing the main stage. Even away from the camera, Allegiant served as an entertainment district. The performers alternated between the arena and a cool hang at Champions Lounge, one of the stadium’s many VIP annexes.

The ACM Awards kept up the tradition of inventive collaborations (though we didn’t see anything near the level of “wha-a?” as Florida Georgia Line with the Backstreet Boys. Parton and Kelsea Ballerini teamed on Parton’s “Big Dreams and Faded Jeans.” Pearce teamed with Ashley McBryde for “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.” Luke Bryan collaborated with Jordan Davis on“Buy Dirt.” Chris Young (who topped this year’s nominees with seven) performed “At the End of a Bar” with Mitchell Tenpenny. Blanco Brown and Brooke Eden teamed with Parmalee on “Just the Way.” Thomas Rhett and Breland joined up for “Praise the Lord,” (with a bunch of Vegas singers in the backing choir). Brittney Spencer met up with Brothers Osborne for a show-capping “These Boots Were Made for Walkin.’”

As anticipated, Kelly Clarkson provided a terrific moment in her cover of the Parton-penned “I Will Always Love You,” which Whitney Houston turned into a classic.

“Whitney is smiling down on us after that,” Parton said as Clarkson closed the number. “I was back there, trying not to cry my fake eyelashes off.”

As an entertainment vehicle, the event was a success. The sheer volume of stars, the variety of performances, and Parton’s sense of stage, made the show swing. But the stadium, seated to host more than 60,000 fans, was not sold out. Hundreds of seats could be seen in the background of performance shots, and seats were on sale in most sections leading to the start of the telecast.

During the week, Las Vegas residents were offered free tickets on such broker sites as House Seats and FillASeat. Nonetheless, producers were hoping to return the show to Prime Video and to Vegas next year, as producer Clark said last week, “Looking into the crystal ball, I can see us staying at Allegiant regularly.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.