ABC Invites America to Music's Hottest Event, 'CMA Music Festival: Country's Night...

ABC Invites America to Music's Hottest Event, 'CMA Music Festival: Country's
Night To Rock'

Kenny Chesney, Kid Rock, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker,
Sugarland, and Taylor Swift Perform

NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Country Music takes center stage
when "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" airs Monday, Aug. 31
(8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Filmed in NashvilleJune 11-14, the special has been expanded to three hours to
showcase more of today's most exciting Country Music stars. Kenny Chesney, Kid
Rock, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Sugarland andTaylor
Swiftare the first performers to be confirmed, with more artists to be
announced soon.

The annual CMA Music Festival is unlike any other, with four days filled with
more than one hundred hours of live music, 30 hours of autograph signings by
Country Music's biggest names and up and comers, hundreds of artists and
celebrities, and a party list of thousands of avid fans. This is the fifth
time ABC will broadcast this special - which invites the whole country to
America's biggest Country Music bash - since the original Fan Fair(R) was
launched in 1972. This year an average of 56,000 fans attended each day of CMA
Music Festival, its biggest turnout yet.
"CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" is executive-produced by Robert
Deaton and directed by Gary Halvorson. The 2009 CMA Music Festival is
organized and produced by the Country Music Association. "CMA Music Festival:
Country's Night to Rock" will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720
Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround
sound.

SOURCE Country Music Association

Wendy Pearl or Scott Stem of CMA, +1-615-244-2840; or Mozell Miley-Bailey of
ABC, +1-212-456-6444