Luke Bryan, Kimberly Perry co-host CMA Fest special
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country stars Luke Bryan and The Band Perry’s Kimberly Perry are ready to see a week’s worth of hard work pay off when “CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock” airs Monday on ABC.
They are co-hosts for the three-hour TV special, which highlights the biggest performances and behind-the-scenes moments of CMA Fest. It was filmed June 7-10 in Nashville, Tenn.
“There are so many amazing live performances, but also one of my favorite parts were the interviews Luke and I got to do,” said Perry in a recent interview. “It’s a peek backstage and into the personalities of some of your favorite artists, some of our favorite artists.”
Perry said her band mate brothers, Reid and Neil Perry, helped her prepare for interviews with unpredictable stars.
“I did one with Blake Shelton. You never know where that guy is going to go. So Reid pretended to be the non-talkative Blake Shelton, and then we had the Blake Shelton who took us on a goose chase,” she said. “It was fun.”
The co-hosts got to know each other last year as openers on Tim McGraw’s “Emotional Traffic” tour. Asked how they would describe each other as hosts, Perry didn’t hesitate.
“Luke has never met a stranger. This is Mr. Personality in tight jeans and a shirt,” she said.
Bryan said Perry is never in a bad mood: “She’s always so bubbly and fun.”
“Aww, you’re never on the tour bus (with me),” joked Perry, with a playful swat to his shoulder.
Fans won’t likely see Bryan’s most memorable hosting moment of the week. It happened backstage when the outfit he had to change back into got locked in his dressing room.
“You had to keep your wardrobe consistent the whole week,” he said. “So we’re beating on the door, and Two Foot Fred comes by in his little Hoveround. He clears us back and gets about a 10 foot head start and rams his Hoveround into my dressing room door. The door didn’t give. Fred goes flying over the handlebars ... He needed an air bag on that thing.”
Fred was OK, but Bryan said his side still hurts from laughing so hard.
The CMA Fest TV special will feature performances from some of country music’s biggest stars, including Bryan, The Band Perry, Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Scotty McCreery, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, and Keith Urban.