Kelsey Ballerini gets surprise No. 1 news during Day Three
Day Three of the 2019 CMA Fest saw a trio of stars that had never before taken the festival stage together. Fans were surprised and delighted to see Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus and reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Keith Urban take the Nissan Stadium stage to perform the No. 1 song in the country, “Old Town Road.”
The surprised crowd roared as Cyrus, Nas X and Urban played the hit song, standing, dancing and singing along with the stars.
Backstage at Nissan Stadium, Metro Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson presented Cyrus with a 2019 MNPD coin commemorating Metro Nashville’s new headquarters building and acknowledging the sacrifices made by their officers. The coin bears Cyrus’ song “All Gave Some, Some Gave All.”
Luke Combs joins “Real Good Man” McGraw
There were more surprises during Tim McGraw’s headlined Nissan Stadium show, when he was joined by Luke Combs to perform “Real Good Man,” McGraw’s 2003 number one hit written by Rivers Rutherford and George Teren.
Miranda Lambert (who had 61 dogs adopted at CMA Fest through her Mutt Nation project) performed her new song “Locomotive.” Dierks Bentley brought Tenille Townes to the stage, celebrating Women in Country. Together, they performed covers of Trisha Yearwood’s “She’s in Love with a Boy” and Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine.”
It was a ‘sold out’ night again at The Firestone Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater as fans were entertained with performances presented by Warner Music Nashville. During his co-headlining set, Cody Johnson recognized military and law enforcement in the audience, asking them to stand while thanking them for their service.
Ashley McBryde, King Calaway and Steve Moakler had the crowd on their feet. Wait and see where these guys will be next year. I expect BIG things! Scroll down to see photos of Steve and King Calaway.
Chris Young was featured as the Artist of the Day on the CMA Close Up Stage. Young took part in a discussion with Country Countdown USA host Lon Helton about his music and the CMA Foundation. The audience surprised him by singing him an early “Happy Birthday” for his June 12th birthday.
The fans weren’t the only ones who were treated to surprises during CMA Fest. Kelsea Ballerini was participating in a surprise meet and greet at Xfinity Fan Fair X when she received a super surprise of her own. She was given the news that her single “Miss Me More” had just hit No. 1 at Country radio. Of course, her fans were NOT surprised to hear that!
World’s longest-running Country Music festival
CMA Fest is the longest-running Country Music festival in the world with a portion of ticket proceeds directly benefiting high-quality music education initiatives across the United States through the CMA Foundation, thanks to all the artists performing at CMA Fest donating their time.
Preshias Harris is a music journalist and music career development consultant with the emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters. Her book, ‘The College of Songology 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s Need to Know Reference Handbook’ is available at www.collegeofsongology.com Follow her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com
