The Country Music Association wrapped its 52nd Annual CMA Fest yesterday (June 8), bringing in an estimated 95,000 fans from all 50 states and 33 countries to the heart of Music City. The weekend featured over 300 performances across four days and over 100 CMA Fest debuts. The festival raised over $2 million dollars to support music education through the CMA Foundation.

“What an incredible four days and nights. Even with a few weather interruptions, the energy and spirit of our fans never faded,” says Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “From legendary acts to artists playing CMA Fest for the very first time, this year was a celebration of discovery, connection and community. And the fact that it all helps fund the CMA Foundation’s work in music education makes it even more impactful.”

From 2024 CMA New Artist of the Year Megan Moroney drawing a capacity crowd to kick off CMA Fest at the Chevy Riverfront Stage on Thursday morning, to surprise appearances at Nissan Stadium by Trace Adkins, BigXthaPlug, Jelly Roll, Noah Kahan, Brandon Lake, Travis Tritt and Lainey Wilson, to an updated “Fan Alley” activation and so much more. this year’s event delivered powerful memories at every turn.

During the day, fans explored multiple outdoor stages, Fan Fair X events and Ascend Amphitheater night shows. Click the link to see highlights from day-time events on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Over at Nissan Stadium, fans were treated to unique lineups on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday with surprise guests and Platform Stage performances in addition the the scheduled lineups.

The television special, CMA Fest Presented by SoFi, will air June 26 at 7 p.m. central time on ABC hosted by Ashley McBryde and Cody Johnson.

Nissan Stadium filled up quickly as fans flooded in the stadium for the final night of CMA Fest.

Rodney Atkins kicked the night off with his hit “Take A Back Road” before moving into “Farmer’s Daughter” and “Caught Up In The Country.” Fans joined in a sing-along of “If You’re Going Through Hell,” before Atkins paused to tell the story of his four-year old son singing it at his preschool 20 years ago, and how that moment became the inspiration for the next song on the set, “Watching You.” His son, Elijah Atkins, who is now 23, surprised the crowd for a duet of the song, which they recently recorded together.

As the sun went down, fans jumped to their feet for breakout star Zach Top. Starting his set strong with “Sounds Like The Radio,” he moved into “Bad Luck” and paused to take a moment to acknowledge last year’s CMA Fest show, where he performed on the Platform Stage. He thanked fans for their support before moving into his ballad “Use Me.” Top stopped the show to share the news that his next single, “Good Times And Tan Lines,” would be released at midnight and gave fans an early preview of the song. He wrapped his set with the fan-favorites “I Never Lie” and “Cold Beer and Country Music.”

Fans then directed their attention to the Platform Stage, where powerhouse vocalist Avery Anna broke into her hit ballad “Narcissist.” She moved into “Indigo,” Anna’s duet with Sam Barber, sharing the news that the song is officially top 40 at country radio. She was brought to tears of gratitude as fans lit up Nissan Stadium with phone flashlights for the last chorus of the emotional song.

Back on the big screen, CMA Fest host Ashley McBryde introduced The Roots of Music, a marching band from New Orleans, who played on-screen as McBryde made her way to stage. Her energetic set started with “Rattlesnake Preacher,” before she moved into “Made For This,” “One Night Standards” and a cover of Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer.”

“Theres nothing in this world like country music, and there’s nothing in this world like country music fans,” shared McBryde.

She closed out her set with “The Devil I Know,” “Ain’t Enough Water In The River” and “Tired Of Being Happy.” Before she left the stage, McBryde reintroduced The Roots of Music, bringing them on stage to entertain the audience between sets.

Attention was then directed back to the Platform Stage for performances of “Pour Me Out” and “After Me?” from Kashus Culpepper.

The energy in the stadium exploded as Bailey Zimmerman took the stage with “Religiously.” During the next song, “Backup Plan,” Zimmerman surprised the audience with Josh Ross, before moving into his newest single “Comin’ In Cold.” Zimmerman had one more surprise in store for the crowd, bringing out BigXthaPlug for “All The Way.”

“Y’all have no idea what it means for us to have the chance to come back for the second year in a row and play our songs,” Zimmerman said, before wrapping the set with “Rock and A Hard Place,” as fans once again lit up the stadium with flashlights.

Back on the Platform Stage for the last time of the night, Tucker Wetmore emerged with “Wine Into Whiskey.” As he looked into the crowd, Wetmore shared that two years ago, he sat in the CMA Fest stands dreaming of being on the Nissan stage. “And, we’re doing it tonight,” he added, moving into his No. 1 single “Wind Up Missing You.”

As the main stage was being reset, the attendees on the floor began to cheer as surprise guest Dylan Scott moved through the crowd, performing “Country Til I Die.”

On the main stage once again, Dierks Bentley was on deck, kicking off with “Burning Man.” He followed that with “Gone,” “She Hates Me” and a sing-along of his hit “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go).” Bentley invited Top back to the stage for a cover of “Mountain Music.” He wrapped his set with “What Was I Thinking” and “Drunk On A Plane,” all while entertaining the stadium crowd with his wit.

Just before midnight, Luke Bryan took the stage to close out the festival. He quickly had fans in the palm of his hand, screaming along to “I Don’t Want This Night To End,” “Kick The Dust Up,” “What Makes You Country” and “Huntin’, Fishin’, and Lovin’ Every Day.” Bryan moved into “Love You, Miss You, Mean It,” followed by his latest single, “Country Song Came On.” He sat at the piano, bringing a stripped back version of “Strip It Down,” before kicking the energy back up with “Knockin’ Boots.” Every fan in the stands rose to their feet for “That’s My Kind Of Night.”

Bryan kept the energy high as the night came to a close with the whole crowd, including two fans he invited onto the stage, dancing along to “Country Girl (Shake It For Me).”

Once Bryan left the stage, CMA Fest 2025 was in the books. The festival will return to downtown Nashville next year, with dates set for June 4-7, 2026.

The party around downtown Nashville continued for CMA Fest day three, kicking off with the “Artist Of The Day” Rascal Flatts at the close-up stage for a live podcast taping, before Carin León, Kat Luna, MÕRIAH, Los Hermanos Mendoza and Tomás Mier took the stage for “Latino Trailblazers In Country.” Later in the day, The War & Treaty, RVSHD and Coffey Anderson performed for “Rooted In CMA Fest.” Margo Price and Lukas Nelson took over for “The Art (And Spirit) Of Songwriting.”

Jackson Dean, Thelma and James, Tanner Adell, Conner Smith, Alana Springsteen, Kameron Marlowe, Tyler Braden, and The War & Treaty held down the Riverfront Stage while MaRynn Taylor, Tayler Holder, Jade Eagleson, Lorrie Morgan, Greylan James, Franni Cash, Rita WIlson and David Nail lit up the Chevy Vibes stage.

Fans were treated to Wesley Dean, Laci Kaye Booth, James Barker Band, Neon Union, Julia Cole, Cameron Whitcomb, Maddox Batson, Madeline Edwards and Walker Montgomery over at the Good Molecules Reverb Stage. Casey Barnes, Blanco Brown, Kat Higgins, Frankie Ballard, John Morgan, Emily Ann Roberts, Jake Worthington and Reyna Roberts took over the Dr. Pepper Amp Stage.

 Annie Bosko, The Heels, MÕRIAH, Preston James, Angel White, Peytan Porter, Roman Alexander, Matt Schuster, Colin Stough, and Giovannie and the Hired Guns performed at the Hard Rock Stage.

Around town, Ashley Cooke, Carly Pearce, Carter Faith, Cole Swindell, Jordan Davis, Kashus Culpepper, Lainey Wilson, Max McNown, Nate Smith, Rascal Flatts, Shaboozey, Ty Myers and more kept the Spotify House stage going. Jackson Dean, Kolby Cooper, Ashley Cooke, Madeline Merlo, Colin Strough, Craig Morgan, Ty Myers, John Morgan and Greylan James stopped by for live interviews with Audacy.

At Ole Red, Spotify House held its final day of music, featuring performances from Shaboozey, Megan Moroney, Blake Shelton, Lainey Wilson, Rascal Flatts, Max McNown, Carly Pearce, Ashley Cooke, Cole Swindell, Jordan Davis and more.

Over at Chief’s on Broadway, Lainey Wilson, Shaboozey, Rascal Flatts, Lauren Alaina, Brett Young, Max McNown, Tyler Braden and more stopped by For SiriusXM The Highway’s Music Row Happy Hour.

The night wrapped at Ascend Amphitheater with Wynonna Judd’s Girls Night Out, featuring Madeline Edwards, Sara Evans, Noah Cyrus, The War & Treaty, Little Big Town, Noeline Hofmann and a surprise appearance from Lainey Wilson.

Fans packed Nissan Stadium on Friday night (June 6) for the second night of the 52nd CMA Fest, eager for a star-studded lineup despite earlier weather delays.

Multi-hyphenate artist Rita Wilson kicked off the evening with an energetic performance of her pop anthem “The Spark.” She followed it up with “W.O.W. (Wild Ol’ Woman),” rallying fans of all ages to dance along. “You can be 18, 21, 25, 55, or 65—you can all be a wild ol’ woman!” she declared to roaring applause.

Next up was Shaboozey, riding the high of a breakout year that saw “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” go multi-Platinum and earn five Grammy nominations. Dressed in plaid-stitched jeans, he opened with lead single “Good News” before surprising the crowd by bringing out Jelly Roll for a live rendition of their collaboration, “Amen.” He closed his set with “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” with the entire stadium singing along.

Over on the platform stage, Kameron Marlowe kept the energy high with performances of “Seventeen” and “Tennessee Don’t Mind,” as crews prepped the main stage for the next act.

Parker McCollum followed, opening with “What Kinda Man” and satisfying fans with a string of hits including “Handle On You,” “Pretty Heart” and new song “Big Sky.”

Back on the satellite stage, newcomer Sam Barber delivered a raw, emotionally-charged version of “Straight and Narrow,” marked by gravelly vocals and a worn-in guitar that added grit to the performance.

Wearing his signature white cowboy hat, Cody Johnson took the main stage with a powerful performance of “The Fall,” followed by his 2025 ACM Song of the Year winner, “Dirt Cheap.” He then welcomed Carín León for a duet on “Hurts Like Tequila,” and wrapped up with his five-times Platinum hit, “‘Til You Can’t,” thanking fans for their unwavering support of country music.

A surprise moment followed at midfield, where Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll performed “Hard Fought Hallelujah” surrounded by a full choir, while drones lit up the sky to form a glowing cross. “God is here tonight, Nashville!” Jelly Roll shouted, igniting a spiritual surge through the stadium.

Kelsea Ballerini took the stage in an aquamarine-striped jumpsuit, performing “Blindsided” and “Baggage” before inviting Noah Kahan to join her for their collaboration, “Cowboys Cry Too.” The crowd went wild—and even more so when Kahan stayed onstage to play his viral hit “Stick Season,” joking, “If you haven’t heard the words, you haven’t been in a Target in the last four years.”

Closing out the night was country powerhouse Keith Urban, delivering the most electric set of the evening. He kicked things off with “Long Hot Summer,” complete with a fiery guitar solo, then rolled into “Straight Line,” “Somewhere in My Car,” “Love Somebody Like You” and “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” ending the rain-soaked night on a triumphant high.