"2017 CMT MUSIC AWARDS" TO HONOR GREGG ALLMAN WITH MUSICAL TRIBUTES FROM JASON ALDEAN, DARIUS RUCKER, CHARLES KELLEY AND MORE

KELSEA BALLERINI AND LITTLE BIG TOWN ADDED TO EPIC PERFORMANCE LINEUP LIVE FROM NASHVILLE ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7TH AT 8:00PM ET/PT

NASHVILLE - May 30, 2017 - CMT today announced it will honor Gregg Allman and celebrate his everlasting impact on American music during the "2017 CMT Music Awards" with a musical tributes from country superstars Jason Aldean, Darius Rucker and Lady Antebellum'sCharles Kelley live from Nashville on Wednesday, June 7th at 8:00pm ET/PT. Additional artists to be announced soon.

"Gregg Allman and The Allman Brothers Band helped create the bedrock foundation of modern southern music," said CMT President Brian Philips. "Over the weekend of his death, CMT's most important artists reached out to see how we might honor Gregg at our Awards. This tribute will celebrate Gregg Allman's soul, charisma and enduring artistry. 'The Road Goes on Forever', indeed."

Continuing its unmatched reputation for monumental performances, CMT also revealed today that its added heavy-hitters Kelsea Ballerini (who is tied for most "CMT Music Awards" nominations) and Little Big Town to the line-up. They join a growing list of performers including a first time television performance by The Chainsmokers and Florida Georgia Line, a duet from country legends Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood, a historic collaboration from Earth, Wind & Fire and Lady Antebellum, not to mention superstar performances from Blake Shelton, Brett Eldredge, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert and Thomas Rhett. Presenters to be announced next week.

Hosted by Nashville star Charles Esten, country music's highly-anticipated night will see breakout stars Kelsea Ballerini and Thomas Rhett going head-to-head against country music veteran Keith Urban for most nominations at the "2017 CMT Music Awards". Fans can vote for their favorites now via CMT.com until Monday, June 5th for categories including "Video of the Year", "Male Video of the Year", "Female Video of the Year", "Duo Video of the Year", "Group Video of the Year", "Breakthrough Video of the Year", "Collaborative Video of the Year", "CMT Performance of the Year", and "Social Superstar of the Year".

The top seven finalists for the night's biggest award, the highly-coveted "Video of the Year," will be revealed the morning of June 7.

Last year's CMT Music Awards once again exceeded expectations, attracting nearly 4 million fans, its biggest to date, across a three network simulcast (CMT, TV Land and Nick@Nite) up +20% from the prior year. The awards also lit up social media with #CMTawards trending worldwide for 5 hours to rank as the #1 Series/Special on Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings for the day.

Follow @CMT on Twitter and Instagram, use hashtag #CMTawards and like the CMT Music Awards on Facebook.

About CMT

CMT, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 92 million homes in the U.S. CMT, CMT.com and CMT Radio offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and are the top resource for country music on demand. The network's digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Music, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.