New Year’s Eve Live 2026: Nashville’s Big Bash start time, lineup

Tonight on CBS, you are going to get a chance to see their own New Year’s Eve festivities in New Year’s Eve Live. So what more can we say about it now?

Well, first and foremost, let’s begin by noting that the event is going to air across a number of time periods. First, you will get it from 8:00 p.m. Eastern until 10:00. After that, it will return at 10:30, where it will air until 1:30 a.m. Eastern. The show will focus primarily on country music, and is also going to feature performances across multiple different parts of America.

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Do you want to hear more about the festivities now? Then take a look at some of what the network had to say in a statement:

Comedian and actor Bert Kreischer and country music star HARDY to host NEW YEAR’S EVE LIVE: NASHVILLE’S BIG BASH, airing LIVE Wednesday, Dec. 31 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT, 10:30 PM-1:30 AM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+*. Social media star Haley Baylee (@haleyybaylee) will correspond from New York City and count down with the East Coast at midnight ET for New York City’s Ball Drop. Kreischer and HARDY will keep the party going through midnight CT, featuring Nashville’s renowned Music Note Drop at the Bicentennial Stage.

“You hear people say, ‘I’m honored and privileged to be working with a certain group of people,’ but in this case, I am blown away that I’m allowed to work with these people. This lineup is insane,” said Kreischer. “This event, which I was a very small part of last year, is so much fun. To be working with my buddy HARDY … it feels like I should be paying CBS to do this. I can’t wait. I hope I keep my shirt on, and I promise not to drink until the stroke of midnight, unless you want me to drink earlier.”

“Celebrating New Year’s Eve in Music City is always a blast,” said HARDY. “It’s great to be back playing NASHVILLE’S BIG BASH and I’m stoked to co-host this year with one of the funniest dudes I know.”

HARDY will also perform live at Bicentennial Park in Nashville along with previously announced headliners Jason Aldean, Lainey Wilson and Bailey Zimmerman, and special guests CeCe Winans and the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Additionally, the five-hour special will feature performances by Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts, Riley Green, Marcus King, Megan Moroney, Zach Top, Keith Urban, Gretchen Wilson and Stephen Wilson Jr. from various venues across the city, as well as special appearances by comedian Dusty Slay, ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT’s Cassie DiLaura, Sirius XM host Buzz Brainard and UFC champion Kayla Harrison.

If you are a big fan of this particular genre of music, this is almost sure to be the best special for you to watch. In general, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve is going to serve as a venue for a wide array of music, and may be a little more traditional to longtime TV watchers. Meanwhile, CNN’s New Year’s Eve broadcast with Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper is more for comedy fans.

Are you planning to watch New Year’s Eve Live 2026: Nashville’s Big Bash on CBS?

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