Hunter Hayes Will Kick Off 2015 CMA Awards Week With Free Concert

Hunter Hayes is set to kick off the week of the 2015 CMA Awards with his second annual outdoor concert in Nashville.

The free concert is set to take place on Nov. 2 in the streets of Music City's downtown. Gates will open outside of Bridgestone Arena at 9PM CT, and the show is set to begin at 10:30PM CT. Hayes will be joined by surprise special guests during the concert, and parts of the show will be taped for broadcast during coverage of the CMA Awards red carpet on Nov. 4.

In addition to helping kick off CMA Awards Week, the event will also be a lead-in to the release of Hayes' new album, The 21 Project, on Nov. 6. The project features seven new songs, including the singer's current single, "21." Each of the seven tunes will be released on the album with three versions -- acoustic, studio and live -- for a total of 21 tracks.

“I’m trying not to call it a record,” Hayes says. “We’re calling it a project because it was a lot. It was a huge undertaking on everybody’s part. It was fun.”

Hayes kicked off a tour supporting the project on Oct. 22. Dates for the trek are currently scheduled through Dec. 6.

“This summer’s show had a lot of energy, but I want to see if we can double the amount of energy … sort of amp it up even more because I want this show to fly by, almost too quickly,” the singer-songwriter explains. “It’s what all my favorite shows do.”

More information about Hayes' tour can be found at HunterHayes.com. The 21 Project is available for pre-order via Amazon.

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