For a fifth year in a row, Spotify House proved to be the perfect venue for special guests and surprises during CMA Fest weekend in Nashville.
The streaming platform's Hot Country playlist took over Blake Shelton's Ole Red bar on Broadway for three days, and along with a dozen scheduled performers each day, it also hosted some A-list surprises. Jelly Roll appeared with Machine Gun Kelly and returned later for a duet with shirtless comedian Bert Kreischer, Keith Urban did a mashup with rising star Dasha, and Post Malone debuted a song with Shelton.
The first day saw acts like Cole Swindell, Little Big Town, Tanner Adell and Old Dominion play some of their biggest hits in the intimate venue. After performing at Nissan Stadium on Thursday night, Post Malone took to Spotify House to close out the night with an acoustic, rustic version of “Sunflower,” a cover of George Strait's “Carrying Your Love With Me.” and a duet of “Pour Me a Drink,” a new track with Shelton.
“Let's hear it for our new adopted son in country music,” Shelton told the crowd.
“Pour Me a Drink” is set to be the second release from Malone's country album, due later this year. The LP's first single, “I Had Some Help” featuring Morgan Wallen, arrived last month and has been dominating radio and the charts.
For day two, Spotify House offered a revolving door of talent, including Breland, Lady A and Mickey Guyton, who played a gorgeous rendition of Miley Cyrus' “Flowers.” By nightfall, the party felt like a family affair as many acts brought out friends for surprise duets. Corey Kent welcomed Lauren Alaina to the stage to debut a track from his upcoming album, while Keith Urban introduced Dasha for a mix of her viral “Austin (Boots Stop Workin')” and “Jackson ” by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash.
MGK closed out Friday's lineup by jamming his rocking tracks “Bloody Valentine” and “Forget Me Too” with a cover of the Chicks' “There's Your Trouble.” The ubiquitous Jelly Roll also appeared, for renditions of his own hit “Need a Favor” and MGK's “MY Ex's Best Friend.” MGK also offered a cover of the Chicks' 1998 hit “Therein lies your problem“ while supported by a violin.
Shaboozey, Midland and Ashley McBryde were the highlights of Day 3, along with – once again – Jelly Roll, who returned Saturday for a midday cameo to sing “I Am Not OK,” a heartwarming song about his mental health struggles. Jelly also welcomed comedian (“One of my best friends,” he said) Bert Kreischer for a shirtless, post-beer performance of Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Simple Man.”
“You've brought me on stage with you before, so I wanted to share this moment with you,” said Jelly. “I've wanted to do this with you forever.”
Spotify House also featured several up-and-coming acts on Ole Red's rooftop as part of its Fresh Finds playlist: HunterGirl, Waylon Wyatt, Grace Tyler, Zach Top, Alexandra Kay and Noah Rinker.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/jelly-roll-duets-mgk-bert-kreischer-spotify-cma-fest-2024-1235036277/
