I spent a week in Nashville for CMA week last month. I saw over forty acts on official CMA stages and over twenty more acts during my time in Nashville.
I mostly attended free daytime shows, but I won a ticket from the Hard Rock Cafe to Nissan Stadium on June 9th. As luck would have it, this was the night with the best lineup: Tanya Tucker, Lainey Wilson, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, Hardy, and more. Reba McEntire made a surprise appearance in a duet with Cody Johnson. Hailey Whitters, Dalton Dover, and Jelly Roll played short sets at the stadium. Elle King made appearances. Avril Lavigne sang with Miranda Lambert.
The Hard Rock Cafe was one of my favorite places during the week. They served a nice breakfast and Jo Yaeger performed there every morning. Outside, the Hard Rock Stage was one of the official CMA Fest daytime stages, but every evening, Boot Barn sponsored a full lineup of performers on the same stage.
I saw a good number of international artists on various stages. Roan Ash and Zarni De Vette are from South Africa. I saw a whole lot of Aussies: Keith Urban, Casey Barnes, Melanie Dyer, Nikita Karmen, Chloe Styler, Loren Ryan, and James Johnston.
I saw so many artists that I won’t try covering them all here, but I will mention a few specifically. Jake Worthington is one of the best current Texas honky tonk artists. Steel guitar is sometimes hard to come by at CMA Fest, where there tends to be more emphasis on “modern country,” but Jake Worthington did his part to feature the instrument.
Emily Ann Roberts is both traditional and versatile. She has a background in bluegrass, classic country, and Christian music and she was also a finalist on The Voice years ago. Emily Ann Roberts and Jake Worthington are good examples of young traditionalists who deserve your attention.
There were many alumni of televised singing competition shows performing at various venues during the week. On Wednesday night, the day before the start of the official four-day CMA Fest, I attended a free event at The Valentine featuring eight former American Idol contestants, including a couple of season winners. A couple of them brought along a musician or two, but they all used the same backing band, which did include a pedal steel guitar player. Most, but not all of the performers are known as aspiring country artists. The closing act was Iam Tongi and it was especially fitting to hear the steel guitar with the Hawaiian singer. What stood out the very most is the camaraderie among the eight singers. During the week, they regularly attended each other’s shows, made guest appearances, etc.
If you like the intersection of country and rock, then Everette and Texas Hill are a couple of acts I saw on the Hard Rock Stage who are worth checking out. Jake Hoot, a winner of The Voice, showed versatility, from country to “La Bamba.”
Stephen Wilson, Jr was complete new to me. He’s a truly unique character. I definitely recommend checking out work.
The Close Up Stage featured interviews with such artists as Reba McEntire and Tanya Tucker, plus some writer’s rounds and other specialized content.
If you like the blue collar appeal of Luke Combs, then Shane Profitt and Dillon Carmichael are worth checking out.
The Spotlight Stage is where I spent the most time this year, as well as the last couple of times I visited CMA Fest. This is the smallest stage with the shortest set times, so this is where to find a lot of lesser known artists. They feature a good variety of styles. The Flat River Band has nice vocal harmonies. MaRynn Taylor is a young artist I had also seen at the ACM Opry Kickoff. Pryor Baird, Harper O’Neill, and Christiana Alaire are among the artists in the “country soul” lane. Jenna Paulette and Laci Kaye Booth brought decidedly western influences to the table. Karissa Ella had a fiddle player and there’s a video on YouTube of her singing with Randy Travis last year. Brennley Brown said she grew up with a lot of 1970s country music influences and she covered “Good Hearted Woman.” Track 45 is a sibling trio with some bluegrass influences. Taylor Austin Dye is from eastern Kentucky, which is quite a hotbed of country music talent. The Chattahoochies bring a lot of comedy, but the individual members of the group also bring a lot of experience as solo artists.
I got to the Amp Stage for just a couple of acts: Chancey Williams and Ashland Craft. Chancey is a real deal Wyoming cowboy. Ashland Craft shows a lot of honky tonk and outlaw country influences.
The first event I attended during CMA week was an unofficial kickoff event at Church Street Park, organized by Tori Allen. One act of note is Three Times A Lady. They have very nice harmonies and most of their original songs as a group haven’t been released yet, though all three members have years of solo work. Lauren Mascitti has performed at The Station Inn.
The day after CMA Fest, I attended the “Bluebird on 3rd” songwriter round at 3rd and Lindsley, sponsored by the Bluebird Cafe. The first hour featured two rising songwriters and the second hour featured three songwriters who have written huge hits.
Of course, since I got back home to Texas, I have seen plenty of concerts, too, including Tanya Tucker and Jesse Daniel at Floore’s, Bri Bagwell and Sarah Hobbs at Stone Valley Music Park, Jake Penrod at Gruene Hall, Pat Byrne at Gruene Hall, the Barditch Hippies at Krause’s Cafe, Blue Water Highway at San Marcos Summer In The Park, and The Merles at Luckenbach.
Enjoy the music!
Robert's Country Blog 