CMA Music Festival Is Here!

The 2014 CMA Music Festival promises to be the biggest and most exciting event to hit downtown Nashville. With 11 stages and more artists and activities than ever before, this year’s Festival will thrill and excite the fans. Officially running Thursday through Sunday, June 5-8, 2014 CMA Music Festival is an event with attendees traveling from all 50 states as well as 24 foreign countries with 450 artists and celebrities participating.

“We are so proud to present the 2014 CMA Music Festival to the fans,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “The sheer volume and level of talent and activities this year will offer the best Festival experience to date.”

With so much to do and see at this four-day event, it takes a few extra days to get it all in. And the fun begins tonight!

Ready For Kick-Off
The 2014 CMA Music Festival will kick off in rockin’ style with the CMA Music Festival Kick-Off Concert on the Chevrolet® Riverfront Stage. The free event takes place Wednesday, June 4 (11:00 AM-4:30 PM/CT; gates open at 10:00 AM/CT), the day before the official start of CMA Music Festival.

The 2014 CMA Music Festival Kick-Off Concert features eight diverse acts including four international artists: Lindsay Ell, Tim Hicks, and Small Town Pistols from Canada, and Morgan Evans from Australia. Rounding out the lineup are honky-tonk traditionalists Brazilbilly; Shooter Jennings performing with Waymore’s Outlaws, his father Waylon Jennings’ touring and studio backing band; three time Grammy-nominated bluegrass ensemble The Grascals; and Southern rock legends The Marshall Tucker Band.

Party the Night Away
“Marty Stuart’s Late Night Jam” takes place Wednesday, June 4 (10:00 PM/CT) at the Ryman Auditorium. Performers for this year’s event include, Sam Moore, LeAnn Rimes, Travis Tritt, and Country Music Hall of Fame member Connie Smith. A separate ticket is required for the Late Night Jam and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster outlets, and the Ryman Auditorium Box Office.

The Fun “Officially” Begins
The 2014 CMA Music Festival officially begins Thursday, June 5 and continues through Sunday, June 8 with more than 450 artists and celebrities, concerts, autograph signings, family activities, interactive exhibits, giveaways, games, and much more.

Artist of the Day LeAnn Rimes will kick things off Thursday, June 5 (9:30 AM/CT).The CMA Award-winning singer will cut the ribbon, officially opening AT&T U-verse® Fan Fair X. Following the ribbon cutting, Rimes will perform and answer questions on the CMA Close Up Stage before signing autographs at CMA Central, CMA’s autograph hub in the center of all the Fan Fair X action.

Take Me to the River
Big & Rich will arrive in style to officially open the gates to admit fans to the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage on Thursday, June 5. The enormously popular duo will officially kick off the Festival when they then take the stage (10:00 AM/CT). This will mark the first time the duo will hit the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage together, setting the pace for the music-filled days to follow.

The Chevrolet Riverfront Stage, located at Riverfront Park, is free and open to the public and will feature Country Music legends and some of the hottest rising stars over the course of the Festival. Admittance to the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage is free, but four-day ticket holders have an exclusive 45-minute, early-entrance window before the gates open to the general public.

Performers scheduled to hit the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage include Frankie Ballard, Big & Rich, Danielle Bradbery, Kristian Bush, Craig Campbell, Jason Michael Carroll, Terri Clark, Billy Ray Cyrus, Dan + Shay, Tyler Farr, Colt Ford, Gloriana, LoCash Cowboys, Lonestar, Love and Theft, Dustin Lynch, Craig Morgan, Lorrie Morgan and Pam Tillis, David Nail, Jon Pardi, Parmalee, Eric Paslay, Kellie Pickler, Cassadee Pope, Collin Raye, Chase Rice, Maggie Rose, Corey Smith, Cole Swindell, The Cadillac Three, The Swon Brothers, Uncle Kracker, Clay Walker, Darryl Worley, Charlie Worsham, and Wynonna & The Big Noise.

The concerts are hosted by a variety of broadcast personalities and guest artists including Big D & Bubba, WSM’s Bill Cody, Cowboy Troy, Joe Denim, WGSQ’s Philip Gibbons, Great American Country’s Nan Kelly, WKRN’s Neil Orne, and Adam Wurtzel.

A Little Night Music
The Nightly Concerts on the LP Field Concert Stage feature the biggest names in Country Music, emerging stars, and surprise guests. Four-day ticket holders can get a front-row shot from the popular Photo Line, which is in constant motion in front of the stage during the performances.

Pre-show activities opening night (7:00 PM/CT) include a Music City welcome from Nashville Mayor Karl Dean, and the presentation of the Stars and Stripes by the Marines of Recruiting Station Nashville. The W.O. Smith Music School Choir, directed by Lynn Adelman, from the W.O. Smith Nashville Community Music School, which is a beneficiary of The CMA Foundation’s Keep the Music Playing music education program, will perform the national anthem.

Performers include:

Thursday, June 5: Alabama, Luke Bryan, Brantley Gilbert, Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts, and Tim McGraw

Friday, June 6: Travis Tritt, Eric Church, The Band Perry, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, and Blake Shelton

Saturday, June 7: Sara Evans, Chris Young, Little Big Town, Darius Rucker, Florida Georgia Line, and Keith Urban

Sunday, June 8: Charlie Daniels Band, Thomas Rhett, Lady Antebellum, Hunter Hayes, Zac Brown Band, and Brad Paisley