Last night, Dierks Bentley headlined the second night of the 4th ACM Party for a Cause® Festival at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. The three-day event continued with an all-star lineup of performers on the Ram Trucks Main Stage including Frankie Ballard, Lee Brice, Chris Janson, Dustin Lynch, Chris Stapleton and Chris Young. Earlier performances on the Cabela’s Stage featured Chase Bryant, Courtney Cole, Chris Lane, Jackson Michelson and A Thousand Horses.
Highlights from the second day and night included:
- Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelly and Eric Paslay joined headliner Dierks Bentley on stage to perform Kelley’s debut solo single, “The Driver.”
- Lee Brice performed an acoustic version of Eli Young Band’s “Crazy Girl;” which he wrote.
- Dustin Lynch crowd surfed from the Ram Trucks Main Stage in an inflatable boat while he sang “Where It’s At.”
- Chris Stapleton performed a duet with his wife, Morgane, as the sunset over the Las Vegas Festival Grounds.
- ACM CEO Bob Romeo presented Chris Stapleton with his ACM Award for New Male Artist of the Year
- Lee Brice surprised Ginger Ravella (a military widow and Folds of Honor advocate) with a piece of her past that she never thought she’d ever see again, a truck that had belonged to her fallen husband and sold before his deployment. Ginger was overwhelmed by the gesture and was overcome with tears on stage during the presentation*.
- Back Story: Last year, Lee performed a benefit concert for Folds of Honor, a non-profit that provides educational scholarships to spouses and children of fallen or disabled veterans. After the performance, Ginger Ravella (a military widow and Folds of Honor advocate) was overcome with emotion and told Lee that his song, ‘I Drive Your Truck’ held a special meaning to her family – it reminded Ginger of her fallen husband, Troy Gilbert, who was forced to sell his 3rd generation family-owned truck before his last deployment. Troy’s F-16 fighter jet crashed in Iraq while trying to save U.S. troops (story here). Immediately, Lee and his manager got digging. After nearly 6 months of cross country searching, Lee and Ginger’s second husband (Jim Ravella) found Troy’s original truck in Phoenix, AZ. They purchased the truck, payed to get it fixed up and shipped it to Las Vegas in time for the ACMs this weekend, where Lee will be surprising Ginger (in the audience) with the truck. To make it better, Troy’s youngest son, Greyson, got his license earlier this month and will be driving his late father’s truck.
- Multiple checks were presented on behalf of the Academy’s charitable arm, ACM Lifting Lives to beneficiaries of this year’s ACM Party for a Cause Festival including Folds of Honor, Military Warriors Support Foundation,Honor Flight Southland, Navy SEAL Foundation, and Task Force Dagger Foundation.
- The morning kicked off with the ACM & Cabela’s Celebrity Tic-Tac-Toe Archery Tournament. Cabela’s Ambassadors Luke Bryan and Justin Moore returned to host the fan-favorite event held at the Cabela’s Stage at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds. Country music stars Luke Bryan, Chris Janson, Dustin Lynch, Justin Moore, Eric Paslay, Chris Rice, and Granger Smith, former MLB player Adam LaRoche, plus Cabela’s pro staff Wade Middleton and Kristy Titus participated in the archery tournament featuring Cabela’s state-of-the-art archery equipment.
- HIGHLIGHTS:
- Team Luke and Team Justin competing head-to-head for the trophy:
- Team Luke included country music artists Chris Janson, Chase Rice, and Granger Smith plus Cabela’s pro staffer Wade Middleton.
- Team Justin included artists Dustin Lynch, Eric Paslay, former MLB player Adam LaRoche and Cabela’s Pro Staffer Kristy Titus. Country artist Lucas Hoge and bow hunting athlete Cameron Hanes also competed at the event during half-time.
- Team Luke was leading the competition when Storme Warren suggested that Luke Bryan and Justin Moore make a sudden death deal: the two artists shoot one last game of tic-tac-toe and whoever wins would take home the trophy. In spite of Team Luke’s commanding lead, Justin surprised the crowd with a victory!
- Additional attendees included event emcees Storme Warren and Eva Shocky.
- HIGHLIGHTS:
On Sunday, April 3, Kenny Chesney will close out the festival with a full set after his performance on the 51st ACM Awards. Earlier in the evening, Brett Eldredge, Sam Hunt, Kip Moore, Chase Rice and Old Dominion will perform on the Ram Trucks Main Stage, while Lindsay Ell, Maren Morris and Granger Smith will perform on the Cabela’s Stage.
Fans can still purchase single day passes at www.ticketmaster.com. Ticket proceeds from the ACM Party for a Cause Festival benefit the Academy’s charitable arm, ACM Lifting Lives. Generous giving from fans, partnerships with artists, and corporate sponsors have allowed ACM Lifting Lives to support military programs that use music therapy to aid our veterans and wounded warriors, while providing funding to help them ease back into civilian life. Over $400,000 has been donated to various military organizations in just three years. For more information, visit www.ACMpartyforacause.com. This year’s beneficiaries include Folds of Honor, Military Warriors Support Foundation, Honor Flight Southland, Navy SEAL Foundation, and Task Force Dagger Foundation.