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Energy & Utilities Roundup: Market Talk
Top 25 And 1: Duke makes history as Cameron Boozer continues dominant freshman run
Duke’s Cameron Boozer, a five-star freshman and projected top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, came into this season as an obvious candidate to eventually be named the CBS Sports National Player of the Year. Very quickly, he emerged as the favorite to win the award.
Since he became that, he’s never not been that.
And, on Tuesday, Boozer enhanced his candidacy in the most efficient of ways. The 6-foot-9 forward finished with 24 points on just eight official field goal attempts in Duke’s 100-56 victory — that’s a 44-point win! — at Notre Dame. From that sentence, you can probably deduce on your own that Boozer must’ve got a lot of points at the free-throw line. He did. The son of former Duke All-American and two-time NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer shot 14 free throws and made 12 of them. So half of his points came at the charity stripe, which illustrates just how difficult Boozer is to guard without fouling.
Boozer added 13 rebounds, three steals and two assists. And Duke’s Jon Scheyer is now the first coach in ACC history to record multiple 40-point wins against ACC opposition on the road, meaning the 38 year-old fourth-year head coach just did something Mike Krzyzewski, Dean Smith, Roy Williams, Gary Williams, Jim Boheim, Rick Pitino and ever other Naismith Memorial Hall of Famer who ever coached in the ACC never managed to do.
Notre Dame coach Micah Schrewsberry? He ruptured his Achilles during the game.
Rough night all-around.
Duke remains No. 1 for the fourth consecutive day in Wednesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. The top four in the Top 25 And 1 — Duke, Michigan, Arizona and Iowa State — remain unchanged because all four won Tuesday on a night otherwise headlined by BYU falling at home to UCF.
Did you see that?
The Knights jumped to a 23-8 lead, were up 52-28 at halftime and won the game 97-84 despite closing as double-digit underdogs. That upset resulted in BYU dropping from 18th to 22nd in the Top 25 And 1. AJ Dybantsa and the Cougars are at West Virginia on Saturday.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
U.K. gym hopes “kidulting” trend will hook grownups by putting the fun back in fitness
London — If you’ve been struggling to stay active, there’s a trend that one gym chain is hoping will make working out feel a lot more like playtime.
“Welcome to kidulting! Come in, come in!” trainer Rachel Dennis said recently as she greeted people bounding through the door at the David Lloyd gym in Enfield, North London.
“We’re gonna play ‘stuck in the mud,'” she announced. Screams and laughter quickly filled the room as tagged players froze like statues until others crawled through their legs to “free” them to run around again.
The kidulting fitness class is all about channeling your inner child, and the atmosphere is fun, even silly.
“How’s that heart rate? We feelin’ a little warmer?” Dennis asked as the pace picked up.
At David Lloyd Clubs in the U.K., members can relive their younger years with the classes built around playground and PE class games — an effort to take the “work” out of the workouts.
Pran Varatharajan cheered as he held up another classmate’s legs, pushing her in a wheelbarrow race.
The pace is fast, and the kidulters quickly moved onto the next game.
CBS News 
“Who remembers the parachute?” Dennis asked, holding up the massive piece of colorful fabric. “If you’re yellow, you’re gonna be … shall we be a banana?” she said, assigning teams.
The classes bring back a range of childhood favorites — games most people haven’t played since elementary school.
After racing back and forth across the fabric, it was time for a quick round of “popcorn,” with the grownups huffing and puffing to keep colorful balls bouncing around on the parachute.
During a quick break, class member Sophie Doe told CBS News her heart was pounding. She particularly enjoyed the parachute, and said she hadn’t played some of the games since she was seven or eight.
“It’s the joy of being a kid, as an adult,” Kielan Edwards, a personal trainer at David Lloyd Enfield, explained of the kidulting trend, as he let CBS News’ correspondent try out the “Joyride,” an exercise bike transformed to look like an iconic Little Tikes Cozy Coupe.
CBS News 
“A lot of people find it very laborious getting used to the exercise before they turn it into a habit. But that’s because they’re forgetting the fun element of it,” he said. “We’re trying to replicate those memories that you might have had while you were younger here, in a more, sort of, gym-based environment.”
“What’s the time, Mr. Wolf?” Dennis called out to her class.
“Dinner time!” they yelled back, sprinting across the floor.
“I think it just kind of gives you a chance to reminisce, it also gives you a chance to revisit that period of your life that you thought was gone and you’re not gonna get back,” said Varatharajan.
Trainers say kidulting works because being a kid never gets old, and scientists seem to agree, with research showing that when exercise is fun, people are far more likely to make a habit out of it.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health says adults who engage in playful, childlike activities report better cognitive function and memory as they age.
Los Angeles man jailed for serving alcohol to hawk
He was already in custody on unrelated charges when prosecutors filed misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and capturing wildlife.
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GREG PUCIATO Further Clarifies His Exit From BETTER LOVERS
Greg Puciato has publicly addressed his recent departure from metalcore outfit Better Lovers, pushing back against fan speculation that drama or tensions prompted the split.
The group announced earlier on February 24 that they had parted ways with Puciato, writing: “Better Lovers is parting ways with Greg Puciato. We’re proud of the work we’ve done together but we are moving in another direction… The four of us are finishing writing a new album… currently looking for a new singer.”
In response, Puciato emphasized a positive parting, posting on his Instagram: “NO BAD BLOOD. EVERYONE’S COOL. DON’T SPECULATE. LOVE THESE PEOPLE AND LOVE THE BAND. ROOTING FOR THEM ALL COLLECTIVELY AND INDIVIDUALLY. THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR MAKING THE LAST FEW YEARS SPECIAL. LONG LIVE THE FROG”
Later, after continued fan theories, he expanded on Instagram: “SOMETIMES THERE ISN’T MORE TO THE STORY. EVER THINK OF THAT? HOLY SHIT WHAT A THOUGHT… SOMETIMES PEOPLE SAY OKAY HERE’S WHERE I WANNA GO, HERE’S WHAT I WANT, SOMEONE ELSE CAN WANT SOMETHING ELSE…
“THE MOMENT WILL ALWAYS BE THERE IN MEMORIES AND IN SONGS. AND SOMETIMES, IN CARTOON FROGS… @jordanfrombuffalo @mitchbhavin @qooseshoes and @willputney ARE ALL S-CLASS PEOPLE. PLEASE CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THEM. @betterloversband”
Better Lovers hasn’t said much else, but why would they? Puciato seems hellbent on defending himself from criticisms, and everyone else in Better Lovers doesn’t seem to be the target.
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Bloomin’s Turnaround Lifts Outback Traffic as Beef Inflation Persists
The company’s turnaround efforts are starting to pay off as its Outback Steakhouse chain reported its first quarterly increase in customer traffic in four years.
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How Shakhtar keep signing so many Brazilians amid Russia-Ukraine war
Shakhtar Donetsk sporting director Darijo Srna recalls “a couple of times” when the Ukrainian club’s players and staff had to huddle together in their hotel reception, alerted to an incoming drone strike and waiting for the call to head for the air-raid shelter. It happened once on matchday. “We were all in reception together until 6 a.m. but did not go and afterwards we slept until 12, then we had a meeting at 2 and a game at 4 p.m.,” Srna tells ESPN. “We lost, but this is part of our life.”
Tuesday marks four years of this reality. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, 2022, and The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) believes it is the deadliest conflict since World War II. Estimates vary, but the CSIS states as many as 140,000 Ukrainians have been killed in addition to 325,000 Russians. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees believes 5.9 million Ukrainians have left the country.
It is all the more remarkable that against this backdrop, Shakhtar’s strategy for survival as a club remains heavily reliant on the transfer market outside Ukraine, specifically signing young players from Brazil.
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The policy began more than 20 years ago, a product of Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov’s fondness for the country’s flamboyant football style. The club established an extensive network of contacts in Brazil and over time, created a lineage of players who would join Shakhtar and then, later, an elite European side.
Willian (Chelsea), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Douglas Costa (Juventus), Fred (Manchester United) and Luiz Adriano (AC Milan) are among the big names to tread this path. Most recently, winger Kevin joined Fulham last September in a €40 million transfer, a record fee for the Premier League side.
In total, club sources told ESPN that Shakhtar have signed 47 Brazilian players, who have scored more than 1,000 goals combined, since 2002. (Luiz Adriano, who played between 2007 and 2015, is still the club’s all-time top scorer with 128 goals.) But the money generated through outgoing transfers has become vitally important. Club officials suggest the transfer of Brazilian players has raised in excess of €350M and that revenue stream is more vital than ever in wartime.
“The biggest two sources of income now are UEFA competitions and player sales,” Shakhtar chief executive Sergei Palkin tells ESPN. “That’s it. We have almost zero sponsorship, no matchday revenue, no TV revenue, nothing. To survive here, you have to change the ways to develop the club.”
Shakhtar’s story is a reminder that the conflict has been going on for much longer. Russia occupied and annexed Crimea in 2014, forcing the club’s displacement from its home in Donetsk. Shakhtar have played European “home” games in six different cities — Krakow, Poland, is their base for this season’s UEFA Conference League campaign — and complete domestic fixtures in Lviv, which lies in western Ukraine. The team cannot fly to Poland due to airspace restrictions, and so European away games involve bus rides to the border, with journeys taking up to 16 hours, depending on the destination: in last season’s Champions League, they made trips across Europe for fixtures at Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven.
Ukraine is experiencing one of the harshest winters on record, exacerbating the debilitating effects of Russian attacks targeting the country’s infrastructure which have left more than a million citizens without electricity, water and heating. The European Union has sent Ukraine almost 10,000 generators since the invasion began in 2022.
“If anybody would tell me at the beginning of 2022 that the war would continue four years, I wouldn’t believe it,” Palkin says. “Four years is a big part of your life.
“Our players, they live in a hotel and opposite the hotel, we have a pitch to train. In Europe, you can easily maintain the level of pitch but in Ukraine it is not possible because of one issue: light. When you have blackouts for one, two, three days, how can pitches survive in these conditions, especially after this severe winter when we had temperatures like -25 [Celsius, -13 Fahrenheit]?
“For my life, I don’t remember these kind of temperatures. We have a training camp in Kyiv and we maintain pitches there because they need a chance to train before games. You need to completely restructure the management of pitches because nobody had experience of doing it in wartime.
“And in modern medical history, you will not find experience like this where you can fully recover players after 16 hours of travel to play again.”
And yet, Brazilian players still join Shakhtar in large numbers. There are 12 listed in their first-team squad, the majority of whom joined the club within the last four years. Says Palkin: “You know why they come? Because they understand, here we create an unbelievable platform for the development of those players to build a bridge to top European football.
“They see all examples. The last one is Kevin. When the war started, we sold David Neres [for €15M]. He didn’t play one game for our club but we sold him to Benfica for more than we paid [€12M]. Even if it is risky for life, to reach something in top European football, they should come to us.
“We are signing a lot of deals now. I spend 70% of my time in negotiations convincing players to come in this very hard time because we have war. I need to show where a player lives, what happens for example when we have air raid sirens, all the security issues.
“I need to be open and explain, but the biggest explanations come when players call our existing players. They explain everything and it helps.”
Marlon Gomes was able to go one better. The 22-year-old joined Shakhtar from Vasco da Gama in January 2024 and consulted his veteran teammate Alex Teixeira, who made the same move in 2010. Teixeira spent six years in Ukraine and later returned to Vasco in 2022 before joining Greek side Panserraikos last month.
“Shakhtar always was a famous club, especially in Brazil,” Gomes tells ESPN. “Among young players with a promising talent, it is really known as a platform you can use to pass to the higher tier leagues.
“Alex Teixeira is a good friend of mine. In my career at Vasco, we speak a lot. Also he told me a bunch of things about Shakhtar — the way they are interested in young Brazilian players.
“When I discovered the history [of Brazilian players who have moved to Shakhtar], I have been thinking and dreaming about the same [journey and] the trophies they won. I was really inspired by those examples. Alex advised me that Shakhtar would be a beautiful option. There is not a single day I regret that decision.”
Gomes’ family, including his 7-year-old daughter Maite, remains in Brazil, where his mother anxiously watches news reports of the ongoing conflict.
“She watches TV and reads all the articles as well and she is getting really worried,” Gomes says. “For my side, I try to keep her calm and explain that in fact not everything is as terrible as can be displayed in the media. Yes, some attacks may occur even in the western part of Lviv where we currently stay but even despite that, the club is doing everything possible to keep us safe.
“During the season, we spent some time in Lviv and some in Kyiv. Whenever people from Brazil ask me something about Ukraine, I only reply with positive things. I really love the city of Kyiv, I believe it is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen and even despite all those terrible moments, I enjoy my life in Ukraine.
“Sometimes you can hear or see the drones attacking Ukrainian cities unfortunately and in fact all the TV, all the media shows part of living in Ukraine but they cannot represent what is going on inside the country. Of course, those events are completely terrible and I am deeply concerned about that but the country keeps living, keeps moving on for day to day and that can be the true inspiration for everybody.”
The adaptation process is vital, Palkin says: “When a new Brazilian player comes, we connect them with each other, they explain everything that is going on here, how we treat everybody, what’s going on, where we live, how we travel.
“When they move here, they can have any personal issues, especially in wartime, and so we have special people involved in all processes of adaptation and they understand what they want, they are always in contact with players and in a position to help any time.
“We create a structure that allows them to adapt very quickly and in wartime, this adaptation is even accelerated because we have no time. Fifteen years ago, we could wait two years for Brazilian players to arrive at the top level. Today, we have one or two months adaptation, and they go straight to the main squad.”
But Shakhtar’s established model of attracting promising players from Brazil and then transferring some of them to Europe’s elite is being squeezed by those top clubs being more willing and able to go direct to the source. Chelsea, for example, agreed a deal to sign Estêvão from Palmeiras in 2024 and Andrey Santos from Vasco a year earlier, while Denner will arrive from Corinthians this summer.
“Chelsea have changed the market in Brazil,” says Srna. “They are buying players not just in Brazil, but Argentina and Ecuador who are 16 or 17 years. Manchester City look too.
“For us it is more difficult than before, but there is still a lot of talent in Brazil. Estêvão for example, was on our list, but it is difficult to fight with Chelsea.”
Palkin explains how Shakhtar have adapted. “What it means for us is if before we signed players who were 18, 19, 20 years old, we need to pay attention to 16-, 17-year-olds,” he says. “And we need to be very quick. If you are not quick, you lose. Speed is the most important condition of how to be successful in the Brazilian market.
“Our president makes decisions very quick. He is not afraid to invest big money into young Brazilian players. He believes in his strategy and therefore even taking into account the war, we are still competitive in this market. Chelsea, City and other clubs are there and they could destroy the Brazilian market for clubs like Shakhtar, Benfica and Porto, etc. for financial issues. They pay big money and it is difficult to compete with them.”
Money is a bigger issue when Shakhtar are not competing in the Champions League this season. Revenues are much smaller in the Conference League, but at the same time, there is something bigger at stake: the pride of a nation.
“It is a critical humanitarian platform to keep international attention on Ukraine and provide positive emotions for the people of Ukraine and our fans,” says Palkin. “People living in Ukraine, 90% of all news is negative. Every day, morning, evening, daytime. Emotionally, it is a very big pressure on our people. When we play European competitions and we win, it brings positive emotions.
“All our coaches who stayed during the four years, every time when they prepare a team for Ukrainian or European competitions, in all their speeches, they have words about the people living in Ukraine.”
Srna puts it in even starker terms. “When you play in Europe, you beat someone, the people feel happy because you are sending a message to the whole world: We are here, we fight until the end,” he says.
2:06
Vitali Klitschko honored to receive Arthur Ashe Courage Award
Vitali Klitschko is appreciative to receive the Arthur Ashe Courage Award and stresses the importance of bringing peace to Ukraine.
Shakhtar continue to feel left behind by FIFA. The row over Article 7 — an annex to the game’s regulations that allowed foreign players in Russia and Ukraine to unilaterally suspend their contracts following the outbreak of war in the region. The club estimates this cost around €60M in lost income. And, earlier this month, FIFA president Gianni Infantino claimed that he favors the lifting of a ban preventing Russia from competing in international sport.
“I suggest Infantino visits Ukraine to witness the destruction firsthand rather than making this kind of irresponsible statement from a distance,” says Palkin. “Reintegrating Russia while Ukraine suffers from this war, it is a betrayal of the sport’s ‘one family’ claim.
“He should not think about reintegrating Russia. He should think how to create a fund that will finance a rebuild of sport infrastructure in Ukraine. We have unbelievable conditions. Our football is in a very, very critical situation. Infantino should think about this, and not about integrating a country that fully invaded Ukraine and tried to kill our people, our children.”
Shakhtar, like the rest of Ukraine, just keep going. Akhmetov has donated more than $300M to the government since the beginning of the war. He has provided 13 million food kits since 2014 and 700,000 units of medicine to Ukrainians affected. The club provides treatment and rehabilitation of severely injured soldiers, started an amputee team for veterans and opened a shelter for refugees. Shakhtar matches are 90 minutes of escapism.
“Each time we have a domestic game, we are happy to see people in the stand enjoying the game,” says Gomes. “That’s a chance for them to be distracted for those two hours from the cruel reality that they are currently surrounded by.
“If I leave Ukraine, either to another club or back to my homeland, I will keep all the experiences and lessons I have learned here. I will always keep them in my heart and bring them everywhere I go in my future.”
Pakistan kills 34 militants in multiple raids near Afghanistan. An ambush kills 4 police officers
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s security forces killed 34 militants in multiple raids across the country, the military said on Wednesday, as a separate ambush blamed on the Pakistani Taliban killed four police officers near the Afghan border.
Pakistan’s military, in a statement, said 26 militants, including at least one Afghan, were killed in four separate operations in North Waziristan, Lakki Marwat, Bannu and Mir Ali districts in restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in recent days, near the Afghan border.
The military accused some of the killed militants of trying to sneak into Pakistan when they were spotted and killed.
Meanwhile, eight members of an outlawed Baloch militant group were also killed in a separate operation in insurgency-hit southwestern Balochistan province, the statement said.
The military referred to the killed militants as “Fitna Al-Khawarij,” a term the government uses for outlawed Pakistani Taliban and Baloch separatists. It also alleged that the killed militants were backed by neighboring India but provided no evidence to support the claim. Weapons and ammunition were recovered during the operations.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari praised the security forces for what he described as successful operations against the Indian-based militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.
There was no immediate response from India, but New Delhi has previously dismissed the allegations as baseless.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a statement, also praised troops for eliminating dozens of militants.
Separately, suspected Pakistani Taliban militants ambushed a police patrol in the former Taliban stronghold of Bajaur district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday, killing four officers and wounding two others before fleeing, local police spokesman Israr Khan said. Police launched a search operation to track down the attackers, he said.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack in Bajaur, but suspicion usually falls on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or the TTP.
The TTP is separate from, but closely allied with, Afghanistan’s Taliban. Islamabad has accused the group of operating from inside Afghanistan, a claim the TTP and Kabul deny.
Pakistan’s military said it killed at least 70 militants on Sunday in strikes along the Afghan border, targeting hideouts of Pakistani militants blamed for recent attacks inside the country. Kabul has condemned these strikes, saying the strikes killed at least 18 civilians, including women and children.
On Tuesday, the forces from the two sides briefly exchanged fire along their border in the northwest.
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Associated Press writers Anwarullah Khan in Bajaur, Pakistan, and Riaz Khan and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this story.
Moving crew uses trucks to block suspected child abductor from leaving QuikTrip lot
A moving company’s employees who had stopped for a snack at a convenience store used their trucks to block the vehicle of a woman suspected of abducting a 2-year-old girl until police arrived.It was a regular Sunday morning at a QuikTrip convenience store in Arizona until its security guard saw the pair walk in.“They walked into the restroom, and our guardian was able to identify the little girl as Kehlani, who had been abducted the day prior,” Rosie Navarrete said.QuikTrip calls their security guards “guardians,” watching over everything that happens in and around their stores.Sunday morning, that’s exactly what one of them did. The 2-year-old, Kehlani Rogers, was reported missing from her family’s home on Saturday and was believed to have been taken by 23-year-old Marina Noriega.QuikTrip security guard C. Edmonds first noticed the young girl and an adult woman matching the alert description. Crew members from moving company Camelback Incorporated, who recognized the girl from the alert, helped record her license plate and used their trucks to block in the suspect’s vehicle, with Rogers inside.“I think a lot of it was the Amber Alert that made the community aware of this incident,” Navarrete said. “Managing this store a couple years ago, these are customers we saw on a day-to-day basis. “It was really cool to see that not only is QuikTrip here for our community, but our community is also here to step up when needed.”When the security guard double-checked that it was the two from the Amber Alert, they called police, and the suspect was in custody not too long after — and the toddler back with her family.Phoenix police say the quick response was possible because multiple officers were already assigned to the case.“It’s unbelievable. I also have not seen a resolution to an Amber Alert myself,” Lt. Matt Hanson said. “It’s a very cool feeling to see it come to a safe resolution like that.”“As a mother myself, I can only imagine how great it feels for her family to have her back home safe,” Navarete said. “It’s very rewarding to know that we were able to step in and help that happen.”
A moving company’s employees who had stopped for a snack at a convenience store used their trucks to block the vehicle of a woman suspected of abducting a 2-year-old girl until police arrived.
It was a regular Sunday morning at a QuikTrip convenience store in Arizona until its security guard saw the pair walk in.
“They walked into the restroom, and our guardian was able to identify the little girl as Kehlani, who had been abducted the day prior,” Rosie Navarrete said.
QuikTrip calls their security guards “guardians,” watching over everything that happens in and around their stores.
Sunday morning, that’s exactly what one of them did.
The 2-year-old, Kehlani Rogers, was reported missing from her family’s home on Saturday and was believed to have been taken by 23-year-old Marina Noriega.
QuikTrip security guard C. Edmonds first noticed the young girl and an adult woman matching the alert description. Crew members from moving company Camelback Incorporated, who recognized the girl from the alert, helped record her license plate and used their trucks to block in the suspect’s vehicle, with Rogers inside.
“I think a lot of it was the Amber Alert that made the community aware of this incident,” Navarrete said.
“Managing this store a couple years ago, these are customers we saw on a day-to-day basis. “It was really cool to see that not only is QuikTrip here for our community, but our community is also here to step up when needed.”
When the security guard double-checked that it was the two from the Amber Alert, they called police, and the suspect was in custody not too long after — and the toddler back with her family.
Phoenix police say the quick response was possible because multiple officers were already assigned to the case.
“It’s unbelievable. I also have not seen a resolution to an Amber Alert myself,” Lt. Matt Hanson said. “It’s a very cool feeling to see it come to a safe resolution like that.”
“As a mother myself, I can only imagine how great it feels for her family to have her back home safe,” Navarete said. “It’s very rewarding to know that we were able to step in and help that happen.”
2026 CMA Fest: First Performers Revealed!
The first batch of main stage performers for 2026 CMA Fest has been revealed. It’s a healthy mix of proven hitmakers and curveball newcomers who’ve been hot over the past year.
As always, this year’s CMA Fest promises one-of-a-kind artist moments and collaborations across all four nights of the festival.
Who’s Performing at CMA Fest 2026?
Ella Langley, Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Blake Shelton, Cody Johnson and Carly Pearce are all scheduled to hit the Nissan Stadium stage during this year’s festival.
Also on the bill are Riley Green, Bailey Zimmerman, Jason Aldean, Hardy, Luke Bryan, Shaboozey, Zach Top, Tucker Wetmore, Russell Dickerson, Jordan Davis, Gretchen Wilson and Deana Carter.
Two surprise stars from the 2025 CMA Awards — Vocal Group of the Year winner the Red Clay Strays and breakout performer and nominee Stephen Wilson, Jr.— will take a turn at Nissan. So will The Band Perry, the hit country group now reconfigured as original lead vocalist Kimberly Perry and her husband Johnny Costello.
More Nissan Stadium performers, plus lineups for all of CMA Fest’s stages, are expected in the coming weeks.
When Is CMA Fest 2026?
Nashville’s annual summer music festival will return on June 4-7.
The four-day event will feature performances across a number of different stages across music city, with nightly Nissan Stadium performances.
How Can I Get Tickets to CMA Fest 2026?
Four-night stadium passes are available now.
Single-night tickets, premium packages and ticketing for various exclusive CMA Fest events will go on sale in the weeks ahead. The festival will also offer an array of free shows and activities across Nashville.
Read More: See the Best Pictures of CMA Fest 2025
A portion of ticket proceeds will support music education programs across the country.
As usual, the 2026 CMA Fest will be filmed for an upcoming concert special, which will air later this summer on ABC and stream on Hulu.
CMA Fest 2025: See Pictures + Highlights From Day 4
See the best pictures from CMA Fest Day 4! Rodney Atkins opened at Nissan Stadium and was joined by his son Eli to sing “Watching You.” After that came Zach Top, Ashley McBryde, Dierks Bentley and Luke Bryan.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes