Nate Smith relived a speechless moment experienced last year.

The reigning Academy of Country Music New Male Artist of the Year appeared stunned to learn he’d earned the honor at the 59th ACM Awards in 2023. Smith said at that time, “oh, man. I can’t wait to tell my parents. Wow. I did not see that coming at all. …Dude, I’m sorry. I wish I had some amazing thing to say. I am in shock right now. I didn’t — I was not prepared for this. I was not prepared.”

Smith watched that moment again (and shared his reaction) as part of the Academy of Country Music’s ACM Firsts series, which features artists reminiscing on some of their unforgettable ACM moments ahead of the show’s milestone 60th show this spring. Smith said it was “crazy” to relive that memory, and he was “extremely caught off guard” and “overwhelmed.”

“That’s such a big honor. You know, such a huge, huge ordeal,” Smith said. “Hearing that, from everything I’ve been through in my life and stuff — and also there’s so many good artists — it was just crazy that I got to be selected to be that.

“It was a really proud moment for me, and it meant a lot. I’m just so grateful for the ACMs, man,” he added. “I got my award in my studio, and I look at it every day just like, ‘I can’t believe that’s mine.’”

Sixteen-time ACM winner Reba McEntire is returning to host Country Music’s Party of the Year for her 18th time, more than any other artist. Blake Shelton, Eric Church, and reigning Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson were revealed in the first round of performers. Wilson is also one of the most-nominated artists, along with Ella Langley, Cody Johnson, Morgan Wallen and Chris Stapleton, to name a few. See the full list of nominees here. The 60th ACM Awards will kick off at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT on Thursday, May 8.

Smith is part of the star-studded lineup of the 2025 iHeartCountry Festival, which is slated to take place on Saturday, May 3. The festival, hosted by iHeartRadio’s Bobby Bones, will return to Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Other artists in the lineup include Brooks & Dunn, Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts, Sam Hunt, Megan Moroney, Bailey Zimmerman and Cole Swindell.

Hulu will be the Official Streaming Destination of the festival, with performances livestreamed exclusively to all Hulu subscribers at no additional cost. Additional information about the livestream will be posted across Hulu’s platform and social media channels. Fans can tune in to the 2025 iHeartCountry Festival to catch all of the action live on May 3 at 8pm ET/5pm PT (7pm CT) across iHeartCountry stations nationwide and on the free iHeartRadio app via iHeartRadio's iHeartCountry station. Tickets to the 2025 iHeartCountry Festival are available now via Ticketmaster.com.

Kathi Yeager