BLAKE SHELTON ORGANIZES "HEALING IN THE HEARTLAND: RELIEF BENEFIT CONCERT" AT CHESAPEAKE ENERGY ARENA IN OKLAHOMA CITY ON MAY 29

Special Telecast to Benefit the United Way Set for 9 p.m. ET/PT; NBC, Style, E!, G4, Bravo and CMT Will Also Air

Tickets to Go on Sale Saturday, May 25 at 10 a.m. CT

Love's Travel Stops to Underwrite the Concert Cost

OKLAHOMA CITY - May 24, 2013 - Blake Shelton has organized and will headline the telethon "Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert" on May 29, to take place at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.

Grammy Award-winning artists Miranda Lambert, Reba and Vince Gill will also perform. Additional guests for the concert will be announced shortly.

The concert will be televised live at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. It will also air on cable networks Style, G4, Bravo, E! and CMT on either a live or delayed basis.

"Everyone has their way to help, and mine as an entertainer is to perform to help raise money and awareness for this tragedy," Shelton said. "This is why I want to do this special and especially hold it in Oklahoma City, which is near ground zero."

The event will raise funds for the United Way of Central Oklahoma May Tornadoes Relief Fund. Working with their local community partners, United Way of Central Oklahoma will use the Fund for immediate, intermediate and long-term recovery and rebuilding efforts in Oklahoma following the tornadoes that devastated Moore earlier this week.

Born and raised in Oklahoma and currently residing in the city of Tishomingo, the recent tragedy that struck the state this week hit close to home for Shelton. The one way the country singer knew he could help immediately would be through the "Healing in the Heartland: Relief Benefit Concert" aiding the United Way of Central Oklahoma.

This isn't the first time Shelton has reached out to those in the wake of tragedy in Oklahoma. In 2011, Shelton and long-time friend Reba went back home to Oklahoma to host the "Tornado Relief Concerts" for victims affected by the Atoka County tornadoes. The two-sold out concerts, which featured special guests and over two hours of entertainment, raised $500,000 for the Oklahoma victims.

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. CT on May 25. Tickets are $25, with a limit of eight per person. Tickets can be purchased at the Chesapeake Energy Arena box office, all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at (800) 745-3000 and online at Ticketmaster.com.

**R.A. Clark (Academy of Country Music Awards, MDA SHOW OF STRENGTH) is executive producer. Rob Paine is supervising producer and Gregg Gelfand is director. Gene Pack is the writer for the special. **