There she goes again.
Walking into the 2019 ACM Honors ceremony at the Ryman Auditorium on Wednesday night (Aug. 21), Miranda Lambert was already the most-awarded artist in the Academy of Country Music’s history. And walking out, she added a 33rd ACM Award to her cement her status. She was given the prestigious ACM Gene Weed Milestone award.
Keith Urban was the one tasked with presenting the award to Lambert, and he did so with a story about seeing a little bit of himself in her.
“In 2005, Miranda came out and we toured together. It’s crazy — that was 14 years ago,” Urban told the crowd. “What I love about her is that I saw a kindred spirit right away. She did what I used to do: whoever I was opening for, I used to sit in front of the stage and watch every show and I’d be taking mental notes. She was at the front of my show every night we played. And I remember thinking, ’I know that person really well.’ And now, watching your journey go from that to making records that were always about you. You followed your muse wherever you went. You made the records you wanted to make. You stayed true to yourself, and here you are accepting this award.”
When it was time for Lambert to put her gratitude into words, at the very end of the show, she was nearly speechless. “I am so humbled. I’m standing on this Ryman stage in front of one of my heroes,” Lambert said. She went on to thank the people on her team and at her label, giving special praise to the early believers who saw her talent when she was just a teenager playing clubs in Texas.
“I mostly just want to thank Nashville, and the people who move here because they loved country music. I couldn’t believe that we’d get to live this amazing life and follow our dreams and just be part of this awesome family. Some days it feels like I’ve been doing it for two days, and some days it feels like 200 years.
“And I’ll never get over it.”
The Gene Weed Milestone award was created to acknowledge the person in country music who had an unprecedented and outstanding year of achievements. So for example, in 2018, with her ACM Awards wins for “Tin Man” as song of the year and for the female vocalist award, Lambert became the most-awarded history since the Academy started keeping track. Past recipients of the Gene Weed Milestone Award include Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, George Burns, Kenny Chesney, Jeff Foxworthy, Merle Haggard, Gayle Holcomb, Sam Hunt, Loretta Lynn, Little Big Town, Willie Nelson, Jennifer Nettles, Blake Shelton, George Strait, Taylor Swift, and Carrie Underwood.