CMA Chief Executive Officer, Sarah Trahern, along with the Executive Producer of public television’s critically-acclaimed concert series “Front and Center,” Don Maggi, announced the dates that public television stations across the country will start airing two, hour-long concert specials leading up to “Country Music’s Biggest Night™”, “The 48th Annual CMA Awards.” The announcement was made today in New York City during a press conference to announce the final nominees for the 2014 CMA Awards.
The first of the two shows will be available to public television stations beginning Tuesday, Oct. 14 and will feature a special 10th Anniversary CMA Songwriters Series celebration with CMA Award winner Dierks Bentley. Capturing the authentic in-the-round experience, Bentley is joined by Jim Beavers, Ross Copperman, Brett James, and Jon Randall.
The second show, available to public television stations beginning Tuesday, Oct. 28, features the music of CMA Award winner Lady Antebellum performed in an intimate setting. The trio will showcase their signature hits and offer a first taste of new music from their upcoming, fifth studio album, 747. The group shares personal stories from the road, the writing room, and the events that inspired their music, and are joined by songwriters Rodney Clawson, Tom Douglas, Josh Kear, Luke Laird, and Abe Stoklasa for some special collaborations.
Rolling Stone Country recently said this about the partnership between CMA, “Front and Center,” and the CMA Songwriters Series: “With its new CMA partnership, ’Front and Center‘ becomes an outlet for the true backbone of Country Music — the songs and the people who wrote them — to be laid bare.”
The episodes, which were taped this summer in Nashville, will air nationwide (check local listings).
The Songwriters Series kicked off the 10th Anniversary season with standing-room-only shows at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and has performed shows in Chicago, New York City, London, and Paradise Island, Bahamas, as part of the Paradise Music Festival Presented by CMA partner HGTV already in 2014. Other planned performance locations this year include Austin, Nashville, and New York.
For more information on the CMA Songwriters Series, visit CMAsongwritersseries.com.
About The Author
