Country Music fans attending the 2016 CMA Music Festival will be ready to party on the Cumberland with the announcement of performers for the Riverfront Stage. From legendary acts to Country’s newest rising stars, the roster includes nearly 40 acts who will appear during the FREE daily concerts.

CMA Awards nominee Jake Owen will officially kick off the festivities at the downtown venue Thursday, June 9 (10:00 AM/CT). Owen will arrive at the Riverfront Stage in style, as only the Florida native singer could, via boat with a VIP sweepstakes winner and their guest. In honor of the Riverfront Stage announcement, CMA is holding a “Jake Owen – CMA Music Festival 2016 VIP Experience Sweepstakes” that offers two tickets to CMA Music Festival including airfare and hotel accommodations, a special meet and greet with Owen, plus a spot side stage to take in Owen’s Riverfront Stage performance.

Fans can enter to win at countrymu.sc/JakeVIP. Sweepstakes ends Thursday, April 14, 2016 at 11:59 PM/CT.

“CMA Fest offers an unparalleled experience for fans to interact with and discover artists, while seeing their favorites perform,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “Festival-goers tell us every year how much they enjoy the variety of quality acts on our stages and Jake is the perfect artist to launch four days of free concerts on the riverbank.”

Joining the lineup for their debut appearances on the Riverfront Stage are A Thousand Horses, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Cam, Chase Bryant, Brandy Clark, Brooke Eden, High Valley, Home Free, Chris Janson, Chris Lane, Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Michael Ray, and Granger Smith.

Other performers scheduled to appear on the Riverfront Stage include Rodney Atkins, Terri Clark, Charles Esten, Tyler Farr, Jana Kramer, Tracy Lawrence, Aaron Lewis, LOCASH, Love and Theft, Maddie & Tae, Neal McCoy, Scotty McCreery, Lorrie Morgan, Jon Pardi, Parmalee, Eric Paslay, Kellie Pickler, Canaan Smith, Corey Smith, The Cadillac Three, Thompson Square, Phil Vassar, and Darryl Worley. Paslay revealed his performance slot Thursday via a CMA Facebook Live broadcast.

To celebrate the announcement of the Riverfront Stage lineup in the Official CMA Music Festival App, Atkins, Esten, Farr, Kramer, Love and Theft, McCreery, Granger Smith, and Thompson Square participated in Twitter Q&A chats with fans from 10:00 AM/CT to 5:30 PM/CT Tuesday.

This year’s app is now available in the App store for iPhone and Android and includes features that allow fans to create individual concert schedules and be the first to know which of their favorite stars will be appearing on the free stages throughout the Festival.

For the second year, fans will be able to purchase a four-day pass to the Fan Fair X that includes a general admission ticket to the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum that is good for use any day in 2016. The package deal is on sale now through Friday, June 10 and costs $39.95. The combination Fan Fair X/Country Music Hall of Fame tickets are available via the Country Music Hall of Fame website, countrymusichalloffame.org, and will also be sold at their box office during the week of CMA Music Festival.

Funds generated through CMA Music Festival ticket sales for the Nightly Concerts at Nissan Stadium and Fan Fair X benefit music education. Since 2006, CMA and the CMA Foundation have donated more than $13.6 million to support sustainable music education initiatives across the country on behalf of the artists who participate in the event for free.

For upcoming announcements and all other info stay connected with CMA on CMAfest.com, Facebook.com/CMA, Twitter.com/CountryMusic, Instagram.com/CMA, and sign up for CMA Country Connection, CMA’s e-newsletter. Fans can also download the 2016 CMA Music Festival mobile app for iPhone or Android to view the latest artist lineups and to plan their Festival experience.