FIRST ROUND OF PERFORMERS ANNOUNCED FOR �THE 40TH ANNUAL CMA AWARDS�

CMA Awards Hosts Brooks & Dunn, Country Superstars Sara Evans and Brad Paisley to Perform

The first round of artists announced to perform on �The 40th Annual CMA Awards� to be telecast MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network includes a star-packed lineup who are also all nominees for this year's awards. CMA Awards hosts Brooks & Dunn will be performing, as will multi-Platinum singer and �Dancing with the Stars� participant Sara Evans and the artist who tied Brooks & Dunn with the most CMA Awards nominations this year, Brad Paisley.

Returning CMA Awards hosts Brooks & Dunn will have their work cut out for them, performing and manning the podium, while keeping one ear open for the announcement of the award winners. The super duo tops the CMA Awards nominees list with Paisley, each receiving six nominations, but Ronnie Dunn slipped ahead in the overall tally with an added nomination as songwriter on the duo�s hit, �Believe,� which Dunn co-wrote with Craig Wiseman. Brooks & Dunn�s nominations include Entertainer of the Year, Vocal Duo, Album, Single and Music Video Musical Event of the Year for �Building Bridges,� with guest vocals by Sheryl Crow and Vince Gill.

Evans� performance on the CMA Awards will not be her only one on ABC this fall. The multi-Platinum artist is also appearing on ABC�s �Dancing with the Stars.� She has received 13 career CMA Award nominations since her first in 1999 for the Horizon Award, and has been nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year five times, including in 2006. In 2001 she won the trophy for Music Video of the Year for �Born to Fly.�

With six nominations bringing his career total nominations to 33, the five-time CMA Award-winning Paisley moves ahead of music legends Chet Atkins, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Conway Twitty in the nominations count. His nominations include Entertainer; Male Vocalist; Album for �Time Well Wasted�; and Single, Musical Event and Music Video of the Year for �When I Get Where I�m Going� (featuring Dolly Parton).

Additional artists will be added to the lineup and announced at a later date. �The 40th Annual CMA Awards� airs live from the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville.

A total of 12 CMA Awards in the following categories will be presented-- Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year, Vocal Duo of the Year, Musical Event of the Year, Musician of the Year, Music Video of the Year and the Horizon Award -- which is given to the artist with the most significant creative and career growth.

�The 40th Annual CMA Awards� is a production of the Country Music Association. Walter C. Miller is the executive producer and Robert Deaton is the consulting producer.