Frisco magazine asked a fellow journalist what it was like to experience her first red carpet celebrity event. Shannon kindly takes us behind the scenes.
For most of my life, red carpets seemed like something from movies. But on May 8, it became my reality. As part of my role as an audience journalist at The Dallas Morning News, I had the privilege of attending the 2025 Academy of Country Music awards in Frisco. The evening
was filled with boots, bling and belt buckles, and it’s definitely not a night I'll forget anytime soon.
I attended the red carpet with Dallas News breaking features reporter Uwa Ede-Osifo. Our goal was to talk with as many Texas artists as possible; you better believe we came prepared.
Prior to the event, we researched each red carpet attendee to learn their background and career so we could identify our key Texans. Admittedly, as a Midwestern girl, I was a bit shocked at the amount of Texas-born artists. But with Texas charisma and soulful Southern tunes, it just makes sense.
On our list to interview were plenty of North Texans, including Frisco’s own Grace Tyler and Corey Kent.
A few hours before the event, I pulled on a black, floor-length dress and stepped into my white cowboy boots. For context, this isn't my typical go-to “reporter attire” for events, but the dress code for the ACMs had a special theme: black tie country.
Ahead of assignments, I ensure I have the necessary equipment. For this evening in particular, I was carrying a camera bag filled with two tripods, two wire mics, a set of wireless mics, chargers, pages of notes and plenty of snacks. As an audience journalist, I specialize in website analytics, push notifications, newsletters, social media strategy and creation. I like to explain my work as “getting stories where they need to go and to the people who want to read them.”
For this event, I focused on social media.
I’m very lucky to be part of an audience team of 10 people, including two fantastic editors. This means while I was at the red carpet, I had a slew of folks back in the newsroom working alongside me. Prior to the event, I worked with my editors to build templates for videos on social media platforms and our website. This helped to streamline workflow for the team throughout the evening. We also made a strategic plan for newsletters and alerts so our audience would know when to tune in.
Throughout the year, I work closely with The Dallas Morning News’ arts and entertainment team, helping to expand their audience and amplifying their contents’ reach. Because of this, I was asked to join the entertainment reporters for this special event at The Star. As a fairly new Texan, it was my first time visiting the Dallas Cowboys World Headquarters, so I tried my best to take it all in.
But, once we got to the Omni Hotel in Frisco, it was full speed ahead.
I received a blue media pass with my name on it. I examined the plastic and stared at my headshot that was taken when I was an intern at The Dallas Morning News only a few months prior. It was a very surreal moment; look how far I'd come. I followed a member of the ACM team through security, up an escalator and slid between heavy black curtains. I was met with a bright red carpet and a crowd of fans awaiting the country celebrities who would make their way through the same black curtains in a few hours.
“The red carpet has opened.”
The sentence evoked a similar emotion to when I was standing on a diving block in a swim meet and the air horn rang into the air, signaling the start of a race. It was time to dive in.
Soon, I was greeted by a publicist asking if we would be interested in chatting with their artist. Over the next few hours, I spoke with countless singers, DJs, and publicists. I heard about singers’ favorite Texas restaurants, rise to fame and upcoming plans.
A highlight was interviewing Jelly Roll, who is currently on tour with Grapevine’s Post Malone. The following day, the two performed at AT&T stadium. Jelly Roll was genuine, friendly and made this new-on-the-scene journalist feel a little less nervous. He laughed with us about Tex Mex being his preferred cuisine in Texas, which he said might be a “hot take,” especially for barbecue lovers.
The red carpet was “U-shaped,” with national outlets having first access to the celebrities when they entered the floor. Most more-established celebrities exited after talking to a few of these outlets, but a few made sure to round the curve to the regional, state and city outlet on the other side. Jelly Roll was one of those individuals. After three hours and 30-plus interviews, the red carpet closed, and I was running on pure adrenaline.
Had that really just happened? Scrolling through my camera roll and stepping on my sore feet confirmed that the evening was no movie, but real life.
AUTHOR BIO: Shannon Worley is an audience journalist for The Dallas Morning News. She's a graduate of the University of Missouri, and previously worked for POLITICO Europe and Fortune Magazine.
ACM Snapshot
The Academy of Country Music Awards (ACM Awards) originated in Los Angeles in 1964 as the Country and Western Music Academy. The first ACM Awards ceremony was held in 1966, recognizing the industry's accomplishments from the previous year.
This Year
The 2025 ACM Awards were held in Frisco at the Ford Center at The Star on May 8, 2025. This year's Awards were hosted by Reba McEntire, and were streamed live on Prime Video. The event included performances by various country music artists, including Lainey Wilson, Rascal Flatts, Jelly Roll, Kelsea Ballerini and Brooks & Dunn.
ACM Likes Frisco
The 58th ACM Awards also were held in Frisco at the Ford Center on May 11, 2023, hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks.
"Had that really just happened?"
"As a Midwestern girl, I was a bit shocked at the amount of Texas-born artists!"