Dolly Parton’s pop-up store — Dolly! All Access — will be at ACM Awards in Frisco, Texas

North Texas will be home to country music next week as the Academy of Country Music takes over The Star in Frisco with free music and entertainment ahead of the ACM Awards May 11.

ACM CEO Damon Whiteside said ACM teamed up with the Dallas Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones’ family to bring the awards to the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters.

This year’s ACM Awards will be hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks. Limited tickets are available on SeatGeek, the primary ticketing partner of the Dallas Cowboys.

Here are the nominees for the 2023 ACM Awards in Frisco — including three from Texas

There will also be opportunities for fans without an awards ticket to join in on the fun.

A free, two-day event called ACM Country Kickoff at The Star will take place May 9 and 10 ahead of the awards show.

“There will be a lot of things that fans can be a part of, especially free activities,” Whiteside said, “We wanted to feel like we had opportunities for all the fans in the North Texas area to be involved in the ACM Awards and be part of the excrement.”

What is the ACM Country Kickoff?

The ACM Country Kickoff will take place from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. May 9 and 10 at the Tostitos Championship Plaza at The Star.

A concert stage will be in the plaza with free concerts by some of the ACM Awards nominees including MacKenzie Porter, Dylan Scott, Caitlyn Smith, Nate Smith and Hailey Whitters. There will also be local nominees set to perform during the Kickoff including Corey Kent who lived in the Dallas area.

There will also be food trucks, a beer garden and other displays for visitors to enjoy during the event.

Dolly Parton will have a pop-up store open during the event called “Dolly! All Access” which includes exclusive merchandise.

Dolly! All Access will be held at 3620 The Star Boulevard, Suite 1205 and open from 3-10 p.m. May 9 through 11, noon-8 p.m. May 12 and 13, and noon to 6 p.m. May 14.

Dolly! All Access will feature the following partners and products:

• Dolly Parton “Rockstar” album pre-order opportunity

• Dolly Parton “Behind The Seams: My Life In Rhinestones” book pre-order opportunity, photo experience & costume exhibit

• “Dolly: Scent From Above,” “Dolly: Smoky Mountain” and “Dolly’s Front Porch Collection” portfolio of fragrances by Scent Beauty, with debut of new commercial running in-store and fragrance testing opportunities

• “Doggy Parton” brand dog clothes, toys & accessories by SportPet and “Dolly Parton’s Billy The Kid Makes It Big” children’s book

• American Greetings “Dolly Parton SmashUp” virtual card experience and free limited-window subscription

• Duncan Hines’ “Dolly Parton Baking Collection” of cakes, cornbread, muffins & brownies

• Live DJ spinning all-Dolly, all-the-time courtesy of Vinyl Me, Please as their first-ever artist specific album of the month program “Vinyl Me, Parton” launches with subscription opportunities

• Dolly Parton Funko Pop! Rocks dolls

• “Celebrate With Dolly,” by Creative Converting, premieres their line of Dolly-inspired and Dolly-branded eco-friendly disposable party supplies

• Dolly Parton classic merchandise

How can I watch the ACM Awards?

The ACM Awards will stream on Amazon Prime Video for free. Viewers will not need an Amazon Prime subscription to watch, Whiteside said.

“Even if you’re not a Prime member, you don’t have to sign in to watch. You can just go to the Prime app and you can stream it from there for free,” he said. “So it will be literally accessible to everybody this year which we’re really excited about.”

The awards show will also be available to stream on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch.

Will Frisco be the new home to the ACM Awards?

Whiteside said the intention is for the ACM Awards to return to Texas.

The ACM Awards came to Texas in 2015 for its 50th Anniversary at AT&T Stadium. The show has also been held in Las Vegas and Nashville.

“Our plan right now is that we would like to be back next year and in future years, but once we get through the show this year we’re going to start our planning for ‘24 so we’ll know a little bit more about that and hopefully be able to announce something not too long after the show this year,” Whiteside said.