The CMA Fest in Nashville is an annual celebration that draws country music fans from all corners of the globe to the heart of Music City. Held every June, this four-day extravaganza showcases the genre’s biggest stars alongside up-and-coming artists, offering an unforgettable experience of live performances, exclusive fan interactions, and unique events. From the bustling streets of downtown Nashville to the historic venues like the Ryman Auditorium and the state-of-the-art Nissan Stadium, the festival transforms the city into a vibrant, music-filled playground, attracting tens of thousands of enthusiastic attendees.
Originating in 1972 as Fan Fair, the CMA Fest has grown exponentially, becoming a cornerstone of the country music calendar and a vital part of Nashville’s cultural identity. The festival not only features more than 300 acts performing across multiple stages but also provides fans with unparalleled access to their favourite artists through meet-and-greets, autograph signings, and intimate acoustic sets. Beyond the music, the event supports a good cause, with proceeds benefiting the CMA Foundation’s commitment to music education. The CMA Fest encapsulates the spirit of country music, blending tradition and innovation in a city renowned for its deep musical roots.
Saturday June 8th Nissan Stadium Review
Terri Clark
Fresh from the release of her new duets album, ‘Take Two' that re-invents some of her classic songs with contemporary artists, Terri Clark kicked off the Saturday night at the Nissan Stadium in style. The years have been kind to Clark, who looks and sounds as good as she did in her 90s heyday. She rattled through a string of hits like ‘Better Things To Do' and ‘Girls Lie To' in some style and with a big grin on her face. It was the perfect, toe-tapping start to the night ahead. Interestingly Clark would go on to make another appearance during Lainey Wilson's set as Wilson devoted one slot in her song to their recent duet on ‘Poor, Poor Pitiful Me.'
The War and Treaty
Michael and Tanya Trotter are a sheer force of nature and, when in full musical flow, a sight to be both seen and heard. This husband and wife duo, who are slowly and steadily winning over the hearts and minds of Country music, play a wonderful mix of Country, Soul, Blues and R&B. Tanya is like a young Aretha Franklin in terms of the tone and range of her vocals. Songs like ‘Yesterday's Burn,' which was a real ‘meet-cute' moment for the couple up on stage as they flirted with each other during this lilting Country love song and the very dramatic ‘Steal A Kiss' were perfect, arena-sized nuggets of joyful and intense entertainment.
New song ‘Called You By Your Name' ended in a wonderful elongated jam session which gave the players in the band a chance to shine but Michael and Tanya were the stars of the show, eliciting rapturous applause from the Nissan stadium for their genre-blurring, passionate music. It was great to see a mainstream Country crowd so engaged with music that hasn't come from the writing rooms on Music Row which gives me hope that The War and Treaty might well have the glittering future they deserve in their sights.
Old Dominion
From new-comers on the block to seasoned entertainers, Old Dominion have proved for years now what superb additions they are to festival bills like this. Reigning ‘6 times in a row' group of the year, it's quite easy to become complacent about Old Dominion because of their consistency and quality. They came out and attacked the Nissan Stadium with some verve tonight, meaning that whilst this was always going to be Jelly Roll's night, Old Dominion ran him a close second in terms of set of the night.
Opening with ‘I Was On a Boat That Day' was a genius move and immediately got the crowd up and dancing. Lead singer Matt Ramsey said, ‘We've only got a short time but we're going to make the most of it,' which really set the tone for the rest of their set. ‘Snapback' and ‘Hotel Key' did exactly what they were intended to do on this balmy Saturday night in Nashville, providing the soundtrack for some serious arena dancing and drinking whilst ‘One Man Band' became a huge sing along before ‘Memory Lane' closed down the set with Ramsey criss-crossing the stage, fist pumping the air and Brad Tursi attacked his guitar as if his life depended on it.
Ramsey was full of smiles and really seemed to be happy and present in the moment which drove the band on in their pursuit of getting the crowd rocking. A perfectly placed, expertly delivered set full of slick modern Country and heartfelt and catchy melodies.
Lainey Wilson
The reigning CMA and ACM ‘Entertainer of the Year' and most in-demand collaborator was an obvious choice for Saturday night at the Nissan Stadium. After a raucous introduction from Ashley McBryde and Jelly Roll, Wilson came out to perform new single ‘Hang Tight Honey' with a steely look of determination in her eyes. She strode round the stage with passion, owning every inch of the space that was so recently Old Dominion's as she played songs like ‘Country's Cool Again' and ‘Heart Like a Truck.'
During the introduction to ‘Watermelon Moonshine,' Wilson explained that she had been coming to CMAFest since she was 14 years old and had probably sat in every corner of the stadium. You could see how much this particular performance and accolade meant to her. Passionate, powerful renditions of songs like set-closer ‘Wildflowers and Wild Horses' went down an absolute storm and if there were an award for the artist who had the most fans in T shirts within the Nissan Stadium, Lainey would win hands down. This was a slick, powerful set delivered with expert precision by the most in-demand artist in Country music right now.
Keith Urban
As a generation of artists like Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Dierks Bentley and Jason Aldean get ‘moved aside' in favour of younger, hipper dudes at events like this Keith Urban proved, once again, that his appeal is timeless. There's something joyful and uplifting about being in the crowd at a Keith Urban show – his own enthusiasm is so infectious and it's mesmerising watching him play his guitar with such freedom and ease. Choosing to open his set with three newer songs in ‘Straight Line,' ‘Messed Up' and newly released duet with Lainey Wilson, ‘Go Home With U' was a bold move. The latter was a breezy and as catchy as your standard Urban ditty, which translates as immensely!!!
The second half of Urban's set was more aimed at the long time fans so we got ‘Blue Ain't Your Colour,' which provided the crowd with a chance to have a lovely sing along, ‘Better Life,' which just never seems to age or show signs of fatigue and then ‘Long Hot Summer' which was simply sensational. This set closer saw Urban throwing himself into the crowd and even going up into the side levels at one point, chuckling to himself at what he seemed to have done as the security around him struggled to stay on top of the situation! Urban got the chance to show off his effortless guitar skills, as you would expect and he left the stage full of smiles which were definitely mirrored by the crowd.
Jelly Roll
The name on everyone's lips for about 18 months now, Jelly Roll has won hearts and minds throughout the world for his honest and humble entrance into the world of Country music. His momentum seems unstoppable right now so it was no surprise to find him closing down the Saturday night at the Nissan stadium. This was always going to be a powerful and emotional moment in Jelly Roll's career and so it proved to be. Opening with ‘The Lost' he strode onto the stage like a man possessed. After the song he explained about his Nashville roots and upbringing and said that it had been 23 years since his first trip to the Nissan stadium after the NFL team, The Titans, came to town.
Keith Urban appeared as guest guitarist on ‘Halfway to Hell,' which saw the two of them hugging like brothers come the end of the song as Jelly Roll then segued into an emotional speech about his time behind bars in a facility within spitting distance of the stadium itself. Tears were shed at this point as Jelly Roll told his story of redemption and invited all-comers to join him on the same path. This led into a powerful rendition of ‘Son of Sinner' which saw the crowd taking over in some style, in places.
An entertaining montage of Rap, R&B followed which brought the stadium to their feet as they sang along to snippets of artists Eminem and Outkast before Jelly Roll did a chunk of his song, ‘Wild Ones,' that he released with Jessie Murph last year. This was an inspirational choice and whilst it strayed in tone and style away from Country music I couldn't see anyone around me in the stadium complaining in the slightest.
Jelly Roll closed down this poignant and powerful home-coming set with a three song run of new single, “I'm Not OK,' ‘Need a Favor' and ‘Save Me,' which saw Lainey Wilson back out again for her second guest appearance of the night! The latter saw Jelly Roll struggling to contain his emotions as both Wilson and the crowd, who lit up the Nissan stadium with their cellphones, tugged at the big man's heartstrings!
This was a redemptive moment for this former felon and there wasn't one person in the Nissan stadium last night who wasn't rooting for this loveable rogue. Jelly Roll's story is a universal one of second chances and resilience, which is why I think he identifies with so many people in and out of Country music and it was a real privilege to see him have this home-town moment and an honour to share something that clearly meant so much for this powerful entertainer. It was Jelly Roll's night and he grasped it with two hands, holding on for dear life, even when the tears were streaming down his face.
