Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum and More to Perform at 2018 ACM Awards

The star power for the upcoming 53rd ACM Awards continues to get bigger and bigger. Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Blake Shelton and Keith Urban have been added as performers, with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, Entertainment Tonight host Nancy O’Dell, actress Rebecca Romijn and Olympic skier Lindsay Vonn joining the broadcast as presenters.

“Ecstatic to announce we’ll be performing at the #ACMAwards in Las Vegas again this year!” Lady A tweeted.

The celebs join a previously-announced list of performers, including Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris and Thomas Rhett.

Reba McEntire will return to host the ACM Awards this year. She has hosted the show a total of 14 times, most recently sharing the duties in 2012 with Shelton. But although McEntire is a veteran of hosting, she says her favorite part is still all the designer dresses she gets to wear.

“I don’t think [Shelton] changed clothes one time and I gave him a lot of grief about that, but I’ve gotten my clothes ready,” McEntire tells Entertainment Tonight. “I’ve gotten six ready to go, one for the red carpet, and then for the show, and then in case something doesn’t work or malfunctions, you’ve got one, you know, ready to go again.”

“I really enjoy hosting,” she continues. “It’s very exciting, I love live television. So, to be able to know the ins and outs and who’s doing what and be there for the rehearsals … it’s just fun.”

Chris Stapleton leads the list of nominees with eight nods, including one for the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year, a category he shares with Jason Aldean, Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan and Keith Urban. McEntire, who has won a total of 16 ACM trophies, and is nominated again this year for Female Vocalist of the Year, says it’s unfortunate that the Entertainer of the Year nominees once again are all male artists.

“It’s disappointing that there’s no female in the Entertainer of the Year category,” she says. “But the country music business is very cyclical. It’ll go very traditional with the music or it will go very contemporary. The girls dominate or the boys dominate, so, it’s coming around. I have faith.”

The 2018 ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 15, at 8:00 PM ET on CBS.

Photo Credit: Instagram/KennyChesney