Miranda Lambert performs during the 2011 CMA Music Festival in Nashville, Tenn.

This summer will heat up when ABC puts a spotlight on Nashville for the hottest music event of the year – “CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock.”

Filmed June 9-12, today’s most exciting country music stars hit the stage during a four-day party and celebration of America’s music for a special that will air from 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 7 on the ABC Television Network.

Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Reba McEntire and Rascal Flatts, who all have Oklahoma times, along with Lauren Alaina, Jason Aldean, Sara Evans, Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Scotty McCreery, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, and Zac Brown Band are among the artists who will perform on the special.

The annual event, which celebrated its 40th year in 2011, is unlike any other: four days, 30 hours of autograph signings, 100 hours of live music, hundreds of artists and celebrities, and a party list of thousands of avid, singing and dancing-till-dawn fans. This is the seventh time ABC will broadcast this special, which invites the whole country to America’s biggest country music bash.

Originally started as Fan Fair 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 27 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 expanded to three hours in 2009.

In 2010, the special helped ABC hit a Wednesday summer-high in both Total Viewers and Adults 18-49 . It also grew by 6 percent year to year with Women 18-34 .

CMA Music Festival is organized and produced by the Country Music Association.

Nashville entertained a record number of CMA Music Festival attendees during the 40th annual event, selling more than 110,000 estimated hotel room nights and generating approximately $30 million in direct visitor spending for the city, up from $24 million last year.

“This year’s event produced record crowds, record ticket sales, record hotel room night sales and record growth,” said Butch Spyridon, president and CEO, Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau, in a news release. “It was a huge win for the city and a great way to celebrate the event’s 40th anniversary.”

The significant increase in visitor spending and room night sales can be attributed to higher room rates being charged by hotels and longer stays by more people who came to Nashville to take advantage of the festival’s free events. The 2011 Festival was a sell-out, boasting average daily attendance of 65,000 over four days.

Since moving the festival downtown 10 years ago, visitor spending has increased from $15.5 million in 2001 to the current $30 million.

In addition to the increased revenue the festival brought to the city, the CMA will again donate a portion of the event proceeds to “Keep the Music Playing” a program that supports music education and children in Nashville’s schools.

“Obviously, we couldn’t be more pleased with the record-setting turnout for this year’s Festival,” said Steve Moore, CMA Chief Executive Officer, in the release. “The numbers speak volumes about the importance of the event, the interest from fans, dedication of the artists and the collaboration by all involved. I want to express my thanks to everyone for a spectacular event.”

The mission of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau is to maximize the economic contribution of the convention and tourism industry to the community by developing and marketing Nashville as a premier destination.

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