Another CMA Fest has come & gone… It has taken me a full week to recover, which is why this write up is just now being posted. It was hot. It was exhausting. It was hot. It was incredible. Did I mention it was hot? I already can’t wait for next year!
This was my 2nd time at the annual festival that is put on by the Country Music Association to benefit children’s music education. The crowds were definitely larger this year, and yes, the heat was way more intense. I was impressed with the cooling stations CMA set up around downtown Nashville, and that they had vendors selling bottled water for $1. The Fan Fair X events inside Music City Center were a great way to escape the heat, and truly rivaled the outdoor shows. Radio Disney Country had a huge upgrade in their stage & lined up incredible artists from top to bottom each day. Storme Warren from Sirius XM’s The Highway hosted a Q&A with Garth Brooks at the CMA Close Up stage. Fan Fair was a great place for fans to get up close & personal with their favorite artists with meet & greets. The outdoor stages are more intimate performances than Nissan Stadium & Ascend Amphitheatre & gave fans another shot at meeting the artists. There was honestly so much happening, I’ve decided the best way to share my experience is to list a few of my favorite moments from CMA Fest 2018.
Surprise appearance from Randy Travis
Saturday night at the Ascend Amphitheatre was sponsored by Warner Music Nashville. The lineup was strictly Warner artists. Host Storme Warren surprised the crowd & brought out country legend Randy Travis to receive Cracker Barrel’s inaugural Country Legend Award. Travis’ wife told the crowd that it was the first time he had worn his cowboy boots since his stroke five years ago. I’ll just say I wasn’t the only one wiping tears away.
New music discovery
CMA Fest is a great place for fans to discover up & coming artists. I loved seeing this fan look up my favorite artist Cale Dodds on her phone as she watched him perform at Margaritaville.
Girl power
CAM played the Radio Disney stage & was sure to make sure the girls present knew their worth while she had the stage. She asked if there was a girl in the audience that could play guitar. A few hands were raised, and she chose one girl to come on stage with her. She asked, “So, who told you that you couldn’t play guitar?” The girl responded, “My mom.” CAM then asked the girl to play a little something, which caused the crowd to go wild. The girl left stage with an autographed guitar from CAM herself. It was a great moment.
Military support
Cracker Barrel brought pregnant military wives from nearby Fort Campbell on stage to surprise them each with a signature Cracker Barrel rocking chair. Artist Chase Bryant presented the moms-to-be with their chairs & roses.
Fan involvement
Chase Rice headlined Ascend Amphitheatre on Thursday night. As Rice was singing “Cruise,” he noticed security telling a young fan to go back to his seat. He told the crowd what he saw & that he wanted the boy on stage right then. The 11 year old boy jumped on stage & proceeded to steal the show from Rice as he sang “Cruise” flawlessly.
Family pride
Many artists had their friends & family out for their performances. It was so fun to see how excited the artists were to have them there, and the pride on the faces of family members as the artists performed. I snapped a photo of Cale Dodds’ mom smiling ear to ear as her sons (his brother is his drummer!) killed it on stage at Ascend.
These are just a few of my favorite moments this year. There are way too many incredible memories to list them all! Stay tuned for a recap of the nightly shows at Nissan Stadium & start making plans for 2019!!
About The Author
Fantastic article👍 Wish i could have been at CMA fest with ya’ll! Maybe 2019😄
Hope to see you there next year!!