Overview CMA Fest is the Country Music Association's four-day June takeover of downtown Nashville, with stadium concerts every night at Nissan Stadium, free daytime stages along the riverfront and inside Music City Center, and artists who play for no fee so that proceeds go to music education: more than $2 million to the CMA Foundation from the 2025 festival. The CMA bills it as the largest and longest-running country music festival in the world. In 2025 it ran more than 300 performances, SoFi was the presenting partner, and ABC aired a primetime special filmed there, which streamed on Hulu the next day. On site In 2025 the free stages were the Chevy Riverfront Stage, the Spotlight Stage, the Platform Stage, the Chevy Vibes Stage, the Good Molecules Reverb Stage and the CMA Close Up Stage, and Ascend Amphitheater added three nights of shows. Fan Fair X fills Music City Center with artist signings and meet-and-greets, 475 of them in 2025. That year also added Fan Alley as a hub for brand activations, alongside the CMA Fest History Walk and the Riverside Retreat hospitality area. The Roots of Music's Marching Crusaders became the first student marching band to play inside Nissan Stadium during the festival. Audience It is a destination crowd. In 2025 fans came from all 50 states and 33 countries, traveled an average of 785 miles each way and spent an average of $4,980 per traveling party, by CMA's count. Nearly half, 49%, were at the festival for the first time. Talent and Influencers Cody Johnson and Ashley McBryde hosted the 2025 ABC special, and more than 30 artists made their first CMA Fest appearance that year. The 2026 bill included Tim McGraw, Lainey Wilson, Gretchen Wilson, Ella Langley, Russell Dickerson and Cody Johnson. Track record The festival began in 1972 as Fan Fair at Nashville's Municipal Auditorium, with 5,000 fans. It moved to the fairgrounds in 1982, went downtown in 2001, became the CMA Music Festival in 2004, the year ABC began televising it, and CMA Fest in 2018. CMA put 2025 direct visitor spending at $86 million, with 177 credentialed press outlets on site. Chris Lee, SVP and head of sponsorships, experiential and corporate event marketing at U.S. Bank: "If your goal is to tap into a passionate fan base and audiences, it's a great partnership." Brand presence The 2025 festival carried 59 brand and marketing partners. Stages carry partner names, as the Chevy and Good Molecules stages show, and partners can take the title position on a stage, use the CMA Fest marks as an official partner, build footprints up to 20 by 20 feet, sample, gift artists in the talent compound and green rooms, and run ticket upgrades and hospitality in the Riverside Retreat. CMA surveys attendees before and after the festival on partner brand awareness and purchase intent, and reports the results back to partners.