First Group of CMT Music Awards Performers Announced

The first group of performers for the 2021 CMT Music Awards has officially been announced, with many collaborations included in the first round of announcements. Brothers Osborne will perform with Dierks Bentley, JP Saxe will join Maren Morris, Mickey Guyton will perform with legendary R&B singer Gladys Knight and Miranda Lambert will take the stage with her The Marfa Tapes collaborators Jack Ingram and Jon Randall.

In addition, Chris Stapleton and Luke Combs will also perform during the show. The annual awards are set to air Wednesday, June 9 at 8 p.m. ET on CMT, MTV, MTV2, Logo, Paramount Network and TV Land. Nominees were announced earlier this month, with Lambert and Morris leading with four nods each. Show co-hosts Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town and first-time nominee Guyton each have three. The CMT Music Awards are country music's only entirely fan-voted awards show, and voting is now open at vote.cmt.com and continues until Tuesday, June 1 at 3 p.m. ET.

Brown hosted last year's show alongside Sarah Hyland and Ballerini will make her CMT Music Awards hosting debut with the 2021 ceremony. "I loved getting a chance to host the CMT Music Awards last year and I'm excited to be back this year with Kelsea," Brown said in a statement. "The CMT Music Awards are special to me – it's the first industry award I won and getting on that stage was an amazing feeling. I love that the fans get to have their voices heard as we celebrate the best in country music."

Ballerini added, "I'm so excited to be hosting the 2021 CMT Music Awards with Kane! The CMT Awards are so special because they are truly fan-voted. Following a year plus where we have not been able to be with the fans and share music together will make this night even more special."

"Kelsea and Kane are two of the brightest, most sought-after stars in country music today and we're thrilled to welcome them both as hosts of the 2021 CMT Music Awards," shared CMT producers. "This dynamic duo reflects the show's revitalized energy as live music returns to center stage in a night filled with incredible outdoor performances, cross-genre collaborations and a few surprises!"