How Ella Langley and a star-stacked roster reshape the CMA Fest experience for fans and music-education supporters

This year’s CMA Fest lineup puts fan-facing moments front and center: ella langley joins a multi-night slate of headliners that read like a cross-section of modern country, and a portion of proceeds will support the CMA Foundation’s nationwide music education programs. For attendees and educators, that combination turns a summer weekend at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium into both a live-music binge and a high-profile fundraising moment.

Why festivalgoers and music-education backers should care about this CMA Fest

Festivalgoers get dozens of chances for cross-genre setlists and surprise pairings across four days; classrooms and programs tied to the CMA Foundation get renewed fundraising momentum from ticket sales. Here’s the part that matters for fans: this lineup doubles as a live snapshot of which artists the country community is spotlighting right now, while proceeds are directed toward nationwide music education initiatives.

What attendees will find onstage (Ella Langley included)

CMA Fest will return to Nashville’s Nissan Stadium from June 4 through 7 as a four-day festival. The announced lineup includes Bailey Zimmerman, Ella Langley, Shaboozey, Riley Green, Keith Urban, The Band Perry, Stephen Wilson Jr., Blake Shelton, Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson, Deana Carter, Gretchen Wilson, HARDY, Jason Aldean, Jordan Davis, Luke Bryan, The Red Clay Strays, Russell Dickerson, Tim McGraw, Tucker Wetmore, and Zach Top. Additional performers will be announced leading up to the kickoff date; this list does not include everyone who will perform during the summer festival.

Ticketing, access notes and an odd site message

Four-night stadium passes for CMA Fest are on sale now, while single-night tickets will go on sale later; full ticketing information, lineup and schedule are listed on the event’s official channels (schedule subject to change). Separately, a generic access-limited message with an HTTP 503 response appeared in related web material: it advised visitors who think they were blocked to contact the site owner, and suggested that administrators on the underlying website platform can enter an email address to receive help regaining access. The message noted the block was generated at Thu, 26 Feb 2026 7: 36: 02 GMT, and mentioned that site owners are using a security plugin that is installed on over 5 million WordPress sites to manage access.

How last year’s award-show pulse and chart performance feed into this year’s billing

The announced lineup aligns closely with artists celebrated at last year’s awards show, including Ella Langley, Zach Top, Stephen Wilson Jr., and The Red Clay Strays. Riley Green performed the song “Worst Way” at that awards show, and Shaboozey joined Stephen Wilson Jr. for their collaboration “Took a Walk. ” The song Langley performed, “Choosin’ Texas, ” currently sits at Number Two on the Billboard Hot 100 after peaking at the top spot earlier this month—a commercial signal that helps explain her festival placement.

Broadcasts, scale and the festival’s growth

For people who can’t attend in person, the weekend will be recorded for a national TV special that will air on a broadcast network and a streaming platform later this summer. What’s easy to miss is the scale behind that production: the festival—hosted by the Country Music Association—traces back to 1972 when it began with roughly 5, 000 attendees; it now reports drawing about 95, 000 visitors each day. That growth turns the stadium weekend into a major production for artists and for the CMA Foundation’s music-education efforts.

• Micro timeline: 1972 — festival launches with about 5, 000 attendees; present day — roughly 95, 000 visitors per day; June 4–7 — CMA Fest returns to Nissan Stadium for four days.

If you’re wondering why this keeps coming up for the industry, the real question now is which announced collaborations and surprise pairings will materialize onstage—CMA Fest has long been a proving ground for crossover moments and on-the-spot duets. Jason Aldean posted on social media that he’s excited to play and framed the appearance as support for the CMA Foundation; other artists used social platforms to express excitement about the festival in short celebratory messages.

Key practical signals that will confirm momentum: when single-night tickets go on sale, when additional performers are added to the lineup, and how prominently the TV special features Langley and other breakout acts. The real test will be whether the weekend’s live pairings translate into streaming and chart movement after the festival.

It’s easy to overlook, but the combination of chart-topping songs, a high-profile multi-artist lineup and directed proceeds toward music education creates a multi-layered event that matters differently to fans, artists and schools.