Country music fans crowd Nissan Stadium for Night 3 of CMA Fest
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The third night of CMA Fest at Nissan Stadium was filled with non-stop energy and excitement, from those sitting in the highest seats to the artists who are just making waves and even those who have built a legacy in the country music genre.
Longtime Grand Ole Opry member Terri Clark kicked the night off on Saturday, June 8. From paying her dues on Lower Broad to paving her way, Clark was a star-struck teenager in the 1980s at what was once known as Fan Fair.
“It’s a whole different kind of energy. It’s so electric and it’s energetic, and the audience has grown so much in country music and shifted and changed; it’s skewing so much younger now, and it’s just a different world, but I’m just glad I get to be a part of it,” she explained backstage.
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After that, the lineup shifted from a voice who’s been around for decades to husband and wife duo The War and Treaty. The Billboard groundbreakers marked their first appearance at the festival Saturday night.
“Can’t believe it’s our first time playing CMA Fest, period, and for our first time, we get to play Nissan Stadium. That’s insane to us, so amped up,” stated Michael Trotter.
Just as amped, the new tattooed face of country music, Jelly Roll, took on the stadium for his first official set. This marks another full circle moment for the Antioch native who was at CMA Fest as a fan 11 years ago, begging for a little TV time and photobombing News 2’s Stephanie Langston during her live coverage.
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“I was like, ‘Man, if I could just play the Hard Rock stage or the Bridgestone stage’…I didn’t even think about Nissan back then…I didn’t even think I’d play Riverfront, so it’s just so crazy to be here with you now, talking, actually getting to interview with you instead of standing behind you like this!” he told Langston in 2023 as he recreated his pose from the 2013 photobomb.
Not only is he headlining, but Jelly Roll has earned the role of co-host alongside Ashley McBryde for this year’s the CMA Fest Concert Special, which airs June 25 on News 2 and other ABC stations.
“I would tell you what to expect from me and Jelly Roll co-hosting an entire event left basically unsupervised, but I don’t know how to tell you what to expect because it’s a little bit unpredictable, but you can expect energy and you can expect laughs and probably the most fun you can have in one place,” McBryde said with a laugh.
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The reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, Lainey Wilson, and Grammy Award-winner Keith Urban were also on Saturday night’s bill, along with Old Dominion and Brittney Spencer. While it will be a late night, it might be a hard one to top as we look at closing out this year’s CMA Fest on Sunday, June 9.
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