ABC INVITES YOU TO �CMA MUSIC FESTIVAL: COUNTRY MUSIC�S BIGGEST PARTY�

Special Features Country Music�s Biggest Stars, Trace Adkins, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Montgomery Gentry, Brad Paisley, LeAnn Rimes and Carrie Underwood

Special Appearances by �Sex and the City�s� John Corbett and �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition�s� Paige Hemmis

Summer is about to get a little hotter when some of today�s biggest Country Music sensations hit the Nashville stage in a four-day party and music celebration for the special, �CMA Music Festival: Country Music�s Biggest Party.� Filmed in Nashville, the two-hour event will air MONDAY, JULY 24 (9:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, Gary Allan, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Martina McBride, Montgomery Gentry, Brad Paisley, LeAnn Rimes, Sugarland, Carrie Underwood and Hank Williams Jr. take the stage. This is the second time ABC will broadcast this special -- which invites the whole country to America�s biggest Country Music bash -- since the original Fan Fair� was launched in 1972.

In addition to incredible, never-before-televised music performances, the special will capture the heart of the CMA Music Festival -- the unique bond between the Country Music artists and their fans. Taped exclusively for the special, the cameras follow the stories of several festival fans who will have their dreams come true when they are granted a surprise, once in a lifetime meeting and personal encounter with their favorite Country Music stars.

While Kenny Chesney performs in New York�s Bryant Park, unbeknownst to them, two fans are about to get very up and close and personal with their favorite Country Music rock star. While dancing and singing in the crowd, Kenny finishes his set and approaches two college students -- Leslie Shepard and Kacy Hagerty of upstate New York -- with a surprise invitation to be his guests at the CMA Music Festival. The fans travel with Kenny via limos and enjoy gourmet dining aboard his private jet from NYC direct to Nashville. Capping off the night, the two girls are brought on stage by Kenny to sing with him!

Young soccer moms Molly Hooper and Amy Bailey come to the CMA Music Festival for a weekend of fun to throw a bachelorette party for bride-to-be Melissa Stephens. Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland surprises them with a girls� night out, complete with champagne, laughs, fine dining and Jennifer�s tales of working with Jon Bon Jovi. Jennifer�s other half of Sugarland, Kristian Bush, comes along for the ride and tops off the party with a night they�ll never forget.

Unsuspecting tourists on a Nashville sightseeing excursion are �kidnapped� by country star Brad Paisley when he literally hijacks a Nashville tour bus and takes over the sightseeing trip with his own itinerary. The hilarious �Brad-way� tour takes the group to his favorite Nashville spots, Little Jimmy Dickens�s house, Opry legend, his record label chief�s office and Dolly Parton�s home -- where they steal her newspaper.

Each week designer Paige Hemmis of ABC�s �Extreme Makeover: Home Edition� helps deserving families all over the country by building them a new home and fulfilling their wishes. On this special, she�s doing it Nashville style by picking fans from the massive stadium crowd and taking them on a journey to meet their favorite Country Music star. With the help of Martina McBride and Carrie Underwood, Paige helps grant the wishes of lucky fans Rachel Darley, Mark Steele, Dwayne and Amanda Welch�s family.

Popular movie/television actor John Corbett (�Sex and the City�) is now an up and coming Country Music singer. It�s his first ever CMA Music Festival, which makes him the ultimate festival ambassador! Fans experience the variety of events at the festival through John�s eyes, from the fan fair exhibit -- where fans wait untold hours for an opportunity to meet their favorite Country Music star -- to afternoon concerts at the River Stages and true honky-tonkin� late night adventures.

Sean Marks and Kristen Wright are a young couple from Buffalo, New York, who love Country Music and travel to CMA Music Fest as often as they can. Unbeknownst to Kristin, they�ve been flown in to Nashville so Sean can propose to her during a concert by one of their favorite singers, Sara Evans! Sara not only helps Sean pick out a beautiful ring, she also persuades the jeweler to give Sean an enormous discount. Then, during Sara Evans� CMA Music Festival performance, she hands the spotlight to Sean so that he can ask Kristen to marry him in front of 50,000 fans!

LeAnn Rimes is a big supporter of disabled veterans charities helping wounded soldiers get back to their lives. Ryan Autery is a 21-year old Marine who lost his left arm below the elbow after his Humvee hit an IED. He was hospitalized for more than a year and suffers from short-term memory loss. At home in Smyra, TN with his pregnant wife, Stephanie, and their young son, the family faces many financial challenges. LeAnn offers comfort and help by inviting them backstage for her performance at the Coliseum and surprising them with a brand new Chevy Tahoe filled with baby gifts.

The annual music festival is unlike any other, with 40 hours of autograph signings by Country Music�s biggest names and up and comers, 70 hours of concerts and more than 400 artists and celebrities. This year features the biggest CMA Music Festival party attendance ever, 161,000 avid, singing and dancing-till-dawn fans.

�CMA Music Festival: Country Music�s Biggest Party� is executive-produced by Robert Deaton and directed by Gary Halvorson. The 2006 CMA Music Festival is organized and produced by the Country Music Association, and is broadcast with Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning.

A TV parental guideline will be posted closer to airdate.