See Blake Shelton, Kelsea Ballerini, Keith Urban & More 2025 CMA Fest Performers (PHOTOS)
Country music’s biggest stars took to the stage for this year’s CMA Fest primetime concert special.
Cody Johnson and Ashley McBryde serve as hosts for ABC’s CMA Fest presented by SoFi special, which premieres on Thursday, June 26. Set at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, the three-hour special will feature several performances filmed during the music festival’s four-day run earlier this month.
“For me, hosting, I didn’t need much to prepare other than doing script reads, making some changes and saying in the production meetings, ‘You know guys. I wouldn’t say it like that,’” Johnson told TV Insider of his first CMA Fest hosting gig. “I would say the line the way I would say them or maybe a combination of what they needed to get in and what I would say. [EP] Robert Deaton and the production team did a really great job of transposing those and making sure when it hit the teleprompter it was the right speed, font size and it was my language versus what they had on the script. It really made it really easy.”
Scroll down to get a sneak peek of which artists fans will see rock out during the CMA Fest special.
CMA Fest, June 26, 8/7c, ABC (Next day on Hulu)
Trace Adkins and Blake Shelton
Shelton surprised attendees by bringing out Adkins for a special performance of “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk.”
Kelsea Ballerini
The Voice coach sparkled in a teal and black dress for her set, during which she performed her hit song “Baggage.”
Keith Urban
The Grammy winner looked like rock royalty while shredding his guitar on stage.
Darius Rucker
Rucker was all smiles during his CMA Fest set. “I love country music!!! Thank you for hanging with us at #CMAFest this weekend. Best fans EVER!!” he wrote via Instagram after the festival.
Shaboozey and Jelly Roll
The two artists jammed out while performing their collab “Amen.”
Luke Bryan
The American Idol judge was photographed pumping up the crowd during his set.
Travis Tritt and Jason Aldean
The pair teamed up to perform the song “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive.”
Brooks and Dunn and Lainey Wilson
The Yellowstone actress and the musical duo band turned in another memorable CMA Fest collab with their performance of “Play Something Country.”
Rascal Flatts
In addition to singing their memorable cover of “Life Is A Highway,” the band performed “My Wish” alongside Carly Pearce.
Scotty McCreary
The American Idol Season 10 winner showed off his impressive vocals during his track “Five More Minutes.”
Dierks Bentley and Zach Top
Bentley and Top’s CMA Fest set featured performances of “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)” and a “Mountain Music” medley.
Megan Moroney
Moroney’s sparkly getup looked reminiscent of early Taylor Swift during her performance of “Am I Okay?”
Cody Johnson
The special will feature two performances from the cohost, including “The Fall” and “She Hurts Like Tequila” with Carín León.
Ashley McBryde
The cohost rocked out on stage during her performance of “Rattlesnake Preacher.”
Bailey Zimmerman and BigXthaPlug
Another duet, Zimmerman and the rapper joined forces for their collab “All The Way.”
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