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ABC/Craig SjodinWhen you watch this year’s annual CMA Fest special on ABC next Wednesday night, you’ll get to see Luke Bryan’s set, which closed out the concerts at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium during this year's ev...

Even Luke Bryan feels the "CMA Fest" pressure: "You don’t want to go out there and lay an egg"

ABC/Craig SjodinWhen you watch this year’s annual CMA Fest special on ABC next Wednesday night, you’ll get to see Luke Bryan’s set, which closed out the concerts at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium during this year’s event.

But even though he’s a four-time Entertainer of the Year and one of the stars of American Idol, the Georgia native admits he feels some extra pressure knowing the TV cameras are rolling.

“This is like a big, awards-show-type crowd,” Luke explains, “and yeah, it’s very important. You don’t want to go out there and lay an egg. You want to go put a great show on, because the fans that are in the room, they’re gonna go watch it again in August.”

“And another thing,” he adds, “it’s gonna make people that may not have been to this festival, they’re gonna want to come be a part of that.”

The “Sunrise, Sunset, Sunburn” hitmaker says it’s been fun to watch CMA Fest grow, along with the prime time TV special.

“I remember six, seven years ago, we had the lower level [in the stadium] full,” Luke recalls. “And then through the years, you know, now it’s full from top to bottom… So it’s been fun watching CMA Music Fest grow to where it’s sold out every night, and that’s because we put a cool thing to watch on TV together for the fans.”

The three-hour CMA Fest special airs next Wednesday, starting at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

If you’re already planning for next year’s festival, it’ll be June 6-9 in Nashville. Tickets go on sale to the public this Monday.

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