CMA Fest is the largest country music festival in the world. It runs four days each June in Nashville, drawing around 95,000 attendees and filling the city’s downtown core with country music fans from across the world. The 2026 edition runs June 4-7.
Where It Came From
The festival started in 1972 as “Fan Fair,” an event designed to give country music fans direct access to the artists, autograph sessions, meet-and-greets, the kind of closeness that mainstream pop and rock hadn’t offered fans. At its core it was a convention more than a concert. The Country Music Association rebranded it as CMA Fest in 2004 and shifted the emphasis toward concerts, though fan access remains a point of distinction from other major music festivals.
How It’s Structured
CMA Fest operates on two levels: free and ticketed.
Free stages run throughout downtown all four days. The Chevy Riverfront Stage on the Cumberland River waterfront and the Dr. Pepper Amp Stage host major performances throughout the day at no cost. You can show up and watch legitimate major-label country acts perform for free, which is unusual for a festival of this scale. Stages are also set up around the broader downtown area.
Ticketed events include the nightly concerts at Nissan Stadium, stadium-scale shows with the festival’s headliners, and Fan Fair X at the Music City Center, which is the convention-style component with autograph sessions, merchandise, and artist experiences. A Four-Night Stadium Pass is required to access Fan Fair X, or Fan Fair X tickets can be purchased separately.
VIP packages range significantly in price and access. The Gold Rope tier is the most exclusive, providing backstage access and pit positioning.
What It’s Actually Like
The free stages are free and actually good. The paid stadium shows are standard stadium-scale concerts. Fan Fair X is where the convention spirit of the original event survives: the line experience, the waiting, the brief moment with a country artist you drove 12 hours to see.
The city during CMA Fest is maximally crowded. Broadway is harder to navigate than usual. Hotel prices spike significantly. Locals who aren’t attending largely clear out of tourist zones for the duration.
The demographic is overwhelmingly country music fans who have traveled to Nashville specifically for this event, which creates an atmosphere different from the usual bachelorette-and-tourism mix. It’s more fan-oriented, more conversational, less performative.
Tickets
Available through cmafest.com and Ticketmaster. Stadium passes and Fan Fair X tickets go on sale months before the event and sell out at popular tiers. Single-night stadium tickets are sometimes available closer to the event.
Sources:
- CMA Fest official site: https://www.cmafest.com
- Ticketmaster CMA Fest listings
- Nashville Scene, CMA Fest coverage