Fan favorites Phil Vassar and Jo Dee Messina will kick off 2008 CMA Music Festival on the Greased Lightning Daytime Stages Thursday, June 5 (10:00 AM/CT). Each artist's performance is sure to rev up the crowd for all the non-stop excitement happening at the four-day event, taking place in Downtown Nashville through Sunday, June 8.

"Having Phil and Jo Dee kick off CMA Music Festival this year is going to be a real treat for our attendees," said Tammy Genovese, CMA Chief Executive Officer. "Both artists are beloved by the fans, and they set the bar high with their live performances. This will be an exciting morning of live music!"

Curb recording artist Messina will release her fifth studio album later this year. The 1999 CMA Horizon Award winner has racked up numerous hits, including "Heads Carolina, Tails California," "I'm Alright," "Bye Bye," "Bring on the Rain," "That's the Way," "Lesson in Leavin'" and "Stand Beside Me."

Universal South recording artist Vassar recently debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart with his new album Prayer of a Common Man. Vassar has achieved success both as a solo artist, with hit singles including "Carlene," "Another Day in Paradise" and "American Child;" and as a songwriter for other artists including "I'm Alright" and "Bye Bye" (Jo Dee Messina), "My Next Thirty Years" and "For A Little While" (Tim McGraw), "Right on the Money" (Alan Jackson), and more.

Country Music Hall of Fame member Bill Anderson, Jeff Bates, "American Idol: Season Four" runner up Bo Bice, Lane Brody, Jason Michael Carroll, Erika Jo, Billy Gilman, Josh Gracin, Andy Griggs, Con Hunley, Jack Ingram, Jamey Johnson, Mindy McCready, Joe Nichols, and Eddy Raven have also been added to the Riverfront lineup.

Single-day tickets for the Greased Lightning Daytime Stages will be sold the day of each show at the gate for $16 each. Children 6 and younger are admitted free of charge.

The opening festivities are just the start of more than 30 hours of performances covering the entire range of Country Music from today's rising stars, to legends, bluegrass, and more at the Greased Lightning Daytime Stages. Over the four day event, more than 100 artists are scheduled to perform during the Daytime Concerts.

The full schedule can be found at CMAFest.com

The National Anthem will be sung by Deborah Allen on June 5; Adam Gregory on June 6; Rhonda Towns on June 7; and Lane Brody on Sunday, June 8.

Each day's concert schedule is broken down into hosted segments. Among the hosts scheduled to appear during the Daytime Concerts are: "GAC Nights" host Suzanne Alexander; GAC "Master Series" host and WSM-AM/Nashville personality Bill Cody; owner Country Air Check and host of the weekly "CMT Country Countdown USA" Lon Helton; The Tennessean celebrity and entertainment columnist Beverly Keel; GAC "Grand Ole Opry Live" host Nan Kelley; GAC "Country Music Across America" host Storme Warren; and performer Billy Yates. Special appearances will also be made by some of the ABC Daytime actors on Saturday, June 7.

Greased Lightning has been a title sponsor of the Daytime Stages since 2002.

"We are excited about our eighth year at the CMA Music Festival" said Helmut Baker, Greased Lightning Vice President of Household Products. "We enjoy connecting with the Country Music fan base attending all the great concerts and hope everyone will get a chance to come by one of our booths at the Festival."

For up-to-the-minute information about tickets, travel information, schedules, artist appearances and more, visit www.CMAfest.com.

Labels: CMA Music Festival, Jo Dee Messina, Phil Vassar