One of the most powerful ACM Awards performances in recent history – and it almost didn’t happen.

We all know what was happening back in 2020. In fact, the ACM Awards were not only postponed from April to September due to the COVID pandemic, but the performances were spread out between the Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium and the Bluebird Cafe after originally being scheduled to take place in Las Vegas.

And COVID wasn’t the only thing that was going on: Not only were we in the middle of a heated presidential election, but the summer of 2020 also featured unrest and protests following the death of George Floyd that had the country more divided than at any time in recent memory.

Over the summer, Eric Church had released his latest single “Stick That In Your Country Song,” which was obviously recorded before 2020 but seemed perfect for the moment as it addressed some of the major social issues of the time, while calling out country music for largely lacking substance and ignoring the problems that we were facing as a nation:

“Sing about the man coming back from war
23 going on 54
He lost a friend, his sight, his hands
Baby girl he’ll never see again
Stick that in your country song
Take that one to number one
And get the whole world singing along
Stick that in your country song”

It was only natural that Church would perform the song on the ACM Awards, and it immediately became one of the standout performances, starting with Church strumming quietly onstage to Johnny Cash’s “Ragged Old Flag” before launching into a full-throttle, in-your-face performance of his newest single.

It’s a performance that people are still talking about, and one that will be remembered (and re-watched) for years to come.

But it almost didn’t happen.

In an interview with Country Aircheck Weekly, ACM Awards Executive Producer RAC Clark tells the story of how the performance came together, starting with a work tape that Eric sent him in July featuring the “Ragged Old Flag” intro leading into “Stick That in Your Country Song.”

But once they tried to turn that work tape into an ACM performance, they hit a roadblock: They couldn’t get permission to use “Ragged Old Flag.”

“As we got into it, we found the Cash estate and publishers are very protective. No matter how much talking I did trying to get it cleared, it was a corporate wall.”

Clark then suggested that Eric try appealing directly to Johnny Cash’s children. So that’s what he did.

Eric wrote a letter to John and Rosanne Cash explaining his idea for the performance. And while Clark won’t share its exact contents, he credits that letter as the reason that they were ultimately able to use “Ragged Old Flag” for the performance.

In addition to getting permission to use Johnny Cash’s performance of the recitation, Clark also had to get some help from an executive at BMG, which controls the publishing rights to “Ragged Old Flag.” They then worked directly with Johnny Cash’s estate for approval on the images of Cash that were used during the video that played during the intro.

As for the recording of Cash that they ultimately used, Clark said that particular performance came from a recitation that Johnny Cash did without instrumentation for a Ralph Emery special that they were able to clean up so that Eric could perform his own acoustic background music.

While there were a lot of moving pieces and quite a few legal hurdles that had to be cleared in order to make the performance happen, ultimately it all came together for one badass moment that won’t soon be forgotten.

As Clark put it:

“There was a lot of sweat equity by a lot of people. Part of my job is to bring these things to life, but this was Eric’s vision.

He pushed it over the top, and boy, did he deliver.”

Did he ever.

The 61st Annual ACM Awards kick off this Sunday, May 17, 2026 at 8 PM eastern on Amazon Prime, live from Las Vegas.

61st Annual ACM Awards Nominees

Entertainer of the Year

Luke Combs
Jelly Roll
Cody Johnson
Megan Moroney
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen
Lainey Wilson

Female Artist of the Year

Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Ella Langley
Megan Moroney
Lainey Wilson

Male Artist of the Year

Luke Combs
Riley Green
Cody Johnson
Chris Stapleton
Zach Top

Group of the Year

49 Winchester
Flatland Cavalry
Old Dominion
Rascal Flatts
The Red Clay Strays

Duo of the Year

Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Muscadine Bloodline
Thelma & James

Album of the Year

[Awarded to artist(s)/producer(s)/record Company–label(s)]

Ain’t In It For My Health – Zach Top; Producer: Carson Chamberlain; Record Company-Label: Leo33
Cherry Valley – Carter Faith; Producer: Tofer Brown; Record Company-Label: Gatsby Records / MCA
Don’t Mind If I Do (Deluxe) – Riley Green; Producers: Dann Huff, Michael Knox; Record Company-Label: Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment
I’m The Problem – Morgan Wallen; Producers: Joey Moi, Charlie Handsome, Jacob Durrett; Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records
Parker McCollum – Parker McCollum; Producers: Frank Liddell, Eric Masse; Record Company-Label: MCA

Song of the Year

“A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton; Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Jenee Fleenor, Jesse Frasure
“Am I Okay?” – Megan Moroney; Songwriters: Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, Jessie Jo Dillon
“Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley; Songwriters: Ella Langley, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Joybeth Taylor
“I Never Lie” – Zach Top; Songwriters: Zach Top, Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols
“Somewhere Over Laredo – Lainey Wilson; Songwriters: Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Andy Albert, Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg

Single of the Year

“6 Months Later” – Megan Moroney
“Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley
“I Never Lie” – Zach Top
“Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson
“The Fall” – Cody Johnson

Visual Media of the Year

“6 Months Later” – Megan Moroney
“A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton
“Cuckoo” -Stephen Wilson, Jr. (Winner)
“Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson
“The Fall” – Cody Johnson

Music Event of the Year

“A Song To Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton
“Amen” – Shaboozey & Jelly Roll
“Don’t Mind If I Do” – Riley Green feat. Ella Langley
“Trailblazer” – Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson
“You Had To Be There” – Megan Moroney & Kenny Chesney

Songwriter of the Year

Jessie Jo Dillon (Winner)
Ashley Gorley
Charlie Handsome
Chase McGill
Blake Pendergrass

Artist-Songwriter of the Year

Luke Combs
Riley Green
Ella Langley
Megan Moroney
Morgan Wallen

New Male Artist of the Year

Gavin Adcock
Vincent Mason
Shaboozey
Hudson Westbrook
Tucker Wetmore (Winner)

New Female Artist of the Year

Avery Anna (Winner)
Mackenzie Carpenter
Dasha
Caroline Jones
Emily Ann Roberts