CMA Fest Night 2: Jon Pardi, Kelsea Ballerini, Cody Johnson & More Electrify Fans

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Kelsea Ballerini performs at Nissan Stadium on Friday, June 7 during CMA Fest 2024 in downtown Nashville. Photo: Natasha Moustache/CMA

Country music fans returned to Nissan Stadium on Friday (June 7) for the second night of CMA Fest.

Kelly Sutton and Amber Anderson of Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly podcast welcomed the crowd and introduced the fierce Gretchen Wilson as the evening’s first performer.

Gretchen Wilson performs at Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest 2024 in downtown Nashville. Photo: Acacia Evans/CMA

Dressed in a black tank top, ripped jeans and tall black boots, Wilson got the audience riled up in the best way with “Here For The Party.” She then paused to greet to everyone, and expressed how great it felt to be back the annual event after so many years. Wilson thanked her loyal fans for sticking with her, and grabbed her guitar for a new tune titled “Little Miss Runner-Up.” Wilson revealed that the song, set to be released this coming week, is the sequel to her 2004 track “Homewrecker.” She asked all the hardworking people present to make some noise as she dove into “Work Hard, Play Harder.” Wilson then inquired about the rednecks in the attendance before belting “Redneck Woman.” The large screens placed on each side of the main stage showed fans singing alongside her as she closed with the classic.

As the sun went down, Jelly Roll came out to keep the energy high for the night’s next act, Parker McCollum. Red rays of light of covered the crowd as he began to strum his guitar for “To Be Loved By You.” Wearing a black baseball cap, blue jeans and black t-shirt that read “made by music,” McCollum moved into “Pretty Heart” and “Young Man’s Blues.” He declared “God bless country music” before playing “Handle On You” and unreleased song “Big Old Fancy House.” McCollum shared how honored he felt to be onstage along with “such incredible talent” and thanked his label for believing in him, in addition to attendees. He grasped his gold mic for “Burn It Down,” descending the main stage stairs to interact with fans as he sang.

All eyes were soon placed on the platform stage to watch Puddin, also known as K. Michelle, perform two tracks from her forthcoming country collection. Jelly Roll then reemerged to welcome Jon Pardi. Pink lights protruded through the stands as he opened with his No. 1 “Your Heart Or Mine.” Pardi had hips swaying as he grabbed a teal-colored guitar for “Heartache On The Dance Floor,” and kept audience members moving as he put it away for “Last Night Lonely.” He gleamed with giddiness as he surprised Nissan with country icon Clint Black. The two then began “Killin’ Time” together. They brought each other into a deep embrace, receiving immense applause and praise, before Black made his exit. In an all black ensemble and tan cowboy hat, Pardi announced that is was time to start the “Night Shift” and went to work on fan-favorite number.

Parker McCollum performs at Nissan Stadium on Friday, June 7 during CMA Fest 2024 in downtown Nashville. Photo: Hunter Berry/CMA

“I’m always thankful to be a part of CMA Fest, especially at Nissan Stadium,” he said. “I want to give a shoutout to all the artists playing everywhere else. Nashville is full of people and artists right now, so I want to give a round of applause everybody out there for singing their hearts out and to all the country music fans from all over. We are country music, and we’ve all got a little dirt on our boots,” concluded Pardi as smoothly slid into “Dirt On My Boots.”

He made his way downstairs to slap the sea of hands on the stadium floor and take some selfies while he sang. Heels continued to joyfully click the concrete the songsmith ended his set with “Head Over Boots.”

The spotlight shined on the platform stage once again as Dasha kept toes tapping with “Didn’t I” and viral tune “Austin.”

Donning a denim-patterned jumpsuit and matching jacket, Kelsea Ballerini was on deck to enchant Nissan with her soft-yet-powerful vocal skills. White light beams swirled among the seats accented by the stage’s blue and purple hues as she emerged singing “Mountain With A View,” the opening number of her Grammy-nominated project Rolling Up The Welcome Mat. She followed by addressing the audience and requesting a trip down memory lane, which granted with many cheers. Ballerini then threw it back with her debut single, “Love Me Like You Mean It.” She shed her jacket and grabbed a pink guitar to call “Dibs” on Nashville with the next tune, blending it into “Yeah Boy.”

Holding a glass of red wine, Ballerini checked in with the crowd and reminisced on attending CMA Fest as little girl with her mother. She speculated that there must be a lot of holes in bottles, being that it was a Friday night in Music City, and toasted to that by with “Hole in The Bottle.” While performing, she introduced her band and immersed herself into the mass of music lovers below.

Jon Pardi and Clint Black perform at Nissan Stadium on Friday, June 7 during CMA Fest 2024 in downtown Nashville. Photo: Hunter Berry/CMA

After raising her glass to Nissan, she shared, “Last year during CMA Fest, I was on tour and wasn’t able to be here. Which means the last time I played this stadium with you was two years ago. My life [now] is unrecognizable [compared] to when I last played here, and that [change] came with a lot of really hard choices and really hard walk things to walk through. But I’ve never been so proud to just be exactly where I am.”

The artist slowed things down by giving a CMA Fest debut performance of “Penthouse,” kneeling down as the stadium belted the lyrics beside her. She then moved into “Blindsided” before bringing out a black guitar to finish with “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too).”

While fans were eagerly awaiting the next act, a small square stage residing among the floor seats began to glow, and the audience was in awe as Little Big Town suddenly graced it for a surprise performance of “Girl Crush.”

A mash up of tunes honoring the Lonestar State boomed through the venue and Cody Johnson soon came into view. Dressed like a true cowboy, he continued to pay homage to his home state by kicking off his set with “That’s Texas,” further emphasizing his devotion by showing off his Texas-themed chest tattoo. Johnson took out his guitar to cover Charlie Daniels’ “Long Haired Country Boy,” and welcomed Jelly Roll onstage for a touching performance of “Whiskey Bent.” Jelly Roll then asked everyone to give it up for Johnson, deeming him ‘one of the best humans [he’s] ever met, one of the greatest singers to ever do it [and] one of the best overall entertainers.” Johnson had the crowd do the same for Jelly before the two said goodbye with a sincere hug.

Cody Johnson performs at Nissan Stadium on Friday, June 7 during CMA Fest 2024 in downtown Nashville. Photo: Natasha Moustache/CMA

Prior to singing his second No. 1 “The Painter,” he stated, “I want to thank country radio not only for this No. 1, but for what they do because I saw people today from Australia, Germany, Canada and more to celebrate country music with us.”

Phone flashlights formed a starry scene as he started to play “Dirt Cheap,” throwing his pick into rows below. He followed by thanking all first responders and checking in on each side of the stadium as he cranked it back up with “People In The Back.” Blue lights blared as he closed with his first chart-topper, “Till You Can’t,” running down the stairs to throw t-shirts and high-five fans.

Although he was the last to take the mic, Luke Bryan kept the stadium enthralled with “That’s My Kind Of Night.” He showcased his guitar skills during “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye,” and jammed alongside both his guitarist and keyboard player for “Huntin’, Fishin’ And Lovin’ Every Day.” As his band rocked the house, Bryan placed his black baseball cap on his guitarist’s head and took a shot.

“I feel amazing, and I ready to have some fun with the greatest country music fans into world—you guys,” he said before shifting to his latest release “Love You, Miss You, Mean It” and his first No. 1 “Do I.” Fuchsia rays flashed as the audience joined him for “Play It Again,” before he threw another shot back for “One Margarita.” Green tones took over the stage as Bryan had every body bopping with “Country Girl (Shake It For Me),” before bringing it home with “I Don’t Want This Night To End.”

 

Luke Bryan performs at Nissan Stadium on Friday, June 7 during CMA Fest 2024 in downtown Nashville. Photo: John Russell/CMA

Liza Anderson
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