from CMT.com
Garth Brooks presented George Strait with the ACM Artist of the Decade award on Monday (April 6) in Las Vegas. Brooks had earned the same award for the 1990s. The presentation concluded an all-star tribute concert that featured performances of his classic songs by Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Jamie Foxx, Alan Jackson, Jamey Johnson, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, John Rich, LeAnn Rimes, Sugarland, Taylor Swift and Lee Ann Womack.

Backstage, Brooks said Strait deserves to win the award every decade, noting, "People just talk about him standing there and singing, and if you're a George Strait fan, it's a wonderful thing to be there." He also recalled the first time he got to see Strait, about 20 years ago, when Brooks was backstage at the Grand Ole Opry and Strait was performing for attendees at the Country Radio Seminar. "Here I am, 20 years later, staring at him tonight," Brooks said. "I love him and I hate him because he looks so good. He looks the same as he did 30 years ago."