ACM Awards: How to watch, what to expect

May 16 (UPI) -- The Academy of Country Music Awards will return Thursday in Frisco, Texas.

The 59th annual ACM Awards will take place at Ford Center at The Star and stream live at 8 p.m. EDT on Prime Video.

Reba McEntire will perform and host the awards show for the 17th time.

Other performers include Post Malone, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, and Chris Stapleton.

Luke Combs leads this year's nominees with eight nominations, followed by Megan Moroney and Morgan Wallen with six nominations each.

How to watch

The ACM Awards will be held Thursday at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, and stream live at 8 p.m. EDT on Prime Video. A Prime membership is not required to watch live.

Participants

Reba McEntire will host the show for her 17th year and also perform.

Post Malone will make his ACM Awards debut as a performer, with Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan, Kane Brown, Jelly Roll, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, and Lainey Wilson to also take the stage.

Jason Aldean will perform a special tribute to late singer Toby Keith, who died at age 62 in February following a battle with stomach cancer.

Ashley McBryde, Randy Travis, Little Big Town, Alabama, Breland, Jordan Davis, Sara Evans, Clay Walker, Carin León, Dion Pride and Rozene Pride will present awards, along with actor Noah Reid, Bachelor Nation star Tyler Cameron and Thursday Night Football's Richard Sherman and Charissa Thompson.

Nominations

Luke Combs leads the nominees with eight nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for Gettin' Old.

Megan Moroney and Morgan Wallen follow with six nominations each, while Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton and Lainey Wilson are all up for five awards.

The nominees for Entertainer of the Year are: Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson.