“55th Academy of Country Music Awards™” Teams Up With Wells Fargo and Country Star Mickey Guyton to Help People Facing Hunger in Light of COVID-19
Wells Fargo Pledges to Help Provide 50 Million Meals in Collaboration with Feeding America; Donates $100,000 to ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund
Awards Show to Broadcast Live from Nashville on Wednesday, Sept. 16, on CBS
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Academy of Country Music®, dick clark productions, and Wells Fargo announced today 55th Academy of Country Music Awards™ performer Mickey Guyton will appear in a special moment airing during the telecast to help raise awareness around the issue of hunger during the COVID-19 pandemic. Working with Feeding America®, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the country, and its network of member food banks, Wells Fargo is turning many of its locations across the country into mobile food distribution centers with the goal of providing 50 million meals* to individuals and families through the Wells Fargo Drive-Up Food Bank program.
Additionally, Wells Fargo is joining forces with ACM Lifting Lives®, the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music, and donating $100,000 to the ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund. Created in response to the growing need, the fund assists individuals working in the Country Music industry who are suffering a financial crisis as a result of the pandemic. This donation is in addition to the more than $175 million the Wells Fargo Foundation has donated to help address critical community needs such as food assistance, financial health, small business, and housing stability in communities across the United States since the beginning of the pandemic.
“We are delighted to work with Wells Fargo for the 55th ACM Awards show this year and honored to have Mickey Guyton spotlight and raise awareness on the continued efforts of improving communities across the country,” said Lyndsay Cruz, executive director of ACM Lifting Lives. “Wells Fargo has provided countless resources for people to turn to during these challenging times, and their generous donation to the ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund will further assist those still in need in the Country Music industry seeking financial assistance.”
Hosted by reigning ACM® Entertainer of the Year and 15-time ACM Award winner Keith Urban, the 55th ACM Awards®, a Night of Heart and Hits Live from Nashville, Tennessee, will be broadcast on Wednesday, Sept. 16, (live 8:00-11:00 p.m. Eastern time/delayed Pacific time) on the CBS Television Network, and will be available to stream on demand on CBS All Access.
For the first time in the show’s history, the awards will take place in Nashville, broadcasting from three iconic Country Music venues: Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, and The Bluebird Cafe. As previously announced, the 55th ACM Awards will also feature performances by Jimmie Allen, Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Riley Green, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Maren Morris, Old Dominion and Thomas Rhett featuring Jon Pardi, Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Stefani, Tenille Townes, Carrie Underwood, Morgan Wallen, Trisha Yearwood and more to be announced.
Multimedia assets about the Wells Fargo Drive-Up Food Bank program can be found in the Wells Fargo Newsroom. For more information, visit ACMcountry.com. You can also like Academy of Country Music on Facebook, follow on Twitter at @ACMawards, follow on Instagram at @ACMawards, and sign up for the free ACM A-List for more immediate updates.
*50 million meals calculation is based on 1) Projected number of meals distributed through Wells Fargo Drive-Up Food Bank events and 2) Wells Fargo’s financial contributions to support Feeding America food banks 7/20/20-10/31/20. $1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America on behalf of local member food banks.
About Mickey Guyton
Mickey Guyton was born in Arlington, Texas, and began singing in church at a young age. She was drawn to a variety of artists with big voices including Dolly Parton, Cece Winans, Whitney Houston, and LeAnn Rimes. After signing to Capitol Records Nashville, Mickey’s first appearance was an all-star concert at the White House captured by PBS. In 2015, she released her self-titled EP featuring her debut single, “Better Than You Left Me.” The following year she was nominated for her first Academy of Country Music Award for New Female Vocalist. Mickey returned to the ACM Awards in 2019 performing “I’m Standing With You” from the BREAKTHROUGH movie soundtrack alongside Chrissy Metz, Carrie Underwood, Lauren Alaina, and Maddie & Tae. During the last few years, Mickey has been focused on her songwriting and will release her EP, Bridges, on Sept. 11. Bridges will include “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?”, which Variety called “… exquisitely sung, moving and brilliant,” as well as, “Black Like Me,” a song Mickey cowrote in March 2019 at a cross-genre writing camp. Due to demand, “Black Like Me” was released in June and has been praised by critics and fans alike, with HITS noting the song “nudges America’s conscience with personal truth and gospel fervor.” Her latest single, “Heaven Down Here,” was written in recent months as a plea to God to spare a little love for this world in need. Mickey and her music have been featured recently by The New York Times, CBS This Morning, NPR, Billboard, The Los Angeles Times, Entertainment Weekly, ELLE, Paste, Rolling Stone, The Wall Street Journal, American Songwriter, and Pollstar.
About the Academy of Country Music Awards™
The 55th Academy of Country Music Awards™ is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the Country Music industry. The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will broadcast live on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020, on the CBS Television Network, and will be available to stream live and on-demand on CBS All Access. R.A. Clark, Amy Thurlow, Barry Adelman, Mark Bracco, and Linda Gierahn are executive producers. Damon Whiteside is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.
About ACM Lifting Lives®
ACM Lifting Lives® is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Country Music dedicated to improving lives through the power of music. Through partnerships with artists and strong ties in the music industry, ACM Lifting Lives® funds music health programs while also serving members of the music community who face unexpected hardships through its Diane Holcomb Emergency Relief Fund. With generous donations and the support of artists and fans, ACM Lifting Lives® has funded national music therapy programs serving various mental and physical health organizations. Some of the recipients have included patients at children’s hospitals and other healthcare facilities, recovering veterans, people with Williams syndrome, and individuals with mental illness. For more information, please visit www.ACMLiftingLives.org.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.97 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,300 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 31 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 266,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 30 on Fortune’s 2020 rankings of America’s largest corporations. News, insights, and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.
Additional information may be found at www.wellsfargo.com | Twitter: @WellsFargo.
Contacts
Academy of Country Music contacts:
Brooke Primero / Melissa Moldovan / Christina Canseco
brooke@acmcountry.com / 818-788-8000
melissa@acmcountry.com / 818-788-8000
christina.canseco@acmcountry.com
CBS Press contacts:
Andrea Ballas / Kate Fisher
andrea.ballas@cbs.com / 818-655-1581
khfisher@cbs.com / 212-975-3818
MRC (dick clark productions) contacts:
Gina Sorial / Ligia Mallmann
gsorial@mrcentertainment.com / 310-255-0308
lmallmann@mrcentertainment.com / 310-255-0321
Wells Fargo contact:
Holly Rockwood
holly.d.rockwood@wellsfargo.com / 415-930-0456
Mickey Guyton contact:
Lori Christian
lori.christian@umusic.com