Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett & Cole Swindell Voted By Fans at CMT.COM To Compete For ACM New Artist Of The Year

SAM HUNT, THOMAS RHETT AND COLE SWINDELL

VOTED BY FANS AT CMT.COM TO COMPETE FOR

ACM NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY KOHL’S

WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED DURING LIVE TELECAST OF THE

50^TH ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC® AWARDS

BROADCAST LIVE FROM AT&T STADIUM IN NORTH TEXAS ON

SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2015 ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

Final Round Fan Voting Begins April 8 at VOTEACM.com

Encino, CA (February 18, 2015) – The Academy of Country Music and Kohl’s Department Stores announced today that Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett and Cole Swindell have been named nominees for this year’s ACM New Artist of the Year Award Presented By Kohl’s. The winner will be announced during the LIVE broadcast of the 50^th Academy of Country Music Awards, co-hosted by Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan, from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 8:00 PM – 11:30PM ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

Hunt, Rhett and Swindell were determined as the final three (3) nominees for the ACM New Artist of the Year Award via first round fan voting with partner CMT.com, combined with the ACM professional membership vote. The final round of fan voting for the New Artist of the Year Presented by Kohl’s begins on Wednesday, April 8 at 3:00 PM ET/12:00 PM PT with voting partner CBS.com at VoteACM.com, and will close at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT on Sunday, April 19when the LIVE telecast begins. In selecting the winner, professional member votes will again be combined with fan votes to obtain the winner of the category.

Leading up to the show, CMT will premiere a special ACM-themed episode of its weekly series CMT Hot 20 Countdown featuring this year’s three nominees for New Artist of the Year, scheduled to air in conjunction with the second round of fan-voting beginning April 8^th.