I've been to CMA Fest a few times by now and it's usually hard for me to pick a favorite night because they tend to be pretty evenly matched. Not so this year. In my opinion, the first night was the strongest night by far. Before the show we headed to the BMI stage that was set up outside of LP Field. They had performances there each night of the festival, but we only made it to the first one. And that's where this starts.
We got there in time to see newcomer Joel Crouse, whose debut single "If You Want Some" is not available on iTunes. I unfortunately didn't get any pictures of him. I liked his set for the most part and think he has definite potential. He had a few songs I really liked. I wished we'd gotten to see a little more of his personality come out. But overall, pretty solid set.
Closing the BMI stage was one of my new favorites: Mr. Thomas Rhett. I really can't say enough good things about him! He's a young guy, but comes across like he's been headlining for years. His dad is, of course, songwriter Rhett Akins who is a member of the insanely successful Peach Pickers along with Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip. Songwriting is in Thomas Rhett's blood, as is performing. I've seen him twice now. The first was when he opened for Chris Young at the Ryman Auditorium last November and I remember Chris saying something about how he believes that Thomas has a long career ahead of him. I completely agree with that. It's exciting watching him perform. His shows are high energy and yet, when it comes time for "Beer with Jesus" his demeanor changes. I talked a bit about the silly controversy over that song when I reviewed it and again have to say that anyone who doubts his sincerity isn't paying attention. His delivery of that song is nothing but genuine. I really think that that song gives us a very interesting glimpse into who he is as a person. And then afterwards, he can go right back into high gear without missing a beat.
I look at Thomas Rhett and I see a guy who is destined to win Entertainer of the Year at some point. He's that good. And he's just now released his third single, "It Goes Like This". He's probably been writing songs and performing for most of his life, but is still relatively new to the general country audience. For him to be as good, if not much better than, some of country music's current headliners at this point in his career is saying something. I really believe that he is one of the best entertainers we have. That's not something I usually say about newcomers. He actually reminds me a lot of Luke Bryan when he first came out and I mean that as a huge compliment. I feel very confident in saying that we can expect great things from Thomas Rhett. I can't wait to see what he does in his career. I can't wait. I mean, come on, how can you not love a guy who can pull out a camouflage megaphone during one of his songs and sing through it? And actually have it work? Keep on eye on this one, folks. He's going to do big things.
The Oak Ridge Boys did the National Anthem at LP Field Thursday night and, as you'd probably expect, did a great job with it. Tracy Lawrence was the first act that night and it was nice finally getting to see him. I enjoyed his set quite a bit.
Taylor Swift was next and I enjoyed her set for the most part. It's not a secret that she's very theatrical when she performs and sometimes it works. Other times it was a little much for me and there were a few weird moments. I thought she sounded pretty good too. No, she's not one of the best vocalists around, but she can sing live. Contrary to what some say about it. Not liking someone's voice doesn't meant that they can't sing. She's sounded better each time I've seen her.
The highlight of her set came as she went into a little snippet of "Tim McGraw" and then stopped. To introduce Tim McGraw. For some reason, I wasn't expecting him to show up, but I should've figured. This is CMA Fest and they do like their surprises after all. To say Tim got a good reaction when he walked out would be an understatement. The crowd went insane. It was such a treat getting to see him! They went into "Highway Don't Care" and then about midway through the song we got another surprise. In the form of Keith Urban. Hey, why not, right? The best surprise of the entire festival. They tried to match it on the other nights, but just didn't.
Our night ended with Eric Church. Yeah, it's not wonder why this night was my favorite. Eric Church and Luke Bryan on the same night? No problems there. I think it's kind of a shame that Jason Aldean didn't come out so we could've seen "The Only Way I Know" with each of the guys involved. But that said, it's hard for me to complain about a concert that includes both Eric and Luke.
Eric Church really needs to start getting Entertainer nominations and he needs to win. He blows so many acts out of the water as far as I'm concerned. I loved his set! I think what I liked most about it was how unpredictable it was. I was convinced that he would do "Drink In My Hand". He did not. I thought he would do "Springsteen". Wrong again. I expected "Creepin'" and "How 'Bout You". No and no. Unless I'm mistaken, only two of his six song set were singles: "Homeboy" and "Smoke a Little Smoke". The rest were album cuts - Eric Church does what he wants. And I love it. Fantastic set by the Chief!
We got there in time to see newcomer Joel Crouse, whose debut single "If You Want Some" is not available on iTunes. I unfortunately didn't get any pictures of him. I liked his set for the most part and think he has definite potential. He had a few songs I really liked. I wished we'd gotten to see a little more of his personality come out. But overall, pretty solid set.
Closing the BMI stage was one of my new favorites: Mr. Thomas Rhett. I really can't say enough good things about him! He's a young guy, but comes across like he's been headlining for years. His dad is, of course, songwriter Rhett Akins who is a member of the insanely successful Peach Pickers along with Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip. Songwriting is in Thomas Rhett's blood, as is performing. I've seen him twice now. The first was when he opened for Chris Young at the Ryman Auditorium last November and I remember Chris saying something about how he believes that Thomas has a long career ahead of him. I completely agree with that. It's exciting watching him perform. His shows are high energy and yet, when it comes time for "Beer with Jesus" his demeanor changes. I talked a bit about the silly controversy over that song when I reviewed it and again have to say that anyone who doubts his sincerity isn't paying attention. His delivery of that song is nothing but genuine. I really think that that song gives us a very interesting glimpse into who he is as a person. And then afterwards, he can go right back into high gear without missing a beat.
I look at Thomas Rhett and I see a guy who is destined to win Entertainer of the Year at some point. He's that good. And he's just now released his third single, "It Goes Like This". He's probably been writing songs and performing for most of his life, but is still relatively new to the general country audience. For him to be as good, if not much better than, some of country music's current headliners at this point in his career is saying something. I really believe that he is one of the best entertainers we have. That's not something I usually say about newcomers. He actually reminds me a lot of Luke Bryan when he first came out and I mean that as a huge compliment. I feel very confident in saying that we can expect great things from Thomas Rhett. I can't wait to see what he does in his career. I can't wait. I mean, come on, how can you not love a guy who can pull out a camouflage megaphone during one of his songs and sing through it? And actually have it work? Keep on eye on this one, folks. He's going to do big things.
The Oak Ridge Boys did the National Anthem at LP Field Thursday night and, as you'd probably expect, did a great job with it. Tracy Lawrence was the first act that night and it was nice finally getting to see him. I enjoyed his set quite a bit.
Next up: Luke Bryan. Yeah, you know, the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year. I actually didn't think he should've been nominated for it this year on account of how he wasn't a headliner last year, but there's no arguing with the fact that he is without question one of our best entertainers. I don't think Luke could put on a boring show if he tried! He did a great collection of songs and had the crowd with him the entire time. Which was not surprising at all. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but his band is also one of my favorites. Great job by all of the guys! Always love seeing Luke!
Taylor Swift was next and I enjoyed her set for the most part. It's not a secret that she's very theatrical when she performs and sometimes it works. Other times it was a little much for me and there were a few weird moments. I thought she sounded pretty good too. No, she's not one of the best vocalists around, but she can sing live. Contrary to what some say about it. Not liking someone's voice doesn't meant that they can't sing. She's sounded better each time I've seen her.
The highlight of her set came as she went into a little snippet of "Tim McGraw" and then stopped. To introduce Tim McGraw. For some reason, I wasn't expecting him to show up, but I should've figured. This is CMA Fest and they do like their surprises after all. To say Tim got a good reaction when he walked out would be an understatement. The crowd went insane. It was such a treat getting to see him! They went into "Highway Don't Care" and then about midway through the song we got another surprise. In the form of Keith Urban. Hey, why not, right? The best surprise of the entire festival. They tried to match it on the other nights, but just didn't.
Our night ended with Eric Church. Yeah, it's not wonder why this night was my favorite. Eric Church and Luke Bryan on the same night? No problems there. I think it's kind of a shame that Jason Aldean didn't come out so we could've seen "The Only Way I Know" with each of the guys involved. But that said, it's hard for me to complain about a concert that includes both Eric and Luke.
Eric Church really needs to start getting Entertainer nominations and he needs to win. He blows so many acts out of the water as far as I'm concerned. I loved his set! I think what I liked most about it was how unpredictable it was. I was convinced that he would do "Drink In My Hand". He did not. I thought he would do "Springsteen". Wrong again. I expected "Creepin'" and "How 'Bout You". No and no. Unless I'm mistaken, only two of his six song set were singles: "Homeboy" and "Smoke a Little Smoke". The rest were album cuts - Eric Church does what he wants. And I love it. Fantastic set by the Chief!
We left after Eric, but Miranda Lambert and Zac Brown Band rounded out Thursday night at LP Field.
Thanks for reading!
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