Carrie Underwood Praises Nashville Ahead of CMA Fest TV Special

Carrie Underwood will appear on the upcoming CMA Fest TV special, performing both her current single, “Southbound,” as well as her medley of hits with Joan Jett, who was a surprise guest during her CMA Fest appearance. Underwood is not only a big fan of the four-day event, but of the TV special, and the light it sheds on Nashville, Tennessee.

“CMA Music Festival is so much fun,” Underwood said, in a statement issued by UMG Nashville. “Every year they do a TV special, which is really cool. We kind of get to give the rest of the world that didn’t get to come to the Music Fest a little taste of what it’s like, and hopefully they’ll see it and want to come next year. But CMA Music Fest is so much fun. No other genre of music does what country music does for their fans like this, which is so cool. There are literally hundreds of thousands of people that like descend on Nashville, and there’s not a hotel to be found.

“Everywhere you go there’s people looking for music and looking to see artists and fan club parties and charity events and the CMT Music Awards are that week,” she continued. “It’s a lot of fun, and it’s kind of a way to get to interact and give back and meet the people that have been coming to see you on tour and get to say thank you. It’s just a blast. I came as a kid growing up a couple of times, and it’s cool to be on that side of things and now to be on this side of things, but I think everybody just has a lot of fun when they’re here.”

Underwood just shared a video of her surprising the Andrew Jackson Elementary Eagle Honor Choir, who performed her hit, “The Champion,” during CMA Fest.

“This makes my heart so happy!” Underwood posted alongside the video. “I am so proud of the Andrew Jackson Elementary School Eagle Choir! You are all true champions!! [muscle emoji] [CMA] [CMA Foundation] [Ludacris] [Music Education].”

The CMA Fest TV special will be hosted for the third year in a row by Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini, with Bobby Bones joining them for the first time as well. The show will air on Sunday, Aug. 4, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo Credit: Getty images / Dave J Hogan