Free CMA Fest Nightly Concerts Return To Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage At Ascend Amphitheater June 7-9

NASHVILLE – The Country Music Association has announced the return of the popular free nightly concerts at the Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage located in downtown Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater Thursday, June 7 through Saturday, June 9, starting at 7:00 PM/CT each evening.

Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater Presented by BBR Music Group kicks off festivities Thursday night with a lineup of non-stop music featuring Chase Bryant, Craig Campbell, Lindsay Ell, Everette, Chase Rice, Runaway June, and Granger Smith.

Lee Brice will headline Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater Presented by Red Light Management on Friday night. The lineup also includes Clare Dunn, Tyler Farr, Maddie & Tae, and Drake White and The Big Fire.

Saturday fans will enjoy Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater Presented by Warner Music Nashville for the second year featuring Cole Swindell joined by Cale Dodds, Morgan Evans, Michael Ray, and Tegan Marie.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® returns to CMA Fest with Rock With Us, a rocking chair experience Thursday through Saturday. The brand will turn Ascend Park and the nearby John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge into a true Cracker Barrel front porch experience by displaying 100 rocking chairs as well as three giant rockers making their festival debut. Fans will be encouraged to post photos in the rockers on their social media channels using the hashtag #CBMusic. During CMA Fest in 2017, Cracker Barrel raised $15,000 for the CMA Foundation through a rocking chair experience. Additional details for this year’s Rock With Us will be announced soon.

“Cracker Barrel shares our same passion for music and social responsibility, which is why we are thrilled to continue our partnership into a second year with a great lineup of acts performing nightly on the Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater and helping to raise funds for music education and the CMA Foundation,” said Emily Evans, CMA Senior Director of Strategic Partnerships.

“Music and entertainment are an important part of the Cracker Barrel brand because it provides us an authentic and emotional connection with our guests,” said Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Senior Marketing Manager Julie Ulmer. “We were thrilled to bring free nightly concerts to festival goers at the Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage last year and look forward to our second year at CMA Fest.”

Fans can purchase the CMA Fest Nash Pass for $60, allowing a limited amount of VIP early access to nightly shows at the Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater. The Nash Pass will also include Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum tour, Ryman Auditorium tour and four-day admission to Fan Fair X in Music City Center. Fan Fair X activities and stage lineups will be announced in the coming weeks.

A limited number of tickets for the Nightly Concerts at Nissan Stadium are still available through the CMA Box Office at 1-800-CMA-FEST. Nightly concert tickets also include four-day access to Fan Fair X. Outdoor daytime stages including the Breakout Stage, Budweiser Forever Country Park Stage, Riverfront Stage and others to be announced soon are free and open to the public. All artist lineups are subject to change.

Don’t miss a beat—get connected with CMA on CMAfest.com, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and sign up for CMA Country Connection emails to receive the latest news as soon as it’s announced.

About CMA Fest 
The Ultimate Country Music Fan Experience™ began in 1972 as Fan Fair®, which drew 5,000 fans to Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium. Now in its 47th year, the legendary festival has become the city’s signature Country Music event that hosts in excess of 90,000 fans from all 50 states and two dozen foreign countries. In 2017, CMA Fest featured 11 stages with over 350 artists, 1,100 musicians, and 167 hours of music – all to benefit music education. Since 2006, CMA and the CMA Foundation have donated more than $21 million to sustainable music education initiatives across the U.S. thanks to the fans who attend CMA Fest and the artists who perform for free. CMA Fest is filmed for a three-hour ABC Television Network special. 2018 marks the 15th consecutive year of the broadcast.

About the CMA Foundation
Established in 2011 as the philanthropic arm of the Country Music Association (CMA), the CMA Foundation is committed to improving and sustaining music education programs all across the United States, working to ensure every child has the opportunity to participate in music education. Through strategic partnerships, professional development and grant distribution, the CMA Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3), has invested more than $21 million in over 85 programs across the national public school system, after school programs, summer camps and community outreach organizations. Guided by the generosity of the Country Music community, proceeds from CMA Fest, the four-day long music festival held annually in Nashville, are used to power the CMA Foundation’s social impact and unique model of giving. For more information visit CMAfoundation.org.

RaeLynn performs at the Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater during CMA Fest in Nashville in 2017. Photo Credit: Caitlin Harris/CMA

Fans relax in Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® rocking chairs while catching a bird’s-eye view of downtown Nashville in 2017, overlooking CMA Fest’s multiple outdoor stages. Photo Credit: CMA