Ty Herndon set to return to CMA Fest a year after historic concert

Image Credit: City Winery Nashville

On June 9, out country music star Ty Herndon returns to the iconic CMA Fest in Nashvile one year after the historic Concert for Love & Acceptance to host a special concert, Ty Herndon & Friends, at The City Winery. Herndon will be performing alongside several other musicians, including Jason Michael Carroll, Andy Griggs, American Idol’s Kree Harrison, Radio Romance, Julie Roberts and SaraBeth.

Last summer, the Concert for Love and Acceptance, co-presented by Herndon and GLAAD, became the first LGBT-affirming concert to be held during CMA Fest, which draws more than 250,000 music fans to Nashville each year. The concert featured performances by Herndon, country music legend Crystal Gayle, newcomer Levi Hummon, and a host of others and served as a kick-off to GLAAD's Southern Stories Summer Tour in 2015. The tour saw GLAAD travel to six  states in seven days, sharing the stories and voices of the LGBT community in the region. This initiative is set to continue as GLAAD revisits those states this summer, meeting with LGBT people and community organizations and continuing to share the stories of LGBT people across the South.

Ty Herndon (right) with author, political commentator and the event's co-host Meghan McCain (left) and GLAAD's CEO and President Sarah Kate Ellis (middle) at The Concert for Love and Acceptance last year. 

Herndon came out in an exclusive interview with People Magazine in November 2014, becoming the first male country star to do so. Herndon has since used his prominence in the country music industry to accelerate acceptance for the LGBT community.

He recently took a public stand against the controversial bill recently passed in Tennessee which allows medical professionals to refuse mental health care to LGBT patients.

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