CMA Fest rocks Nashville
Highlights from star-studded third night.
Can’t nobody (but us) tell you what happened at Nissan Stadium for Night 3 of CMA Fest 2019.
Read on for highlights from inside country music’s premier summer event.
McGraw’s tribute to Travis
Tim McGraw was all action and no talk when he opened his set with a string of four hits Saturday night: “Truck Yeah,” “Southern Voice,” “All I Want” and “Something Like That.”
McGraw, who appeared to wrestle with sound issues, spotted Randy Travis and stopped his hit parade long enough to honor the legend with a few bars from Travis’ early hit “On the Other Hand.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, Randy Travis is right there in the front, come on,” he said, drawing applause from the audience. “How much better can it be in Nashville than to be in a stadium and have Randy Travis on the front row?”
Following “Shotgun Rider,” McGraw, who was wearing a fitted black and white shirt unbuttoned nearly to his waist, introduced himself to fans.
“Good evening, Nashville, Tennessee,” he said. “My name is Tim McGraw … and I’m married to Faith Hill.”
McGraw joked that he knew fans were asking how he got that lucky. At that point, McGraw temporarily got distracted by Travis again.
“I got fortunate throughout my life to record some really great songs from some really great songwriters,” he said. “I’ll never be Randy Travis, I can tell you that. One of the best that’s ever been in country music, I can tell you that.”
Stadium-sized ‘Old Town Road’
Haunting banjo plucks echoed through Nissan Stadium as Billy Ray Cyrus returned to the stage 45 minutes after his set – bringing with him megastar Keith Urban and Lil Nas X, the rapper responsible for “Old Town Road,” the year’s biggest crossover hit.
A two-and-a-half minute phenomenon once shut out from Billboard’s country charts, the unlikely trio brought “Old Town Road” to life on CMA Fest’s biggest stage. Sporting a neon orange jacket and matching pants, Lil Nas X led the song with Urban on banjo and singing the second verse.
It’s the second stop for Lil Nas X in Nashville during CMA Fest: The 20year-old Atlanta rapper appeared early Friday as part of the pop-up Spotify House at Ole Red on Lower Broadway.
‘Country-punk’ with Miranda Lambert
New Miranda Lambert music? Yes, please.
The award-winning modern country icon debuted a rollicking cut, “Locomotive,” on Saturday night. She and the band ripped the unreleased cut, self-described as a country-punk number (accurate!), as part of Lambert’s CMA Fest appearance.
“I’ve been working on some new music,” she said. “Got one that will make you groove a little.”
Lambert premiered “Locomotive” as part of an eight-song set that opened with Pistol Annies – the country music super trio featuring Lambert, Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe. Pistol Annies dropped an impressive new fulllength, “Interstate Gospel,” in November.
Following Annies’ cuts “Hell on Heels” and “Sugar Daddy,” Lambert took over with a handful of solo favorites, including “Automatic,” “Mama’s Broken Heart” and 2009 throwback “White Liar.”
Comfortable with Luke Combs
In some ways, Luke Combs is the poster child for how much can change in a year. In 2018, Combs was playing theaters – including a two-night stand at the Ryman Auditorium. He made his Nissan Stadium debut at CMA Fest and he remembers that his first hit “Hurricane” “blew the top off” the place.
Saturday, he made a triumphant return to Nissan Stadium with a sack full of new hit songs.
Holding his Solo cup of beer, wearing his trademark baseball cap and a button-down shirt, Combs plowed through two years of radio smashes that carried enough success to elevate the North Carolina native to an arena headliner.
“How many of you guys out there have been broken up with or broken up with somebody before?” Combs asked, setting up “When It Rains, It Pours.”
“Now how many of you guys have ever broken up with somebody … and it’s been the best thing to ever happen in your life? Well, if that’s the case, then sing along.”
He played his most recent multiweek No. 1 chart-topper “Beautiful Crazy,” which he wrote about his fiancee.
Combs played to the stadium as comfortably as if he was playing to his family in his living room. His performance seemed effortless. His banter with the crowd was natural. And his voice and tone were as spot on as they are on his new EP “The Prequel.”
Bentley honors Smith
Dierks Bentley burst onto the stage at Nissan Stadium at 11 p.m. Saturday, his fist pumping in the air as the intro to “Burning Man” filled the packed stadium. Bentley covered the song – a No. 1 hit he recorded with Brothers Osborne from his album “The Mountain” – solo.
The first 15 minutes of his 35-minute show were new music. Bentley jumped from “Burning Man” into “Woman, Amen,” then followed up with his new single “Living.”
“Get your voices ready,” he told the guys in the audience. “I want to honor all these fierce, bada-- country women out there.”
Bentley led the men through the song’s intro before taking over.
The singer, who has co-written 13 of his 16 No. 1 hits, reached back to his deeply personal 2015 hit “I Hold On” and dedicated it to fellow country singer Granger Smith. Smith’s 3-year-old son River drowned at the family’s home this week. Like Smith, Bentley is a father to three children, including a young son.
Yeah, I hold on, I hold on/ Like the stripes to the flag/ Like a boy to his dad/ I can’t change who I am, right or wrong/ So I hold on.