Cole Swindell spent a lot of time onstage early at the Academy of Country Music Awards. He performed and then quickly won the first award of the night, song of the year.
Thursday, Swindell and a group of other songwriters won for the song "She Had Me at Heads Carolina," which he and Jo Dee Messina had just played.
Swindell said he was honored to win in a songwriting area because it was one of the reasons he got into country music.
Keith Urban opened the show with his song "Texas Time," which was a good choice. The awards are being given out at Frisco's Ford Center at the Star.
The show's host, Garth Brooks, began by talking about the past of country music and who was the best of all time, or GOAT. After naming several male acts, he turned to Dolly Parton, who brought a live goat onto the stage.
Early on, Brooks and Parton kept the show going with their easy banter. This was Brooks's first time leading a show.
They are both co-hosts, and Parton will perform a song from her upcoming rock record at the end of the two-hour show, which will be streamed on Amazon Prime.
The country great just turned 90, and the ACMs honored him with a performance of "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" by Cody Johnson. This song was a hit for Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.