CMA Fest broadcasts on ABC this Wednesday with an all-star lineup including Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood and Kelsea Ballerini taking to the stage.
The ABC special (which will stream on Hulu) airs on the network from 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT, and will be hosted by Dierks Bentley and Elle King. Bentley and King will also take to the stage as performers, with the former set to duet with Billy Ray Cyrus, and the latter with Ashley McBryde.
Bentley and King are not the only ones set to take part in some country collaborations on the CMA Fest stage. Wynonna Judd is set to duet with Carley Pearce, while Lainey Wilson teams up with Cole Swindell.
Those performers, however, are just the beginning of the treats that ABC has in store this year. Here's everyone slated to appear on the CMA Fest stage for this year's TV special.
CMA Fest on ABC 2022 lineup
The following performers have been confirmed by ABC:
- Dierks Bentley and Billy Ray Cyrus
- Wynonna Judd and Carly Pearce
- Dustin Lynch featuring MacKenzie Porter
- Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson
- Elle King and Ashley McBryde
- Lady A featuring Breland
- Zac Brown Band with Darius Rucker
- Jason Aldean
- Kelsea Ballerini
- Brothers Osborne
- Kane Brown
- Luke Bryan
- Luke Combs
- Russell Dickerson
- Parker McCollum
- Old Dominion
- Thomas Rhett
- Carrie Underwood
All of the performances featured in the TV special were filmed during the multi-night CMA Fest event, which took place in Nashville back in June.
CMA Fest executive producer Robert Deaton told ABC: "The festival itself may be over but, thanks to [Bentley and King] along with a solid slate of performances and special collaborations, the party continues in homes across America. It was a fun challenge to think differently with our setup these last two years, but it felt great to be back with a full house at the stadium."
The 2022 festival marked a return after the event was canceled for two years in a row due to COVID-19. In its place, ABC aired the CMA Summer Jam, a much smaller concert than the usual four-day event.
This year's version of CMA Fest made headlines following the announcement that it was banning the Confederate flag from the event. In a statement, the Country Music Association wrote: "This year's CMA Fest is our first major fan-facing event in nearly three years. We have always had policies in place that protect the safety of our fans and ban discrimination, but we felt it was important to further refine our language to explicitly outline what will and will not be tolerated."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
