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Event Information:
The
CMA Music Festival is a four-day
music festival centered around
country music hosted each June by
the Country Music Association in
Nashville, Tennessee. Begun in 1972
as Fan Fair, the event now draws
over 400 artists and celebrities who
hold autograph sessions and perform
in one of the many concerts offered
throughout the festival. Over
374,120 people attended from 41
different nations, and all 50
states. This attendance record was
8.3% higher than that of 2007. The
CMA Music Festival, hosted by the
Country Music Association,
encompasses four days of country
music concerts and musician and fan
interactions. Over 400 artists
attend the event each year to hold
up to 30 hours of autograph sessions
and "meet-and-greet" sessions with
their fans at the Nashville
Convention Center. Many artist fan
clubs also hold gatherings in the
area during the festival.
During
the festival, attendees can choose
from over 150 hours of concerts that
are offered on stages at Riverfront
Park and LP Field. Until 2001, the
evening concerts were organized by
record labels, with each label
choosing which of their artists
would be able to perform, and for
how long. Beginning with Fan Fair
2001, these main concerts were
grouped instead by record
distribution group. This allowed for
four main concerts, for Sony, WEA/EMI,
UNI, and BMG. Artists are held to
very strict timeframes for their
performances, with Martina McBride
noting in 2007 that she was expected
to be on stage for exactly 34
minutes, "not 30, not 35, but 34."
The artists are not paid to attend
the festival or for their
performances during the festival.
Through 2000, the CMA Music Festival
was considered a sell-out if 25,000
people attended. Attendees span all
ages, from infants to the elderly
and come from 41 different
countries, including France,
Australia, Germany, The United
Kingdom, China, Japan, and Russia.
After moving to its new, larger and
air-conditioned home in 2001,
attendance numbers soared, with the
2002 festival drawing 126,000 fans.
Attendance slipped slightly the
following year, partially because
many of the more renowned country
music stars declined to appear at
the festival. However, in 2003,
attendance was down only 1.7% over
the year before, compared to a 25%
decline in overall U.S. tourist
travel for the same period. The
attendance slippage was not
permanent; in 2007, a
record-breaking crowd of 191,000
people attended the festival.
Line Up for includes:
Thursday 7 June
Lady Antebellum
Miranda Lambert
Brad Paisley
Nashville School of Arts Choir
Lauren Alaina
Jason Aldean
Glen Campbell
David Nail
Kellie Pickler
Zac Brown Band
Friday 8 June
Blake Shelton
Carrie Underwood
Oak Ridge Boys
The Band Perry
Brantley Gilbert
Randy Houser
Ronnie Milsap
Jake Owen
Gwen Sebastian
Saturday 9 June
Faith Hill
Julie Roberts
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Hunter Hayes
Little Big Town
Love and Theft
Kip Moore
Kenny Rogers
Sunday 10 June
Sarah Darling
Bill Anderson
Dierks Bentley
Alan Jackson
The Mavericks
Martina McBride
Scotty McCreery
Rascal Flatts
Steel Magnolia
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