Alan Jackson Gratefully Accepts The ACM Poet’s Award At ACM Honors

Each year, the Academy of Country Music presents the ACM Honors, a prestigious event following the annual ACM Awards. Held at Nashville’s revered Ryman Auditorium, this ceremony celebrates “special award honorees, off-camera category winners, and ACM Industry and Studio Recording Awards.”

The 2024 honorees included Walt Aldridge, Tony Brown, Luke Bryan, Alan Jackson, Shannon Sanders, Lainey Wilson, and Trisha Yearwood.

The evening was co-hosted by four-time ACM Award winner Carly Pearce and reigning ACM Song of the Year winner Jordan Davis. A star-studded lineup of musical guests, including Eric Church, Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Tyler Hubbard, Jamey Johnson, Ashley McBryde, Keith Urban, and more, took the stage to honor the night’s recipients.

Alan Jackson Receives the ACM Poet’s Award

One of the most unforgettable moments of the night came when Alan Jackson accepted the ACM Poet’s Award. This prestigious honor recognizes “outstanding and longstanding musical and/or lyrical contributions throughout a career, with special consideration given to a song or songs’ impact on the culture of Country Music.”

Alan Jackson Expresses Gratitude After ACM Honors Win

A lucky attendee captured a brief clip of Alan Jackson’s speech during the ACM Honors ceremony. Joined on stage by his wife, Denise, who beamed with pride, Jackson shared heartfelt words with the audience.

In the video, Jackson reflects on his 1990 Top 10 hit “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow,” which he co-wrote with Jim McBride. The song encapsulates his journey of “chasing that neon rainbow” and “living that honky tonk dream,” a reflection of his lifelong passion to “pick this guitar and sing.”

Now, 34 years later, as a country music legend and the recipient of the ACM’s Poet’s Award, we’d say Jackson’s “honky tonk dream” came true!

In his speech, he said:

“We were just getting to know each other as writers, and he asked me about growing up in Georgia and what I remembered,” Jackson said about writing the song with McBride. “I told him we weren’t that musical of a family, just church kind of stuff. But when I was about five years old I think, my daddy worked for the Pepsi Cola plant in Georgia, and they had a contest going on, and he won this radio and brought it home…that was the first musical thing I remember growing up, and that ended up being the opening line of that song.”

He concluded by dedicating the award to his late father, who sparked his love for music by winning that radio so many years ago.

“I’d like to dedicate this to my daddy Gene and that old radio he won a long time ago… I’ve definitely lived that honky tonk dream, y’all.”

Watch a clip of Alan Jackson’s heartfelt acceptance speech for the ACM Poet’s Award below!

@wolfepack103 Alan Jackson accepts the Poet Writer’s Award at The ACM Honors show. #Nashville #alanjackson #chasinthatneonrainbow #acmhonors2024 #acmhonors #therymanauditorium #themotherchurch ♬ original sound – Wolfepack