'CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock' airs on ABC-TV on Aug. 31, 2009

Posted by Lisa L. Rollins Aug 30, 2009

Country music and the contemporary stars who drive it to be the money-maker it now is will be front 'n' center Monday, Aug. 31, when the ABC Television Network airs CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock, a three-hour special.

Footage for the 8-11 p.m. (ET) telecast was shot in Nashville on June 11-14, 2009, during the annual music fest. This year, however, marks the first time the TV special has been expanded to three hours to showcase more of today's country stars, such as Dierks Bentley, Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Julianne Hough, Jamey Johnson, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Jake Owen, Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, John Rich, Darius Rucker, Kellie Pickler, Sugarland, Zac Brown Band and Taylor Swift,among many others.

Per organizers, the yearly Country Music Association-sponosred music fest, which is the largest country festival in the world, is unlike any other, with four days filled with more than one hundred hours of live music, 30 hours of autograph signings by country biggest names and up and comers, hundreds of artists and celebrities, and a party list of thousands of avid fans. The 2009 festival, in fact, was the best-attended event yet, with more than 50,000 on hand.

As for the TV special, which is now in its fifth year, those country fans who utilize the social-networking tool Twitter can "tweet" live with the stars this year, thanks to ABC-TV and the artists who are teaming online at ABC.com for Tweet 'N' Greet during the telecast.

• Readers interested in this story may also enjoy 2009 CMA Finalists Will Be Announced on Live TV Sept. 9 by Lisa L. Rollins.