Lineup change features Lady A headlining Bicentennial Mall
Zac Brown Band (ZBB), Sam Hunt and Elle King will no longer be performing as part of New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash tomorrow (Fri, Dec 31st) night on CBS. The five hour show will now include Lady A headlining on the Bicentennial Mall stage with additional main stage guest artists to include Ingrid Andress and Breland.
ZBB was forced to cancel following a positive COVID-19 test by frontman and namesake Zac Brown, who confirmed the news in a separate announcement. Organizers have confirmed that Hunt and King pulled out due to unspecified COVID protocols.
“In the spirit of Nashville, the party will keep going until 12:30 a.m. CT with other performers in the previously announced lineup stepping up to provide additional music. We look forward to an exciting and safe event for Music City,” organizers share.
All individuals 11 years of age and older attending are required to show proof of a monitored negative COVID-19 test dated December 30 or 31, 2021. However, an individual may volunteer proof of a COVID-19 vaccination without a timely negative test. This is not an attempt to compel proof of vaccination.
Gates for the live show at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park will open at 4:30 pm. The Fisk Jubilee Singers, a world-renowned ensemble, will perform a selection of spiritual music at the top of the show at 6 pm. The five-hour broadcast will cross multiple time zones, with a countdown at midnight Eastern time, culminating with the renowned Nashville Music Note Drop and two-minutes of fireworks at midnight Central time. As a live event, New Year’s Eve generates as much as $26.2 million in direct visitor spending and an attendance of 200,000.
A second stage will be located at Skydeck on Broadway, an expansive rooftop bar and entertainment venue at Assembly Food Hall, for a ticketed event on December 31st. Performances there will include Jon Pardi, Riley Green, Chris Janson and Carly Pearce.
The five-hour television celebration on CBS will feature nearly 50 performances from a dozen locations in downtown, including acts from Lower Broadway’s honky-tonks, bars and clubs that will be part of the broadcast. It will be aired on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
The CBS special will be hosted by radio and TV personality Bobby Bones and co-hosted by Entertainment Tonight’s Rachel Smith. This year’s celebration marks the first time for Music City to anchor an entire New Year’s Eve national TV special. The TV show will broadcast from 7 pm until 10 pm CT and resume at 10:30 pm CT after a 30-minute break for news. The CBS show will conclude at 12:30 am CT.
The CBS show will feature performances from country music’s hottest superstars, including Jason Aldean, Jimmie Allen, Ingrid Andress, Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Dierks Bentley, Breland, Brooks & Dunn, Luke Bryan, Riley Green, Chris Janson, King Calaway, Lady A, Miranda Lambert, Jon Pardi, Carly Pearce, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, Cole Swindell, and Lainey Wilson. Some performances will not be open to the public but will be shown on the CBS broadcast.
