Paisley, Evans booked for CMA festival

NASHVILLE, March 9 (UPI) -- Brad Paisley, Zac Brown Band and Sara Evans have joined the lineup for the 2011 CMA Music Festival in Nashville, organizers said.

Also booked for the event, which is to run June 9-12, are Little Big Town, Josh Turner, Easton Corbin, The JaneDear girls, Ashton Shepherd and Chris Young, the Country Music Association said Tuesday.

The performances will be filmed for an ABC Television special to air this summer.

Previously announced performers include Trace Adkins, Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Sheryl Crow, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Martina McBride, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton and Keith Urban. The CMA said additional acts will be revealed later.

"After 40 years, we are still making history," Steve Moore, CMA's chief executive officer, said in a statement. "This is the first time that our nightly concerts lineup at LP Field includes the current Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Female Vocalist, Vocal Group, and New Artist of the Year, as well as a new inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. We are excited to present the fans with the opportunity to enjoy this outstanding group of performers."

Paisley is the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, Lambert the Female Vocalist of the Year, Shelton the Male Vocalist of the Year, Lady Antebellum the Vocal Group of the Year and Zac Brown Band the New Artist of the Year. Reba was recently announced as a 2011 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame.