The 2023 CMT Music Awards will pay tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan, with Gary Clark Jr. set to perform the homage. The event, saluting the best in country music, happens at the Moody Center in Austin Sunday, April 2. CBS airs the CMT Music Awards and Paramount Plus streams it.
Blues and rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan made his name in the Austin music scene, fronting Double Trouble. He died in a helicopter crash in 1990. Also a blues and rock guitarist, Gary Clark Jr. comes from Austin.
Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini host the awards gala. Presenters include Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood, Dixie D’Amelio, LeAnn Rimes, Madison Bailey, Max Thieriot, Megan Thee Stallion, Noah Schnapp, Shania Twain, Steve Howey and Travis Kelce.
Alanis Morissette will make her CMT Music Awards debut as she performs hit song “You Oughta Know.”
Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Cody Johnson, Jelly Roll, Keith Urban, The Black Crowes + Darius Rucker, and Tyler Hubbard and Wynonna + Ashley McBryde are among the other performers.
CMT began airing the CMT Music Awards in 2005 and the event shifted to CBS in 2022. ■
