STADIUM ARCADIUM:
CMA FEST PREVIEW

CMA Fest turns 51, gets its 21st consecutive network special on ABC and taps next-wave superstars Jelly Roll and Ashley McBryde as its hosts. Capturing the action 6/6-9 across Nashville’s fan-centric celebration of every kind of country music, the concert special revolves around the four nights of performances at Nissan Stadium.

Designed as a way to honor the people who love country music, Fan Fair, as it was originally known, was created as a way to invite and host the fans in the home of country. Since its inception in 1972, the annual gathering, which was initially as much about fan-club parties as the organized event, moved from Municipal Auditorium to the 25k cap Fairgrounds. After shifting to the Tennessee Titans’ downtown stadium in 2001, with multiple outdoor stages and other venues, CMA Fest’s growth has been unprecedented, making it Nashville’s largest annual tourist event.

Tapping fan favorites Jelly Roll and McBryde keeps the focus on the people. Both artists have built careers by speaking for working-class people who’ve created lives in a real world, facing tough things with vulnerability, surrender and/or a sense of humor, reflecting the joy of being alive, giving back to their community and representing the evolving faces of country-music fans.

Known for its surprise collaborations, CMA Fest has become a cornerstone of ABC’s summer programming. Produced by the Country Music Association, executive-produced and written by longtime creative executive and Nashville resident Robert Deaton and directed by Alan Carter, the fest captures the best of the event and supersizes country music for fans at home, as well as the people who travel from around the world to experience the music in person.

The three-hour live-music event airs on ABC 6/25 at 8pm EST/7pm CST. It will stream the next day on Hulu.