CMA Music Fest: Country’s Night To Rock 2016 | AfterBuzz TV AfterShow

Performers like Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Blake Shelton and more will have audiences taping their toes from the comfort of their living rooms during CMA’s “Country’s Night to Rock.”

NASHVILLE – The 2016 CMA Music Festival sold out months in advance prompting large, enthusiastic crowds at the Festival’s numerous stages and event areas with a record-setting daily attendance of 88,500 fans.

“The advance sell out speaks to the strength of the event, but great weather, the addition of two new, free stages at Ascend Amphitheater, and record crowds at Fan Fair X at the Music City Center contributed to our attendance hike,” said CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern. “We continue to see strong local and regional support for this event, which is a boon to the city of Nashville.”

Attendance figures for 2016 include four-day ticket packages and promotional tickets, as well as attendance in Fan Fair X and free areas downtown. In all, more than 600 artists and celebrities participated in more than 250 hours of concerts on 11 stages (seven of which were free).

Tickets for the 2017 CMA Music Festival, which will be held Thursday, June 8 through Sunday, June 11, 2017, are on sale to returning fans through Thursday, June 16. The national on-sale date is Monday, July 11. Fans can order tickets by visiting CMAfest.com or calling the CMA Box Office at 1-800-CMA-FEST (262-3378).

The increased attendance was felt throughout the event. For the first time since moving to downtown Nashville in 2001, Chevrolet Riverfront Stage reached capacity twice on opening day. Official CMA Music Festival merchandise sales increased 16 percent over 2015. The Festival’s newest stages (the AT&T Skyview Stage and Budweiser Acoustic Stage) at Ascend Amphitheater hosted 5,000 fans each day. And the CMA Music Festival app saw 48,800 active users, a 21 percent increase in usage over 2015.

Corporate brand partnerships are a key element to the marketing, fan experience, and support of the Festival with more than 50 different brand experiences activating at CMA Music Festival.

“This year’s Festival brought new and bigger immersive partner activations that enhanced the experience for both fans and brands and continued to differentiate our Festival as a global leader in music festival brand partnerships,” said Damon Whiteside, CMA Senior Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships. “The increased attendance and fan engagement showcases the passion and loyalty of our Country Music fans and artists in addition to the dynamic opportunity for brands to reach this meaningful audience and create lasting impressions.”

Music Education Matters
CMA Music Festival supports music education. The artists and celebrities participating in CMA Music Festival donate their time and are not compensated for the hours they spend in meet and greets and performing. In appreciation of their exhaustive efforts, the CMA Foundation donates proceeds from the event to local and national music education programs on behalf of the artists. Since 2006, CMA has donated more than $13.68 million to this worthy cause reaching more than 1 million children nationwide.

During Opening Ceremonies Wednesday at the AT&T Skyview Stage at Ascend Amphitheater, Chris Young invited a drumline made up of students from six local schools (Hillwood Comprehensive High School, Hillsboro Comprehensive High School, McGavock High School, John Overton High School, Cane Ridge High School, and East Nashville Magnet School) that have benefited from the CMA Foundation to drum-kick-start the Festival. Young also performed the Keith Whitley standard “When You Say Nothing at All” with Tristan McIntosh, a student from Nashville School of the Arts who was a recent contestant on “American Idol.”

On Friday, Eric Paslay took time to meet students from CMA beneficiary music education program Notes for Notes at Fan Fair X. Notes for Notes provides an afterschool recording studio experience for deserving children through a partnership with Boys and Girls Clubs and other facilities in several cities including Atlanta, Austin, Brooklyn, Detroit, and San Francisco, with several more slated to be opened.

Sunday, CMA was on hand at Charlie Worsham’s “Donuts and Jam” fan club party to present a $20,000 check to an organization close to Worsham’s heart. The Quest Center for Art and Community Development is a non-profit music education and resource center located in Dickson, Tenn., a rural community 35 miles west of Nashville. The Center makes music education accessible to all members of the community, while providing leadership and a positive, affordable, and safe environment for students.

Keith Urban, who was named the first CMA Foundation Music Education Matters Ambassador in 2015, wrapped his year of service to the cause by meeting Nashville School of the Arts students Sunday during his soundcheck at Nissan Stadium. The students were all recipients of Urban’s signature guitars, which he donated to the music education program.