CMA Fest- Like the Awards But With More Music

     A month ago, ABC showed its broadcast of June's CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock. The event kicks off summer in Nashville with a week of events and concerts. Basically, it brings today's biggest country stars on one stage in a stadium for the coolest weekend-long country music festival.This event  began in 1972 but has taken off in the last few years as country music has become entirely more mainstream. There are various CMA events in Nashville and many opportunities for up and coming artists to show off their talents (but that's not getting airtime yet). I've been to a few CMA-sponsored songwriter events and they are fantastic and highly recommended. This link is for my video of Brett Eldredge playing a CMA event on the cusp of his first single "Don't Ya" taking over the radio. 

     CMA Fest has become a big deal in the last few years. Tickets for the 2017 fest are already on sale for next June. The T.V. airing of the concert is part of ABC's lead-off to the CMA Award nominations, which broke last week. Please note, Jason Aldean has been snubbed. Yes, this huge concert is just a halfway point in the year between CMA award shows. For November 2nd's 50th anniversary awards show, we can look forward no further than usual duo Carrie Underwood and  Brad Paisley. 

Not CMAs, but some country awards won by Dierks Bentley (c) PipPepPop

Not CMAs, but some country awards won by Dierks Bentley (c) PipPepPop

CMA Fest Best Performances:

1. Luke Bryan

Luke began shaking his booty for his new song "Move", which is always reason to celebrate. But during another song, he showed off his guitar skills only to be shown up by banjo god Keith Urban. Keith then guitar battled and jammed with Luke's band. 

2. Lady Antebellum  and Cam

Lady A has been taking a bit of a hiatus this summer while they spend time with their babies and pursue other projects, but their moving collaboration with Cam was delightful. The trio joined Cam on her ballad "Burning House" and brought tears to our eyes.

3. Carrie Underwood

Carrie greeted fans while performing this spring's "wife-turned-murderer" ditty, "Church Bells." For her newer single, she soloed on the harmonica and explained a crime for the ages in the "Chocktaw County Affair." 

4. Hank Williams Jr., Chris Janson, Justin Moore
I've seen 'Ol Bocephus before and I was not particularly excited about it. But these guys had a very upbeat (an not overly redneck) 'ole ruckus on stage with a full brass section backing them. Rolling Stone called Hank the top act to see at the fest.