Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini return to host CMA Fest for the second time
The CMA Fest, which will be aired on the ABC Television Network on August 8, will be hosted by Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini for the second year. The show will be filmed during Nashville's annual CMA Fest starting June 7, and will feature more than 25 of the country's biggest names who will hit the stage for the four-day event. This year will mark the 15th consecutive year of the broadcast. Last year’s broadcast of CMA Fest achieved three-year rating highs.
The nightly stage at Nissan Stadium will be adorned by various country music superstars, including, Kane Brown, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Ricky Shaggs, Chris Stapleton, Dustin Lynch, Luke Bryan, and many more. Brown, Combs, Dan+Shay, Old Dominion, Pardi, Pearce and Young are some of the acts who will be taking the stage for the first time. Lauren Alaina and Bebe Rexha will make guest appearances.
“This year’s CMA Fest is our biggest yet with many artists debuting full sets on the Nissan Stadium stage,” said Sarah Trahern, chief executive officer, CMA. “We’re thrilled once again to broadcast ‘CMA Fest’ and bring the festival to millions of country music fans not only here in the US but all around the world.”
“Thomas and Kelsea are the embodiment of the summer fun that is CMA Fest, and we are so excited they’ll be back for year two,” said Rob Mills, senior vice president, Alternative Series,
Specials Late-Night, ABC Entertainment.
CMA Fest is unlike any other with live music festival with 11 official stages throughout downtown Nashville. The all-time fan favorite Chevy Riverfront Stage will keep the crowd grooving from 10 am to 5:15 pm with Jon Pardi on June 7. The other artists include Lauren Alaina, Frankie Ballard, Lee Brice, Craig Campbell, Jordan Davis, Drake White, Tyler Farr, Dylan Scott, Home Free, Chris Lane, Morgan Wallen, Aaron Watson, Maddie & Tae, Willam Michael Morgan, and many more.
The Chevy Breakout Stage, located in Walk of Fame Park, will entertain the crowd from 10:30 am to 4:55 pm, with performances by Jimmie Allen, Kassi Ashton, Chris Bandi, Ashley Campbell, Logan Mize, The Wild Feathers, Michael Tyler, Waterloo Rival, Charlie Worsham, and others.
Also returning for the second year, the Budweiser Forever Country Stage will take place from 11:00 am to 4:45 pm, featuring some of the biggest names in country music including Keith Anderson, David Ball, John Berry, Billy Dean, Mila Mason, Lorrie Morgan, Mark Wills, Darryl Worley, Michelle Wright, and many more.
Over 300 acts donate their time in support of music education through the CMA Foundation, with over 90,000 fans from all over the US and abroad flocking to the music festival each summer.
Fans can purchase the CMA Fest Nash Pass for $60 plus fees, allowing a limited amount of fans VIP early access at the Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage. The Nash Pass also includes a Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum tour, Ryman Auditorium tour and four-day admission to Xfinity Fan Fair X. Tickets for Xfinity Fan Fair X is available for $10 each day or $25 for a four-day pass.
All of CMA Fest’s outdoor daytime stages, as well as nightly shows at the Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater are free and open to the public.
Ballerini will perform at Nissan Stadium Saturday, June 9, in addition to appearing as Artist of the Day at Xfinity Fan Fair X on Sunday, June 10. A limited number of four-day tickets for the nightly concerts at Nissan Stadium, which also includes four-day access to Xfinity Fan Fair X, are still available at CMAfest.com/tickets or through the CMA Box Office at 1-800-CMA-FEST.