Country Music Royalty Comes Together for a Powerful “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” Performance at ACM Honors
At the ACM Honors, Brenda Lee presented the Carter Family with the ACM Poet’s Award and joined several of the family’s descendants for an impromptu rendition of “Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)”. The moment underscored the group’s enduring influence on country music and celebrated a song that has remained widely performed across generations.
The Carter Family adapted the early-20th-century song, originally titled “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”, and their version was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Family representatives including Carlene Carter and John Carter Cash took part, while the award recognised songwriters whose lyrics and music have made a lasting contribution to country music.
- Brenda Lee honoured the Carter Family at ACM Honors.
- They performed “Can the Circle Be Unbroken”.
- The award recognised the family’s lasting songwriting influence.
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The Carter Family were among the most influential early groups in American country music. Formed in the 1920s by A.P. Carter, his wife Sara and his sister-in-law Maybelle, they recorded songs that helped shape the sound and repertoire of the genre.
Their version of “Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)” adapted an older hymn into a song about family, loss and reunion. It became one of their best-known recordings and has since been performed by many country, folk and bluegrass artists.
The ACM Poet’s Award is given by the Academy of Country Music to songwriters whose work has made a lasting contribution to country music. Descendants of the Carter Family, including Carlene Carter and John Carter Cash, have continued the family’s musical links through later generations.