Four straight days of sold-out shows and capacity crowds
The fourth and final night at the 48th annual CMA Fest came to a close with a crowd-pleasing performance by Luke Bryan as he cranked up the fans in Nissan Stadium with his cover version of Jon Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.”
Keith Urban, Chris Janson and Maren Morris were also on hand to make sure thousands of country music fans went home happy with four days of musical memories.
Many fans went home wet, too, as the 2019 CMA Fest was memorable for several sudden rainstorms.
“Despite some weather challenges, this year’s CMA Fest was truly one to remember,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer, who noted that the annual festival is a great event for fans to see their favorites and discover new artists. “The feedback I received from artists is how much they enjoy the more intimate interactions with fans that CMA Fest offers,” Trahern added.
“We managed to integrate the CMA Foundation and our music education efforts throughout the festival, which culminated with the Eagle Honor Choir belting out Carrie Underwood’s ‘The Champion’ to a packed house at Nissan Stadium Sunday night. It was certainly one of the highlights of the festival.”
Among this year’s memorable highlights:
Thomas Rhett hosted an album release event for Center Point Road Saturday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena, which raised $100,000 that will be donated directly to the CMA Foundation.
For the first time this year, CMA Fest offered attendees the opportunity to donate directly to the CMA Foundation through several special events and activations, as well as a text-to-donate option.
Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation was a “pup-ular” highlight inside Fan Fair X again with all 61 adoptable dogs finding their forever homes. Fans and their canine companions paraded from Nissan Stadium to the Chevy Breakout Stage at Walk of Fame Park Thursday morning with Lambert, Dan Smyers (of Dan + Shay) and adoptable dogs during MuttNation’s Mutt March.
More than 300 artists participated in meet-and-greets and played to large crowds at the Xfinity Fan Fair X inside Music City Center over the course of the four-day festival. One of the most-attended attractions at Xfinity Fan Fair X was Randy Travis’ booth; the Country Music Hall of Fame member met with fans all four days, the first time he returned to host meet-and-greets in more than two decades.
The nightly concerts at Nissan Stadium were all sold out, with more than 50,000 in attendance each night. Tens of thousands of fans attended the festival’s outdoor stages and activations as well as Xfinity Fan Fair X inside Music City Center. Chevy Riverfront Stage, Budweiser Forever Country Stage and the Nashville Acoustic Corner Stage all reached capacity during CMA Fest.
Musically Fed, an organization that fights to end hunger by working with the music industry to distribute excess food from touring shows and events, donated food from Nissan Stadium, Chevy Riverfront Stage and Firestone Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater catering, feeding more than 800 people.
Florida Georgia Line was joined by HARDY during “Y’all Boys” and Morgan Wallen for “Up Down,” with an additional surprise including Midland performing “Mr. Lonely” Thursday night.
RaeLynn and Ryan Hurd had the crowd’s full attention. Newcomer Riley Green showed the fans he is just getting started and Walker Hayes was definitely feeling at home on the stage.
The Firestone Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater, which returned for a third year, sold out Friday and Saturday nights with a capacity of 6,800. BBR Music Group led the charge with co-headliners Randy Houser and Chase Rice (who last week celebrated his first number one as an artist) getting the party going Thursday.
Need tix for next year’s CMA Fest?
Four straight days of sold-out shows and capacity crowds, as well as surprise performances and collaborations, made the 48th annual CMA Fest one for the record books.
Tickets for 2020 CMA Fest:
Next year’s CMA Fest will take place Thursday, June 04 through Sunday, June 07, 2020. Four day passes for CMA Fest in 2020 are on sale to the public Friday, Aug. 02, 2019 here.
The longest-running Country Music festival in the world welcomed visitors from all 50 states and 37 International countries, marking first-time visitors from Israel, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Thailand attending the festival. Over 30 International artists performed at CMA Fest this year, representing Canada, U.K., Australia, New Zealand and for the first time, The Netherlands and South Africa.
More info at https://www.cmaworld.com/
“My special thanks to Catrina Engleby whose excellent photos have appeared in all four of our CMA Fest reports here and at Country Music News International Magazine and Radio Show in Germany. Your photographs truly capture the excitement of every performance. Thank you Catrina!” – Preshias Harris
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