LUKE BRYAN AND THE BAND PERRY'S KIMBERLY PERRY WILL HOST SUMMER'S HOTTEST CONCERT EVENT, "CMA MUSIC FESTIVAL: COUNTRY'S NIGHT TO ROCK," AIRING SEPTEMBER 17 ON THE ABC TELEVISION NETWORK

Luke Bryan and The Band Perry's Kimberly Perry will team up to host the summer's hottest television music event when the ABC Television Network airs "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET). The special will once again be executive-produced by Robert Deaton.

"We have so much fun playing at CMA Music Festival," said Bryan. "The entire town of Nashville turns into one big party, and performing at LP Field becomes one of the best shows we play all year."

"CMA Music Fest is special to The Band Perry because we love spending time with our fans," said Perry. "We are excited to be a part of ABC's coverage of the four-day event, co-hosting the television special."

Filmed June 7-10, many of today's most exciting Country Music stars will hit the stage during a four-day party and celebration of America's music. The annual event is unlike any other, with 30 hours of autograph signings, 200 hours of live music, 450 artists and celebrities and a party list of 65,000 avid, singing, dancing-till-dawn fans. This is the eighth time ABC will broadcast this special, which invites the whole country to America's biggest Country Music bash. Artists appearing in the television special have not yet been announced.

Artists performing as part of the Nightly Concerts at LP Field during 2012 CMA Music Festival include Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, The Band Perry, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Rascal Flatts, Brantly Gilbert, Hunter Hayes, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Scotty McCreery, Jake Owen, Brad Paisley, The Pistol Annies, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Zac Brown Band.

Bryan was nominated for CMA New Artist of the Year in 2010 and 2011. His most recent album is the Platinum-certified "tailgates & tanlines," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart and No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart, and features three Platinum-certified digital singles, "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)," "I Don't Want This Night to End" and "Drunk on You."

Perry is the lead singer of The Band Perry, a family trio with her brothers Reid and Neil. She won her first solo CMA Award in 2011 for Song of the Year for writing "If I Die Young." The Band Perry won two additional CMA Awards last year, New Artist of the Year and Single of the Year ("If I Die Young"). The group's Platinum-certified, self-titled debut album features the four-times-Platinum-certified digital single, "If I Die Young," and two Gold-certified digital singles, "All Your Life" and "You Lie."

Originally started as Fan Fair(R) in 1972, the legendary event has featured performances by every major star in the format. What started with 5,000 fans has grown to a daily attendance of more than 65,000 representing every state and 23 foreign countries.

The primetime television special, "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock," debuted in 2004 on CBS as a two-hour special highlighting the Festival and Music City. In 2005 the special moved to the ABC Television Network, and in 2009 it expanded to three hours.

In 2011 "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" drew an average audience of 7 million viewers and finished as the most-watched program in its three-hour time period. The special also ranked No. 1 in its time slot with Women 18-34 (1.6/5). It gained more than one million viewers over 2010, drawing its second largest audience in six years (since 2005). The show was up year over year with Men 18-49 (+8%), Men 25-54 (+13%), Adults 25-54 (+10%), Teens 12-17 (+29%), and Kids 2-11 (+50%). It generated ABC's biggest summertime numbers in the time period with entertainment programming in nearly five years with Total Viewers (7.0 million), and in more than three years with Adults 18-49 (1.6/4) - since 8/27/06 and 7/6/08, respectively.

Featuring concerts, autograph signings, family activities and more, CMA Music Festival is the Ultimate Country Music Fan Experience - a four-day celebration of America's music. CMA Music Festival is a four-time winner of the International Entertainment Buyers Association's LIVE! Award for Festival of the Year (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010).

CMA Music Festival is organized and produced by the Country Music Association. Fan Fair(R) is a registered trademark of CMA. Chevrolet(TM) is the Official Ride of Country Music. American Airlines is the Official Airline of the CMA Music Festival. BIC is an Official Partner of the 2012 CMA Music Festival. Bad Boy Buggies are the Official UTV of the CMA Music Festival. Connect with CMA online at CMAfest.com, Facebook.com/CMA and Twitter.com/CountryMusic.