TRACE ADKINS TO DO A SPECIAL PERFORMANCE IN HONOR OF WOUNDED TROOPS AT THE "44TH ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS," TO BE BROADCAST LIVE FROM LAS VEGAS SUNDAY, APRIL 5 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

The Academy of Country Music and Trace Adkins Partner to Celebrate Lifting LivesTM, The Re-Branded ACM Charitable Fund

In recognition of the Academy of Country Music's re-branded charitable fund, ACM Lifting LivesTM, Trace Adkins will perform his song "Til the Last Shot's Fired" with the West Point Glee Club in support of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), this year's Lifting Lives selected charity. The ACM Awards, which honors country music's top talent, as well as the industry's hottest emerging artists, is produced for television by dick clark productions and will be broadcast live from Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena Sunday, April 5 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Lifting LivesTM is the newly-rebranded but long-standing charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music, which works to improve lives through music. The philanthropy was previously referred to as the Academy of Country Music Charitable Fund (ACMCF).

"The Academy of Country Music has changed the name of its charity to encompass all existing charitable giving and not just the charitable fund, which is our grant-giving program," said Dennis Lord, Chairman of the Board for Lifting Lives. "We also wanted a name that explains our focus, namely, lifting people up through the power of music. Lifting Lives is a powerful, alliterative way of communicating our mission, and it speaks of our audacious plans for the future."

Adkins and the West Point Glee Club will dedicate their performance of "Til the Last Shot's Fired" to the servicemen and women who will be seated in the front rows at the ceremony. Fans will be able to download the song on itunes and all profits from downloads will benefit the WWP, an organization that provides extensive support to troops who have been wounded in combat.

A long-time supporter of the U.S. military, Adkins traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan last year where he and his band performed for more than 10,000 United States military personnel in partnership with the USO. The song "Til the Last Shot's Fired," from Adkins' 10th album X, looks at military history and personal sacrifice. On the album, Adkins' vocal is augmented by the rare presence of the West Point Glee Club.

"It's a privilege to perform this song with such a distinguished choir for the great servicemen and women in whose honor it was written," said Adkins. "We should always let our military know how much we appreciate them putting their lives on the line for us every day. The WWP provides an incredible service to those wounded in combat, so it's an honor to donate proceeds of the performance downloads to support this important and worthy charity."

In addition, The Academy has partnered with Take Pride, a cause-related apparel company, to offer viewers the opportunity to purchase a t-shirt via Take Pride that will also benefit the WWP.

"We put this partnership with Take Pride, Wounded Warrior, Trace Adkins and the 'Academy of Country Music Awards' telecast together - even though Lifting Lives is not a beneficiary - because it made sense and demonstrates our approach," said Erin Spahn, director of Lifting Lives. "We aim to facilitate good works and uplift with the power of music, which could mean something as simple as introducing a Make-A-Wish child to an artist during rehearsals, or as complicated as a multi-pronged project like this one."

The Wounded Warrior Project has been selected by Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music (ACM), to honor those wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. More information on WWP is available at http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/.

The 44TH Academy of Country Music Awards is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry. The show is produced for television by dick clark productions. Orly Adelson and R.A. Clark are the executive producers; Barry Adelman the producer and Bob Bardo the executive in charge of production.

RATING: To Be Announced