EXCLUSIVE: Comedian Bert Kreischer and country music star Hardy are set to host New Year’s celebration New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash, which will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on Wednesday, December 31st.
Social media star Haley Baylee will correspond from New York City and count down with the East Coast at midnight ET for New York City’s ball drop. It’ll then be up to Kreischer and Hardy to keep the party going through midnight CT, doing the Music Note Drop — Nashville’s version of the NYE ball drop — from the Bicentennial Stage.
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, SiriusXM host Buzz Brainard and UFC champion Kayla Harrison.
Grammy winner Dwight Yoakam and Marcus King will take the stage at Category 10, home of the official New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash watch party, with special guests Cody Alan and Caylee Hammack.
The special will be executive produced by Robert Deaton and Mary Hilliard Harrington in partnership with Music City Inc., the foundation of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. Sandra Restrepo is directing.
“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.”
For his part, Hardy said, “Celebrating New Year’s in Music City is always a blast. 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.”
One of the world’s top-grossing stand-ups, Kreischer’s sixth Netflix special, Lucky, filmed in his hometown of Tampa, FL, sold out all six shows within 24 hours of the on-sale and premiered in Netflix’s Top 10 Most Watched TV Shows in March. Recently wrapping on Free Bert, a new comedy series coming to Netflix in 2026, he’ll also be seen coming up in the comedic feature Homecoming. Through Berty Boy Productions, Kreischer oversees hit podcasts and series including Bertcast, Something’s Burning, and 2 Bears, 1 Cave (with Tom Segura), commanding over 16 million fans and 4 billion impressions. He also founded the Fully Loaded Comedy Festival, a touring juggernaut taking place between stadiums, arenas, and sold-out cruises, which returns to the sea from November 19th–26, 2026. He is repped by UTA, Levity Entertainment Group, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes.
In September, Hardy released his fourth studio album, Country! Country!, which has added to his six billion career streams with singles like “Favorite Country Song” surging on country radio. A 5x ACM Award winner and 2x CMA Award winner, he has also won three CMA Triple Play Awards, was named the 2022 BMI Country Songwriter of the Year and is a three-time AIMP Songwriter of the Year. Hardy has written 17 No. 1 singles including his own 3x Platinum “Truck Bed” and award-winning duet “wait in the truck” feat. Lainey Wilson, 4x Platinum chart topper “One Beer” featuring Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson, the Platinum Dierks Bentley and Breland collaboration “Beers on Me” and first-ever rock radio No. 1 “Jack.” The hitmaker will next year be seen playing arenas and amphitheaters across North America.
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