CMA Fest 2024
article and first slideshow of photos by @shanaleighphoto and second slideshow of photos & cover photo by @lilyonfilm @cruselily
Before the sun came up on June 6th, people were lining up outside Music City Center to get a glimpse of Dolly Parton in Fan Fair X, at the CMA Close Up Stage. It’s CMA Fest and there’s no artist more anticipated than Dolly, who was set to kick off the festival with an interview. It was a sold-out event and fans arrived early to wait in line. Seats were first come first serve and once those were taken, it was standing room only.
The love for Dolly radiated through the building as the anticipation rose. When she came out to a standing ovation across the crowd, she humbly and sweetly received the warm welcome, and then told the audience they could sit down now…she needed to read the teleprompter anyway. And that kicked it off. Dolly just being Dolly. She shines so much larger than life but then somehow always knows how to connect and bring everyone back down to Earth with her endearing and genuine words, in sweet southern fashion. For the next 45 minutes Dolly spoke to the crowd about all of her incredible projects in the works: a Broadway Musical called “Hello, I’m Dolly” based on her life, a new cookbook she has coming out, her new Songteller hotel in Nashville that includes a museum, and the list goes on.
A special moment occurred when, as she was being interviewed, she asked the crowd to join in as she sang a few lines from “9 to 5”. She saved “I Will Always Love You” towards the end of her interview and it was a perfect way to wrap up the morning with Dolly. She waved goodbye and fans enthusiastically headed over to the Dolly! All Access pop-up experience to indulge in their love for Dolly a bit more before heading out to the festival to enjoy four incredible days of some of the best artists in country music.
The festival itself extends over two square miles with stages from the Music City Center out to the Riverfront. The evenings consisted of packed crowds waltzing across the Cumberland River bridge to Nissan Stadium, which can seat 69,143 concert-goers. Ashley McBryde and Jelly Roll were the hosts of the CMA Fest Concert Special “The Music Event of the Summer” which will air on Tuesday, June 25th on ABC. Between artists, the hosts recorded on camera scenes for the TV special.
It was a loaded lineup each night, that included today’s top artists like Lainey Wilson, Cody Johnson, Shaboozy, Parker McCollum, Kelsea Ballerini, Bailey Zimmerman, Hardy, Keith Urban, Megan Moroney, Brothers Osborne, Carly Pearce and many more. Fans got a taste of some of the best up and coming artists on the Nissan platform stage between sets, including Zach Top, Wyatt Flores, Tanner Adell, Dasha, Dylan Marlowe, and Chapel Hart. There were also surprise performances each night including Clint Black, Lady Antebellum and Big & Rich.
With all the options of things to see and do across the two-mile stretch, it’s impossible to see it all. You have to pick and choose your schedule for the day. The Chevy Riverfront stage hosted some fan favorites like the Appalachian soul country of 49 Winchester who surprised fans with a guest performance from Wyatt Flores, Warren Zeiders, Corey Kent, Ella Langley, Alana Springsteen and Niko Moon also played Riverfront.
From Tiktok trends to CMA Fest stages, Tayler Holder knows how to capture a crowd. He connected with his younger audience as he sang his hit “Nothin’ but Neon,” and included classics in his set like Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” He wasn’t the only artist that gained their following from TikTok. Dasha played her hit “Austin (Boots Stop Workin’)” on multiple stages during the festival, getting the crowd on their feet for her popular viral dance number. Tiktok has proven to be a birthplace of attention-grabbing indie artists, quickly launching into stardom faster than anything the music world has ever seen. There’s a lot of murmurings over the quality of “Tiktok artists” and the type of music people like is certainly a personal preference. You certainly can’t argue the money in the numbers and when artists go viral, they certainly have the fans to back them up.
On Saturday night Tracy Lawrence hosted a gathering of friends at the Ascend Amphitheater. It was a show packed with big talent and special duets with Tracy. Riley Green awed the crowd as they sang along to his hit “I Wish Grandpas Never Died.” Priscilla Block, Chris Young, Charles Esten and Maddie & Tae were all there for the party. RaeLynn rocked her old school Tracy Lawrence shirt as she took the stage, visibly excited to share it with Tracy. The show wrapped up with all of the artists taking the stage for one last song together before the night came to a close.
There are so many artists to highlight and it’s impossible to experience them all in one weekend. The special thing about CMA Fest is that you could see an artist playing on a smaller stage, like Matt Koziol’s incredible performance at Hard Rock Stage, and you realize how possible it is that they could be the next Nissan headliner. In the case of Matt Koziol, that time is surely coming.
CMA Fest 2024 weekend is a huge party between all that the festival itself has to offer like meet and greets, merch shopping, food vendors, games and partner giveaways, all in the midst of the multitude of Nashville attractions and special events. The festival draws a predominantly mainstream country music fan-base and you can most certainly witness some of your classic country favorites. It’s exciting to witness where the crowds convene, as up-and-coming entertainers meet capacity at smaller stages. You’re not only a witness, but you get the feeling you are a part of the energy force behind the direction the mainstream country music world is taking as new artists rise into the scene.
