Author: Dave Paulson and Cindy Watts, Nashville Tennessean

With more than two dozen performances packed into three hours, the music almost never stoppedat the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas.

The late Foster was a Nashville legend: a wildly influential producer, music executive, songwriter and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Brandi Carlile, who swept the Americana categories at the Grammy Awards Sunday, recalled her coming out, thanking Americana for being her “island.”