Luke Bryan Praises CMA Fest for Annual TV Special: ‘It’s the Best of Both Worlds’

Luke Bryan is one of the numerous performers who will be part of the upcoming CMA Fest TV special, airing highlights from this summer’s annual event. Bryan, who performed several of his hits in the Nissan Stadium during the final night of the four-day event, is praising the Country Music Association (CMA) for the work they do to bring the fun to the small screen.

“I’ve always been the type of artist when I can perform my music for a television audience, it’s the best of both worlds,” Bryan said (via UMG). “You get to be in people’s households and they get to always put the face with the song. That used to be a big deal in my career, in my early career. We had to make sure that the people watching at home put it together that this crazy guy was singing in the song. This is like a big, awards show type crowd in August. It’s very important. You don’t want to go out there and lay an egg.

“You want to go put a great show on, because the fans that are in the room, they’re gonna go watch it again in August,” he continued. “And another thing — it’s gonna make people that may not have been to this festival, they’re gonna want to come be a part of that. So it’s been fun watching CMA Music Fest grow to where it’s sold out every night, and that’s because we put a cool thing to watch on TV together for the fans.”

Bryan has become more accustomed to being on TV, thanks to his role on American Idol, but the pressure is still on when he knows millions of fans will be able to watch him on stage.

“You want to deliver a great performance,” Bryan shared with PopCulture.com and other media. “Any time you’re on a big network TV scenario, you always have to put your best foot forward and put on a great performance … One of my best, one of my most favorite TV moments I’ve ever had was when Keith [Urban] came out and did a cameo in ‘Huntin’, Fishin’, and Lovin’ Every Day.’ We rehearsed it, but then we even embellished it even more on stage that night.”

Other artists scheduled to perform for the CMA Fest TV special include Carrie Underwood (including one song with Joan Jett), Miranda Lambert, Urban, Old Dominion, Florida Georgia Line and more. The show will air on Sunday, Aug. 4 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo Credit: Getty Images / CBS Photo Archive