UNCASVILLE (CelebrityAccess) – The Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards released the Industry and Studio Recording Award nominees with Mohegan Sun Arena snagging a nomination under “Casino of the Year – Arena”, one of four up for the prestigious honor.
Mohegan Sun’s Corporate Entertainment office headquartered in Uncasville, CT, has become one of the biggest producers of live headline entertainment in the casino industry. With properties throughout the U.S. and Canada, and soon a worldwide presence in Korea, it may propel them to be the biggest.
Headed by Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment’s (MGE) Corporate Worldwide President, Tom Cantone, and a seasoned staff, Mohegan Sun Arena has become one of the “go-to” venues for national tours. With over 12,000 entertainment events alongside a multitude of sports programming produced since its opening, Mohegan Sun Arena continues to be the anchor of its success. If they take home the award for Arena of the Year, it would be ACM trophy number 8 for the team and the 17th national award for the 10,000-seat arena. Mohegan Sun last took home the award in 2019, its last year of eligibility since winners from previous years are not considered for consecutive nominations.
The award is presented to an outstanding arena within a casino and selected by a professional panel of judges. To be eligible for the award, casino arenas must have bought or promoted at least four country music concerts during the year, be in good standing with all agents, and help promote country ticket sales.
“It’s always an honor and of course a tribute to our world-class venue and team to be included, especially last year as we reimagined our venue to stay open with sports and entertainment programming throughout the pandemic,” said Tom Cantone.
With one of the most successful years in its history, including being named Innovator of the Year by CelebrityAccess, Mohegan Sun Arena drew more than 450,000 people in 2021, making it the top casino venue in the world despite being open for less than half the year.
Mohegan Sun Arena hosted Lady A – who was nominated for Group of the Year at this year’s award ceremony – to launch their first full-capacity national tour since re-opening for live entertainment in late July 2021. Since then, Toby Keith, Blake Shelton, Brett Eldredge, Brett Young, and Chris Young also performed to sold-out crowds. Chris Young, who made his Mohegan Sun debut in December, received seven ACM nominations, including Album of the Year and Single of the Year. Three of his nominations were shared with country superstar Kane Brown for their song “Famous Friends.”
Kane Brown and Walker Hayes, who will be performing back-to-back shows at Mohegan Sun Arena on June 4th-5th, combined for eight nominations at this year’s awards. Hayes, who will be opening for Brown alongside Raelynn, received five nominations as a first-time nominee, including New Male Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year. The June 5 show was added by popular demand after the first show sold-out on the first day of ticket sales.
The winners will be announced at the ACM’s 15th annual Industry Honors ceremony this fall. The full list of Industry and Studio Recording ACM nominees is below.
INDUSTRY AWARDS
Promoter of the Year
Aaron Spalding
Adam Weiser
Bradley Jordan
Brian O’Connell
Ed Warm
Don Romeo
Talent Buyer of the Year
Brent Fedrizzi
Michelle Romeo
RJ Romeo
Shawn Radley
Todd Boltin
Casino of the Year – Theater
Agua Caliente – Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Choctaw Casino – Durant, Okla.
Deadwood Mountain Grand – Deadwood, S.D.
Resorts World – Las Vegas, Nev.
Soaring Eagle Casino – Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
Casino of theYear – Arena
Hard Rock (Live at Etess Arena) – Atlantic City, N.J.
Laughlin Event Center – Laughlin, Nev.
Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, Conn.
Mystic Lake Casino – Prior Lake, Minn.
Festival of the Year
Carolina Country Music Fest – Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Country Thunder – Florence, Ariz.
Faster Horses Festival – Brooklyn, Mich.
Tortuga Music Festival – Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Windy City Smokeout Festival – Chicago, Ill.
Fair/Rodeo of the Year
Auburn Rodeo – Auburn, Ala.
California Mid-State Fair – Paso Robles, Calif.
Cheyenne Frontier Days – Cheyenne, Wyoming
Minnesota State Fair – St. Paul, Minn.
San Antonio Rodeo – San Antonio, Tex.
Club of the Year
Basement East – Nashville, Tenn.
Billy Bob’s – Ft. Worth, Tex.
Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa, Okla.
Coca-Cola Roxy – Atlanta, Ga.
Georgia Theatre – Athens, Ga.
Theater of the Year
American Music Theatre – Lancaster, Penn.
Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center – Cincinnati, Ohio
Blue Gate Performing Arts Center – Shipshewana, Ind.
Ruth Eckerd Hall – Clearwater, Fla.
Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, Tenn.
Outdoor Venue of the Year
Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, New Hampshire
Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, Colo.
Saint Augustine Amphitheatre – St. Augustine, Fla.
The Wharf Amphitheater – Orange Beach, Ala.
STUDIO RECORDING AWARDS
Producer of the Year
Buddy Cannon
Dave Cobb
Ian Fitchuk
Dann Huff
Joey Moi
Audio engineer of the year
Brandon Bell
Jim Cooley
Gena Johnson
Jason Hall
Vance Powell
Bass player of the year
J.T. Cure
Mark Hill
Viktor Krauss
Jimmie Lee Sloas
Glenn Worf
Drummer of the year
Chad Cromwell
Fred Eltringham
Evan Hutchings
Derek Mixon
Jerry Roe
Nir Z
Acoustic guitar player of the year
Dave Cobb
Todd Lombardo
Bryan Sutton
Ilya Toshinskiy
Charlie Worsham
Piano/keyboards player of the year
David Dorn
Charlie Judge
Billy Justineau
Gordon Mote
Benmont Tench
Electric guitar player of the year
Tom Bukovac
Dan Dugmore
Jedd Hughes
Rob McNelley
Derek Wells
