Jason Aldean, Darius Rucker, Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum and Derek Trucks kicked off the 2017 CMT Music Awards with a rocking tribute to southern rocker Gregg Allman, who died last month at age 69.
It started with Aldean, Rucker and Kelley singing the Allman Brothers Band’s “Midnight Rider” a cappella, before being joined by a full band including Trucks on guitar.
The performance earned a standing ovation Wednesday from the audience at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee, which included country music’s top stars, along with Hollywood actors and musicians from the rock, pop and R&B worlds.
Ashton Kutcher, Jada Pinkett Smith and Katherine Heigl will present awards at the show on CMT, where performers include Earth, Wind & Fire, Peter Frampton and the Chainsmokers.
Little Big Town won the first televised award of the night, taking home group video of the year for “Better Man,” their No. 1 hit that was written by Taylor Swift.