Shania Twain, Miranda Lambert, Orville Peck, Trixie Mattel, BRELAND, Ingrid Andress and more share their personal connection to country music ahead of the 2023 ACM Awards, which will stream on Prime Video on May 11.
Videos by Wide Open Country
As part of the the Academy of Country Music Awards' "What Country Music Means to Me" campaign, country legends and rising stars share how the genre has shaped them.
"Country music makes me happy. It's just my roots. it's what I loved the most about the music I grew up on and that's why I love making that kind of music," Lambert says in the video.
Twain shared how the genre influenced her as a songwriter.
"Country music was always this huge influence on how I write very statement lyrics," Twain says.
Joy Oladokun, a Nigerian-American singer-songwriter, says country music is the "sound of home."
"In Nigeria, country music has this huge following because it's a rural country," Oladokun says. "The sounds of guitars and singing about working and care and love and family is really familiar. To me, listening to country music doesn't just sound like this small town, it sounds like this country in Africa miles away.."
Singer-songwriter and drag performer Trixie Mattel praised the genre's influence on style and self expression.
"If you like fake hair and sequins, country's the place for you," Mattel says.
Watch the full video below.
Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks will host the 2023 ACM Awards live from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
"I am thrilled to return to host the ACM Awards, this time with my friend Garth," said Parton in a press release."While I've had the pleasure of spending time with him throughout the years, I can't believe we've never had the chance to work together."
Performers and nominees for this year's ACM Awards have not yet been announced.
