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CMA Fest 2019 brings Country artists up close and personal with fans

Day One of CMA Fest in review

When the 2019 CMA Fest got under way on Thursday, June 06, country music fans were fired up and ready for almost 100 performances on eleven stages across downtown Nashville.

Jimmie Allen performs at CMA Fest. Photo credit: Catrina Engelby

Now in its 48th year, the annual CMA Fest began as Fan Fair in 1972, initially staged at the Municipal Auditorium. the festival moved to the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in 1982. Fan Fair became the extravaganza we know it today when it was officially renamed the CMA Music Festival in 2004 and by then it was expanding to more venues including Bridgestone Arena, Riverfront Park and what is now Nissan Stadium. The name was later shortened to CMA Fest, attracting fans from 40+ countries every year.

Trisha Yearwood show featured songwriters

On Day One of the festival, fans were treated to performances from many of their favorite artists with music from morning to night. Trisha Yearwood opened the CMA Close Up Stage for Thursday’s special Artist of the Day session at Xfinity Fan Fair X (an event named to honor the festival’s original title) with songwriters featured on her forthcoming album including Ashley McBryde, Karyn Rochelle and Lucie Silvas. The venue also featured ‘meet and greets’ and prize giveaways.

Michael Ray on stage during Day One of CMA Fest. Photo credit: Catrina Engelby

Randy Houser and Chase Rice headlined the Firestone Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater Presented by BBR Music Group. Also on stage were Warner Brothers artist Michael Ray and BBR Music Group’s Jimmie Allen and super guitarist and talent Lindsey Ell.

Lindsay Ell shreds during CMA Fest. Photo credit: Catrina Engelby

Miranda’s MuttNation finds homes for 61 dogs

Continue reading “CMA Fest 2019 brings Country artists up close and personal with fans”

CMA Fest 2019 welcomes country music fans from all over the world

Set for June 06 – 09 June in Nashville with 11 official stages

The annual CMA Fest is set for Thursday June 06 through Sunday June 09, and Nashville will welcome many country music fans from every state plus Europe and the rest of the world. Full details are available here.

Artist lineups announced

The Ultimate Country Music Fan Experience™ began in 1972 as Fan Fair®, which drew 5,000 fans to Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium. Now in its 48th year, the legendary festival has become the city’s signature Country Music event that hosts tens of thousands of fans from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and 36 international countries.

In 2018, CMA Fest featured 11 official stages with hundreds of artists performing—all to benefit music education. CMA Fest is a one-of-a-kind festival with artists donating their time to perform so ticket proceeds can directly benefit high-quality music programs across the country through the CMA Foundation.

CMA Fest has revealed the lineups for three daytime stages that are free to the public during the four-day festival in June. Chevy Breakout Stage at Walk of Fame Park, Maui Jim Broadway Stage at Bridgestone Plaza and Nashville Acoustic Corner Stage will feature over 110 performances Thursday, June 6 through Sunday, June 9, highlighting fan favorites and rising Country stars daily. Continue reading “CMA Fest 2019 welcomes country music fans from all over the world”

CMA Fest spotlights new talent alongside megastars

‘Ten to watch’ at CMA Fest 2018

CMA Fest 2018 once again brings together the cream of the crop in Country music. From Thursday, June 07 through Sunday, June 10, fans from across the country and around the world will descend on Nashville. Described by the Country Music Association (CMA) as ‘the ultimate country music fan experience,’ hundreds of artists will be performing on eleven stages.

One of the unique aspects of CMA Fest is the opportunity to see new and emerging artists in addition to current superstars and legendary performers – all in one music festival.

If you’re heading to CMA Fest to see Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, FGL and Keith Urban, keep in mind there is SO much more talent to be seen and heard – even if some of the names are not familiar to you… yet!

Here are some quick pen-portraits of just a few of the acts appearing at Music Fest that you might want to check out…

Clare Dunn

Friday, June 08, 7:00 pm – 7:25 pm
Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage, Ascend Amphitheater
Saturday, June 09, 4:30 pm – 4:55 pm
Chevy Breakout Stage

Growing up in tiny Two Buttes, Colorado (population: 43), Clare Dunn spent days at a time in a tractor cab helping plow and plant the family farm, sharpening her ears with uninterrupted music-listening in the driver’s seat, even as she strengthened her work ethic. “That’s where a lot of my creativity came from and where a lot of my vision was forged, was just having nothing else to do other than listen to music and dream all day long in the vast wide open of those plains,” she reflects.

Recording for MCA Nashville, she is the only female country artist in recent memory to have a hand in all of the writing, arranging and producing for her debut release, the Clare Dunn EP. The project was recorded in the Cave at Nashville’s House of Blues studios.

An accomplished musician, every lick of guitar on the EP is hers, from agile melodic figures to aggressive shredding. “I think there’s, like, one song where I didn’t play a mandolin part or something like that,” she says. “But other than that, every lead part is my playing—acoustic, electric, everything.”

Catch Clare singing (and shredding) on two stages during CMA Fest. More about Clare here.

EmiSunshine

Sunday, June 10, 2:30 pm – 2:45 pm
CMA Music Fest Spotlight Stage

EmiSunshine is a dynamic young singer/songwriter who initially captured the nation’s attention via her presence on social media, racking up 1,000,000+ views on YouTube. Releasing her first full-length CD at the age of 9 in 2014, she released her fourth studio recording, RAGGED DREAMS, in August 2017. She plays about 150 shows a year, and has included appearances at the Grand Ole Opry and on Marty Stuart’s Late Night Jam at the Ryman Auditorium.

EmiSunshine is a multi-instrumentalist with a unique vocal style that draws on her influences from early Country and Appalachian music. She cites artists as varied as Loretta Lynn, The Louvin Brothers, Bessie Smith, June Carter and Hank Williams as being music creators that have affected her own musical journey. Continue reading “CMA Fest spotlights new talent alongside megastars”