Megan Moroney revealed that she will not be attending or performing at the 2026 ACM Awards despite being the most-nominated artist of the evening, but for good reason. The 28-year-old country superstar is serving as the maid of honor in her best friends Natalie King and Alex Harp’s destination wedding, which is taking place the same weekend as the coveted awards show.
On Sunday morning (May 17), Moroney took to social media to share the news with fans who were hoping to catch a glimpse of her during the show.
“I’m so honored to be nominated tonight at the ACM Awards & I’m rooting on all my friends from afar! I’m out of the country this week on MOH (Maid of Honor) duty to get my bestie married Natalie King,” Moroney wrote overtop a photo of her and King wearing matching “Bridesmaid” and “Bride” sweatsuits. She concluded her brief message by sharing that she is “counting down the days” until the kickoff of her Cloud 9 Tour at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, on May 29.
“I love you guys & can’t wait to see y’all in Columbus! Counting down the days,” Moroney added.
Moroney is the most-nominated female artist at the 61st ACM Awards, which are taking place tonight (May 17) at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and streaming live on Prime Video at 8/7c. The “6 Months Later” singer earned nine nominations, including her first nods for Entertainer of the Year and Artist-Songwriter of the Year. She also picked up her third consecutive nominations for Female Artist of the Year and Visual Media of the Year (“6 Months Later”) as an artist, while also earning her first directing nomination in the latter category.
Additionally, Moroney received nominations for Song of the Year (“Am I Ok?”) as both an artist and songwriter, Single of the Year (“6 Months Later”), and Music Event of the Year (“You Had To Be There”) alongside Kenny Chesney.
Megan Moroney is gearing up to launch her first-ever arena headlining trek, The Cloud 9 Tour, which officially kicks off later this month at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. The completely sold-out outing will span 43 dates across North America, Europe, and the UK through October, with stops at iconic venues including Barclays Center in New York City, Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, United Center in Chicago, and Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The massive run, which sold over 450,000 tickets immediately in the United States, will also feature Moroney’s first-ever performance in Paris while bringing her acclaimed live show back to major markets throughout Europe and the UK before wrapping on October 1 in Belfast.
The Cloud 9 Tour comes in support of her third studio album, Cloud 9, produced by Kristian Bush of Sugarland. The project, which arrived on February 20 via Sony Music Nashville/Columbia Records, features 15 tracks, including “Wish I Didn’t,” “6 Months Later,” “Beautiful Things,” “Wedding Dress,” “Who Hurt You?” and more.
The 2026 ACM Awards will feature performances from Blake Shelton, Cody Johnson, Dan + Shay, Ella Langley, Jordan Davis, Kacey Musgraves, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, Lee Ann Womack, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Parker McCollum, Riley Green, The Red Clay Strays, Thomas Rhett, and Zach Top, along with ACM New Female Artist of the Year Avery Anna and ACM New Male Artist of the Year Tucker Wetmore.
The 61st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will also include a star-studded list of presenters, including Andrew Whitworth, Ashley McBryde, Carl Edwards, Corey LaJoie, Keith Urban, Lauren Alaina, Michael Bublé, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Shaboozey, The War And Treaty, T.J. Osborne and more.
Female artists lead this year’s nominations, with Megan Moroney earning nine nods, followed by Miranda Lambert with eight, and both Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson tied with seven. Chris Stapleton, Zach Top, and Cody Johnson also enter the night as top nominees.
The 2026 ACM Awards bring country music’s biggest night back to Las Vegas in a star-studded celebration hosted by legendary songwriter and best-selling female country artist Shania Twain, marking her first time leading the show. The broadcast is set to stream live exclusively on Prime Video across more than 240 countries and territories and airs Sunday, May 17, 2026, from the iconic MGM Grand Garden Arena in Sin City.
A Prime membership is not required to watch the show. Fans can stream the ceremony live on mobile devices, tablets, smart TVs, and other connected devices via Prime Video, as well as through the Amazon Music app and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch.
For those who miss the live broadcast, the full show will also be available to stream on Prime Video the following day (May 18) at 8/7c.
