The 2023 CMT Music Awards went down in Austin, Texas Sunday night, and while the night celebrated country music’s biggest stars, rock was also well-represented.
The show featured a once-in-a-lifetime tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd and their late guitarist Gary Rossington, who passed away last month. The performance, which was introduced by Peter Frampton, featured a trio of guitar greats – Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons, and Gov’t Mule’s Warren Haynes – along with Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers and country star Cody Johnson on vocals, Rolling Stones’ keyboardist Chuck Leavell, and Wynonna Judd and LeAnn Rimes filling in for Skynyrd's backup singers, The Honkettes.
The all-star lineup treated the crowd to performances of Skynyrd classics “Simple Man” and “Sweet Home Alabama,” with current Skynyrd members Johnny Van Zant and Rickey Medlocke watching on from the audience, along with Rossington’s widow, Dale Krantz Rossington and daughter Dale, and the late Ronnie Van Zant’s widow Judy and his granddaughter.
The show also featured a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan from Gary Clark, Jr., who performed a rousing rendition “The House Is Rockin’.”
And if that wasn’t enough, The Black Crowes also performed on the telecast, joining Darius Rucker for a collaboration on the Crowes’ classic “She Talks to Angels.” Plus, Alanis Morissette teamed with Lainey Wilson, Ingrid Andress, Madeline Edwards and Morgan Wade for a performance of her classic “You Oughta Know,” and Wynonna and Ashley McBryde performed a cover of Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is.”
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