Adkins To Sing For Soldiers' Charity

From Tennessean staff writer Bonna Johnson:

Country singer Trace Adkins hopes he can hold it together at the Academy of Country Music Awards show on April 5.

"I have to admit I'm a little anxious about it," Adkins said. "I'm going to be introduced by a wounded veteran."

If that's not enough pressure, Trace will be backed by the West Point Glee Club.

"I just really hope the emotion doesn't overwhelm me," he said. "I hope I can be a professional and get through this thing."

The "thing" he's talking about is his first live performance of the song "Til the Last Shot's Fired," with the Army cadets backing him. The West Point singers also are featured on Adkins' album, X.

"It's a song that just begs the question of 'What if soldiers that are killed in combat or are in this, sort of, limbo and can't rest until there's peace, until the last shot is fired,' " Trace said.

It just won't be an emotional moment for Adkins during the award show in Las Vegas. The performance also marks the launch of Lifting Lives, the new name the Academy of Country Music is giving to its charitable fund.

It used to be called the Academy of Country Music Charitable Fund. "That doesn't really sing very well," Adkins said.

The fund was first established three years ago and now, as Lifting Lives, aims to raise a $3 million endowment as a starting point, said Dennis Lord, chairman of Lifting Lives and executive vice president of SESAC Inc.

Trace's tune of soldiers' lament was a perfect fit for Lifting Lives, which is partnering with the Wounded Warriors Project and the Take Pride clothing company to raise awareness about the difficulties military men and women face when they return home.

"It's the least I can do," said Trace, who has performed on some USO tours and visited injured soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

"I'm not doing the heavy lifting. I don't shoulder a weapon."

Danielle
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