Aldean, Bryan, Swift and Ne-Yo join McGraw for summer TV special

There were two major news items this week from The Academy of Country Music. First up, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift, and R&B music star Ne-Yo are the first performers to be announced for the upcoming television special “ACM Presents: Tim McGraw’s Superstar Summer Night.”

As previously announced, the two-hour show—headlined by 15-time ACM Award winner McGraw (pictured)—will be taped April 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to be broadcast at a later date on the CBS Television Network.  Proceeds from ticket sales benefit the ACM’s charity arm, Lifting Lives. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have all these artists join me on tour, and it’ll be fun to get everyone back together to help raise money and bring some attention to Lifting Lives,” McGraw says of the newly announced performers.

In semi-related news, the Academy has announced that for the seventh consecutive year, ACM Weekend at Fremont Street Experience will be taking place on April 5-6 with two nights of free country concerts headlined by Gary Allan and Jake Owen and featuring performances by Randy Houser, Chris Janson, Jana Kramer, Kip Moore, Joe Nichols and Sunny Sweeney.

Hosted by national radio air personality Blair Garner, ACM Weekend at Fremont Street Experience will once again feature open-to-the-public concerts beginning at 9 p.m. both nights, with performances on two stages. ACM Weekend at Fremont Street Experience is part of the Academy’s “The Week Vegas Goes Country,” initiative leading up to the 48th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards” taking place April 7 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and airing live on CBS.