ACM Nominees Connected with the Quad Cities

So many nominees this year have been with us in the past year!

I am so happy for the artists nominated for the ACM awards. It is so exciting when you have the chance to see them on stage, or meet them and hear their passions about why they do what they do. Cheering them on just makes country music even more personal (more than it already is)!

Our very own Sam Alex, host of Taste of Country Nights, weeknights at 7 p.m. on The Hawk, is nominated for On-Air Personality of the Year! Our connection to the ACM awards this year are strong. Did I mention, without trying to rub it in, that I get to go Vegas this year to the show?! Ya, I'm beyond excited and will bring every pic and video to you here and on social media.

Honorable mentions are ACM host Luke Bryan, who got his first deer in Illinois (rumor has it he loves to hunt just outside of the QC in the rural communities) and Eric Church headlined The Great Jones Count Fair in Iowa.

Brett Eldredge, native Illinoisan is nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year. He was on The Hawk with me in September 2015. We talked about me working at a radio station on-air, in his neighborhood when he was a teen and about the release of his latest album Illinois.

Brett Eldredge interview with Joni Part 1