Slash and Billy Gibbons to Lead All Star Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute at CMT Awards

Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash and ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons will be among many artists who will be honoring Lynyrd Skynyrd during the CMT Music Awards in 2023.

The star-studded tribute will include Wynonna Judd, Allman Brothers Band members Chuck Leavell and Warren Haynes, Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers, country singer Cody Johnson and LeAnn Rimes.

According to Billboard, “Johnson and Rodgers will sing lead vocals with Gibbons, with Slash and Haynes on electric guitar for a one-time-only performance of a pair of timeless Lynyrd Skynyrd hits. They also noted that Rimes and Judd will fill the role of the Honkettes, the women singers that backed Lynyrd Skynyrd during their rise to fame.

The CMT tribute celebrates the band’s debut album, released in 1973. The group’s last surviving original member, guitarist Gary Rossington, died on March 5 at the age of 71 [full story]. Billboard notes that Rossingston’s wife will attend the CMT Music Awards, along with current Skynyrd members Johnny Van Zant and Rickey Medlocke.

The CMT Music Awards will air on April 2 at 8 p.m. on CBS and stream on Paramount+. Other performers announced for the show include the Black Crowes, Carrie Underwood, and Ashley McBryde.