CBS will ring in 2026 with “New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash,” a multi-venue celebration co-hosted by HARDY and comedian Bert Kreischer. The event highlights the energy of Music City and attracts both national viewers and on-the-ground attendees. CBS will broadcast the special in two blocks from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. ET/PT and 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. ET/PT on Dec. 31, with Paramount+ offering the show live and on demand for premium subscribers. Essential plan subscribers can stream it the following day.
“You hear people say I’m honored and privileged to be working with a certain group of people, but in this case, I am blown away that I’m allowed to work with these people. This lineup is insane,” said Kreischer. “This event, which I was a very small part of last year, is so much fun. To be working with my buddy HARDY… it feels like I should be paying CBS to do this. I can’t wait. I hope I keep my shirt on, and I promise not to drink until the stroke of midnight, unless you want me to start drinking earlier.”
“Celebrating New Year’s in Music City is always a blast,” said HARDY. “It’s great to be back playing Nashville’s Big Bash, and I’m stoked to co-host this year with one of the funniest dudes I know.”
This year’s “Big Bash” features a lineup that nods to artists who appeared throughout Nashville’s CMA season, while expanding into a full concert-event experience across the city. Headliners Jason Aldean, Lainey Wilson, and Bailey Zimmerman will take the stage at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park for the midnight celebration.
Additional performers include Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts, Riley Green, Marcus King, Megan Moroney, Zach Top, Keith Urban, Gretchen Wilson, Stephen Wilson Jr., and Dwight Yoakam, with special appearances by CeCe Winans and the Fisk Jubilee Singers. HARDY leads the five-hour festivities, joined by Dusty Slay, Cassie DiLaura, Buzz Brainard, and UFC champion Kayla Harrison.
The production team includes executive producers Robert Deaton and Mary Hilliard Harrington in partnership with Music City Inc. and the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp, with Sandra Restrepo directing.
