‘CMA Summer Jam’ TV Special to Air in September [Pictures]
Two nights of star-studded concerts at Nashville's Ascend Amphitheater will become a three-hour TV special airing on ABC this fall. CMA Summer Jam is set for Sept. 2 at 8PM ET.
Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett and more played Music City's outdoor, riverside venue on Tuesday and Wednesday (July 27-28), and their performances were filmed for the show. Underwood enlisted Dwight Yoakam for two collaborations. Lambert, Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne covered the Allman Brothers Band. Blake Shelton, on Tuesday night, surprised the crowd with his wife, Gwen Stefani.
Other artists in the CMA Summer Jam lineup include Gabby Barrett, Luke Combs, Mickey Guyton, Cole Swindell and more. Additionally, Bentley, Hardy and Breland filmed a performance from Bentley's Whiskey Row nightclub on Lower Broadway; Eric Church played a set from the city's John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge; and Darius Rucker performed from the newly opened Fifth & Broadway complex, which features an outdoor stage.
All told, more than 20 artists will be featured on the TV special. It's happening in place of CMA Fest, which traditionally features performances from the annual four-day festival in Nashville. For the second year in a row in 2021, CMA Fest was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keep reading to see some of the action from the CMA Summer Jam: