CMA Fest 2024 may have wrapped up its lineup Sunday afternoon (June 9) at Nashville's Nissan Stadium, but the fans weren't done. Instead, tens of thousands of country music fans came ready to party with what was left of the festival's fourth night.
Sunday's lineup included Josh Turner, Megan Moroney, Brothers Osborne, Carly Pearce, Jackson Dean, Bailey Zimmerman and country/rock purveyor HARDY. Meanwhile, the platform stage featured two not-to-be-missed newcomers: Zach Top and Wyatt Flores.
Overall, the night's performances showcase the vast range of country music sounds and influences, ranging from contemporary hits to covers of songs spanning nearly five decades. The evening found traditional country mainstays mined by artists including Turner, Top, Moroney and Pearce.
The deep-voiced Turner delivered his hits, including “Firecracker” and “Long Black Train,” in addition to his new single, “Heatin' Things Up.” Newcomer Top stakes his traditional country claim from the start of this two-song set, hearing his song “Sounds Like the Radio” with nods to Alan Jackson's “Chattahoochee” and the year 1994, the mid-decade when artists the likes of Jackson, Garth Brooks and Reba McEntire spearheaded country music's rapid rise to an economic powerhouse.
Meanwhile, Moroney — who will be releasing her new album I'm fine; on July 12 — offered cleverly crafted songs like “No Caller ID,” “Man on the Moon,” “Indifferent” and her breakthrough hit “Tennessee Orange,” with her lyrics often drawing on classic country frameworks and they are distracted from it. personal story of romantic victories and defeats.
Brothers Osborne were clearly in their element, pouring out a fusion of blues, rock and country, while Dean delivered an unfiltered, rock-drenched performance. HARDY of Mississippi, who overcame seven different ones Advertising sign charts with his album The Mockingbird & the Crowclosed the show with a mesh of grunge-rock, metal and country, while offering a handful of surprises.
Jelly Roll and Ashley McBryde served as hosts for much of the evening, with the Nissan Stadium shows taped as part of the upcoming three-hour special CMA Festis expected to air June 25 on ABC (and stream on Hulu the following day).
Here, we look at five top moments from Sunday's show that closed out this year's CMA Fest:
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Wyatt Flores Brings Grit and Soul-Baring Songs
“Thank you for letting a boy from Oklahoma stand up and sing songs for everybody,” Flores told the crowd from the podium. The singer, who at the beginning of the year released his new EP Half life and is up for Emerging Artist of the Year at the upcoming Americana Music Honors & Awards, with his soul-searching confessionals during an all-too-brief, two-song set on the second stage. Flanked by guitarists and fiddlers, he delivered the brooding “Please Don't Go” and then lent his crystalline and sandpapery voice to the self-reflective tune “Holes.”
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Bailey Zimmerman develops his performance at full throttle on the pitches
Dressed in a 'Lover' t-shirt, Zimmerman brought a wild performance style to his CMA Fest set, pacing the massive stage from one end to the other, hopping the steps on the side of the stage to approach fans — everyone with a big smile on his face. Added to that was his arsenal of songs including “Religiously,” “Fixin' to Break” and the two-week No. 1 Country Airplay hit “Where It Ends.”
“Let's light this place up, CMA Fest!” he said, settling momentarily for the intro strains of the heartbreaking anthem ballad “Rock and A Hard Place.” It was clear that although Zimmerman made his first breakthrough through social media, touring with artists such as Morgan Wallen in recent years has made him a confident performer, just as comfortable commanding a stage and directing a stadium-sized crowd or approaching. to his audience making them feel his passion and joy that flowed throughout his performance.
As the song wound down, he paused to let the waves of applause wash over him, adding gratefully, “In 2020, I was fixing gas lines and I had never sung before… Since the day I moved to this town, all I've seen was CMA Fest — this is the place to be. To be there tonight means the world to me — it shows what hard work and believing in yourself can do for someone.”
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Brothers Osborne pay tribute to Tom Petty, Don Williams
Brother duo Brothers Osborne's centerpiece set centered around John Osborne's masterful guitar playing and TJ's mountain-voiced harmonies. They opened with “Break Mine,” before paying tribute to rock icon Tom Petty with “I Won't Back Down,” which appears on the upcoming album. Small country. But the highlight of their set was the duo's own 'Stay a Little Longer', punctuated by John's superb guitar skills as he walked the perimeter of the crowd and gave them a close-up look at his finger mural fleet. He finished the song holding his guitar aloft as the crowd roared its approval. They later turned their attention from rock icons to country stalwarts, performing a cover of Don Williams' “Tulsa Time.”
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Carly Pearce Brings Heartbreak Anthems, Kentucky Soul to CMA Fest
Kentucky native and Grammy winner Pearce took the stage at Nissan Stadium with an arsenal of new music from her just-released new album. hummingbird, focusing on the signature twangy lilt in her airy, yet earthy voice. She opened with songs from the new album – all informed by the traditional sounds of her home country – including the cleverly written 'Rock Paper Scissors', before turning to the barnstorming 'Truck on Fire'. Her songs and stories were easily relatable, especially to any women who had their hearts broken by songs like “Next Girl” and the always amazing “What He Didn't Do.” But it was her new music that highlighted her uploaded song.
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HARDY welcomes Big & Rich, Lauren Alaina and Carly Pearce
From his opening notes, Mississippi native Hardy sent the energy in the stadium soaring with a few new songs, including “Psycho” and “Six Feet Under,” both from his upcoming album. I quit!! (July 12). But his closing CMA Fest set earned more appreciation for the list of friends and fellow artists he welcomed to the stage. Twenty years ago, Big & Rich scored an inescapable hit with the quirky tagline “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy.”
On Sunday night, HARDY — who made his own boundary-breaking noise with his rock-country hybrid The Mockingbird & the Crow — welcomed Big & Rich's John Rich and Big Kenny to the stage as they traded energetic, rap-informed lyrics to the song that has proven influential in country music and continues to get audiences on their feet two decades later. HARDY continued what he called “the special guest segment of the show,” welcoming Lauren Alaina to join him on “One Beer.”
Hardy expanded his guest lineup by welcoming Carly Pierce back to the stage to sing Lainey Wilson's part on the revenge ballad “Wait in the Truck” — a choice that allowed Hardy to showcase his full-bodied, high-pitched vocal screams in full appearance, as the song was incorporated into a full hymn. He closed out CMA Fest with a solo version of his Country Airplay top hit “Truck Bed.”
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/lists/cma-2024-final-night-top-five-moments/
