The 13th 'CMA: Country Christmas' To Air In Early December

Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

The Country Music Association has revealed this year's host and performers for its 13th annual holiday television special, CMA Country Christmas. Hosted by star Carly Pearce, CMA Country Christmas will feature performances by Steven Curtis Chapman, Dan + Shay, Scotty McCreery, Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Pearce, Molly Tuttle, and The War And Treaty.

CMA Country Christmas airs Thursday, Dec. 8 (9:00-10:01 PM/EST) on ABC and the next day on Hulu and Disney+.

Carly posted to her Instagram, "SO excited & honored to be your host again this year for @cma Country Christmas! Y'all tune in Thursday, Dec. 8 (Christmas tree emoji) #CMAchristmas."

Fans reacted, with one commenting, "Yaaaaay, I can't wait!!!" Another fan wrote, "Be watching you for sure. Merry Christmas." A friend responded, "So fun filming with you! Can't wait to see it!"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by

Pearce talked with us about Christmas last year. "We always went to my Grandma and Grandpa Pearce's house that. I always talk about in my music. And we always would go; there were a few houses in my area in Kentucky that they decorated like nothing I've ever seen. There was even a Santa and Mrs. Claus that would sit outside and hand out hot chocolate and things to the kids, and we always did that."

She also chatted with us about her holiday traditions, "I think just the tradition of being with family, always going to my grandparents' house on Christmas Eve, and opening presents and going to midnight Christmas Eve service."

Starting in 2010, "CMA Country Christmas" rings in the holiday season annually with a show full of festive classics and one-of-a-kind musical performances. The event is filmed in Nashville and airs each holiday season on ABC. ABC is the network home to the CMA Awards and CMA's summer concert TV special "CMA Fest."

Carly Pearce CMA Dan + Shay Maren Morris Scotty McCreery

Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media GroupEditor

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.