Photo credit: Courtesy of Nashville Metro Government
As the Country Music Association celebrates its 60th anniversary, the United States Senate, House of Representatives, and the City of Nashville, officially proclaimed September 25, 2018 Country Music Association Day. In celebration of it’s 60th anniversary, CMA hosted a special invite-only anniversary celebration Wednesday, Sept. 26 in Nashville.
The CMA 60th Birthday party consisted of over 20 special performances honoring six decades of country music. The list of performers included Bobby Bare, Craig Wayne Boyd, Lee Brice, Mark Collie, Larry, Steve & Rudy, The Gatlin Brothers, Lee Greenwood, Halfway to Hazard, Ty Herndon, Rachel Holder, Jamie O’Neal, RaeLynn, Michael Ray, Julie Roberts, Jeannie Seely, TG Sheppard & Kelly Lang, Thompson Square, Chuck Wicks, Hilary Williams, Mark Wills, and Darryl Worley.
The musical guests were backed by Joe Denim and an All-Star Band including Mike Durham (guitar, session player), John Mason (bass, Darius Rucker), Sean Paddock (drums, Kenny Chesney), Mica Roberts (background vocals, Toby Keith), Marty Slayton-Jordan (background vocals, George Strait), Tim Watson (guitar, Kid Rock).
Founded in 1958, the Country Music Association is the first trade organization formed to promote a type of music. The organization, which started with 160 members, has grown to more than 7,400 industry professionals around the world representing every aspect of the business. The organization’s objectives are to serve as an educational and professional resource for the industry and advance the growth of Country Music around the world.
CMA Awards
The CMA Awards, Country Music’s Biggest Night™, annually recognize outstanding achievement in the format and is the longest-running music awards program on network television. In addition to the CMA Awards, the organization presents several annual accolades including CMA Broadcast Awards, CMA Touring Awards, CMA Triple Play Awards, International Awards, and the Country Music Hall of Fame, which CMA established in 1961 to recognize artists and industry professionals with Country Music’s highest honor.
CMA Fest
CMA Fest, the longest-running annual four-day Country Music festival, takes place in downtown Nashville each summer and the nightly shows at Nissan are part of a three-hour network television special that airs post-festival. Ticket proceeds from the festival go directly to helping enrich and sustain music education programs across the country through CMA’s nonprofit arm, the CMA Foundation, thanks to every artist donating their time. The CMA Foundation, which was established in 2011, has invested more than $21 million in over 87 programs across the national public school system, after school programs, summer camps and community outreach organizations.
CMA Country Christmas
“CMA Country Christmas” is the organization’s third television property and features Country artists performing original music and Christmas classics for broadcast during the holiday season. This holiday season Reba McEntire returns as host and the evening includes performances by Tony Bennett, Dan + Shay, Amy Grant, Old Dominion, Dustin Lynch, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley and more.
CMA Songwriters Series
In addition to its television properties, the CMA Songwriters Series presented by U.S. Bank hosts intimate performances around the globe, having presented more than 100 shows in cities including Austin, Belfast, Chicago, Dublin, London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Park City (at Sundance), Phoenix, Toronto and Washington, D.C. at the renowned Library of Congress and John F. Kennedy Center. CMA also provides its membership with ongoing strategic research including supporting the industry’s global streaming initiatives.
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