Dierks Bentley, Elle King, Lainey Wilson to Host ‘CMA Fest’ Television Special

As CMA Fest — formerly known as Fan Fair — celebrates 50 years of being an indelible connection point between scores of country music artists and their most ardent fans, three top-shelf artists are on board to guide viewers through some of this year’s biggest moments from the show.

Dierks Bentley and Elle King return this year to co-host the annual CMA Fest special, set to air Wednesday, July 19 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on ABC. They will be joined by first-time CMA Fest host and “Watermelon Moonshine” singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson. The three-hour primetime concert special will feature performances from this year’s CMA Fest, slated for June 8-11 in downtown Nashville.

“I could not be more excited to welcome Dierks, Elle and Lainey as our ‘CMA Fest’ hosts this year,” CMA CEO Sarah Trahern said in a statement. “As fans experienced last year, the energy Dierks and Elle bring to the stage is palpable and will only be amplified with the addition of Lainey this year. Each of these artists have a deep passion for CMA Fest and the Country Music fans from around the globe who travel to Nashville for the event. We are thrilled to have all three of them together to help us celebrate 50 years!”

Performances for CMA Fest will be revealed in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, the nightly concerts held at Nissan Stadium as part of this year’s CMA Fest will feature performances from artists including Bentley, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Luke Combs, HARDY, Miranda Lambert, Carly Pearce, Tanya Tucker, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban and Wilson.

CMA Fest is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the executive producer and writer, and Alan Carter is the director. This is the 20th consecutive year CMA has produced a summer music program to be broadcast as a network television special on ABC.