iHeartMedia announces lineup for 10th anniversary of its iHeartRadio Music Festival

Virtual mega-concert will be recorded live on stages in Los Angeles & Nashville, feature performances from BTS, Coldplay, Kane Brown with special guest Khalid, Keith Urban, Migos, Miley Cyrus, Thomas Rhett, Usher

iHeartMedia announced the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary this fall, featuring performances by music’s biggest artists including BTS, Coldplay, Kane Brown with special guests Khalid, Keith Urban, Migos, Miley Cyrus, Thomas Rhett and Usher. Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, this year’s virtual two-day mega-concert will feature live performances recorded on stages in Los Angeles and Nashville in front of a virtual audience that will include a Capital One fan wall of iHeartRadio station winners. The two-day festival will be streamed on The CW App and CWTV.com, and broadcast on iHeartMedia stations nationwide Sept. 18 and 19 at 9 p.m. ET. The CW Network will broadcast the two-night televised iHeartRadio Music Festival on Sunday, Sept. 27 (8 p.m.) and Monday, Sept. 28 (8 p.m.).

Music fans won’t be able to attend the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Festival in person given the new limitations on live events during the pandemic, but, in true festival fashion, millions of iHeartRadio listeners will still be able to experience the festival’s traditional one-of-a-kind collaborations and surprise performances as bands reunite to perform on a stage together again for the first time in months. The 10th anniversary will also feature special remote performances and include intimate backstage moments with artists sharing compelling and inspiring stories about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their lives and their families, given the disruption in society and touring this year.

“We worked closely with the artist community to create a safe way for them to step back on stage and perform for millions of their fans on the radio and television,” said John Sykes, president of entertainment enterprises for iHeartMedia. “It’s our commitment to help the artists whose music we play here at iHeart stay connected to their fans.”

 This year’s festival will also pay special tribute to the connection between fans and artists. Fans will have the opportunity to introduce artists and participate in virtual meet and greets. In addition, fans watching live will have the opportunity to appear in a special Capital One fan video wall and be serenaded by their favorite artists.

“It’s hard to believe that this September will be the 10th iHeartRadio Music Festival,” said Tom Poleman, chief programming officer for iHeartMedia. “The 2011 festival was iHeart’s first national marquee event and became the model for our hugely successful series of iHeart-branded music events broadcast and streamed across the country on radio, television and online. More than 200 superstar artists have made our iHeartRadio Music Festival the biggest in the world, and this year’s lineup, even amidst a global pandemic, will be one for the history books.”

The weekend-long event will feature a nationwide preshow broadcast on iHeartRadio stations that will feature backstage artist moments hosted by Elvis Duran. In addition, all summer long, iHeartRadio stations, the iHeartRadio app and iHeartPodcasts will revisit the greatest moments from the past 10 years of the iHeartRadio Music Festival.

The inaugural iHeartRadio Music Festival took place in Las Vegas in September 2011 to celebrate the official launch of the iHeartRadio App, iHeartMedia’s free all-in-one digital music, podcasting and live streaming radio service that now has more than 2 billion app downloads and more than 135 million registered users. The initial lineup included all-star performances from Lady Gaga, Jay-Z, Coldplay, Kenny Chesney, Black Eyed Peas, Steven Tyler, Alicia Keys, Jennifer Lopez, Carrie Underwood, Jane's Addiction, Nicki Minaj, David Guetta, Rascal Flatts, Bruno Mars, Sublime with Rome, Kelly Clarkson and special performances from Usher, Sting and Jeff Beck.

Over the past decade, the iHeartRadio Music Festival has continued to bring together the biggest artists across all genres on one stage over two nights in Las Vegas, including U2, Bon Jovi, Childish Gambino, Drake, Fleetwood Mac, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Luke Bryan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mary J Blige, Prince, Shawn Mendes, Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, The Killers and The Weeknd.

For more details about the iHeartRadio Music Festival visit iHeartRadio.com/festival. Artists and/or event are subject to change or cancellation without notice.