Riley Green Leads a Night Honoring the ACM’s Lifting Lives With Lauren Alaina, Randy Houser & More: 5 Highlights

On Friday night (May 15), the country music community came together to support Lifting Lives, the Academy of Country Music’s philanthropic partner.

In a concert billed Country on the Green and headlined by Riley Green at TopGolf in Las Vegas, Lifting Lives celebrated its 20^th anniversary. Since its 2006 founding, Lifting Lives has donated over $12 million to more than 150 causes.

Green, who is up for four ACM Awards, was joined by new female artist of the year winner Avery Anna, Lauren Alaina, Rodney Atkins and Randy Houser in the show that took place two nights before Sunday’s (May 17) ACM Awards. In an evening of hits and singalongs, the four support acts spanned more than 30 years of hits, performing fast-paced sets of four songs each, while Green wrapped up the evening with a nine-song set.

Lifting Lives helps those specifically working in country music across the spectrum, providing emergency relief, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We’ve had so much feedback over the years about how that made a difference in people’s lives, helped them stay in Nashville, helped them stay on their career path, all those kinds of things,” ACM CEO Damon Whiteside told Billboard earlier this year. “That’s what I love about ACM Lifting Lives — we can actually help people individually like that in times of need.”

Lifting Lives also supports a music camp for those with Williams Syndrome.

At last year’s fundraiser, held in Frisco, Texas, in conjunction with the ACM Awards’ 60^th anniversary, Lifting Lives honored Brooks & Dunn at a gala featuring Lainey Wilson, Keith Urban, Cody Johnson and other acts saluting the venerable and beloved duo.  

The 61^st ACM Awards will stream on Amazon’s Prime Video live from Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena at 8 p.m. ET.

Below is a recap of the evening’s highlights.