CMA Fest is happening this week, but fans can relive the magic a little bit longer. Good friends Jelly Roll and Ashley McBryde have been tapped to host this year’s CMA Fest TV special, airing on June 25 at 8:00 PM ET on ABC, and streaming the following day on Hulu.
The three-hour special will feature performances, surprise collaborations, and more, filming over all four days of CMA Fest.
This year’s lineup boasts hundreds of artists, with some of the biggest acts in country music taking the stage at Nissan Stadium each night, including Jelly Roll, McBryde, Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson, Parker McCollum, Jordan Davis, Jon Pardi, Carly Pearce, Thomas Rhett, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Bryan and more.
The news comes as both Jelly Roll and McBryde are having big years in country music. Jelly Roll just celebrated his third No. 1 hit with his “Save Me” duet with Lainey Wilson, which just earned the pair an ACM Award for Music Event of the Year. Jelly Roll is now working on a new album, as “Halfway to Hell,” the final release from his 2023 Whitsitt Chapel record, seems likely to become his next No. 1 hit.
“There’s a lot of storytelling on this album,” Jelly Roll hinted to Taste of Country. “I wrote probably a hundred-some songs last year, maybe 150-plus, trying to figure this album out. I’ve never been more inspired though. I was getting so many stories. People were pouring into it … I’m at gas stations and red carpets and I’m hearing life stories of people that are really inspired stories. I’ve never wrote more.”
The Nashville native hints that his new record will also have guest artists on at least some of the tracks.
“I’ve got crazy in-genre collabs,” Jelly Roll revealed on the Country Heat Weekly podcast (via American Songwriter). “I’ve got three crazy out-of-genre collabs. Like, when you look at the track list finally and it says who it’s featuring, you’re going to be like ‘What is happening? What kind of album is this?’ I’ve got a gospel singer on this album. I’ve got rappers on this album. I’ve got a pop singer on this album.”
McBryde is also having a big year. The Grand Ole Opry member, who joins Terri Clark on her just-released Take Two album, is headlining her own The Devil I Know Tour now, and will join Cody Johnson on his Leather Tour this fall.
CMA Fest has plenty of free daytime shows. Passes are required for some of the events, as well as the nighttime shows. CMA Fest will take place in Nashville from June 6 to 9. Find more information at CMAFest.com.