CMA Fest: Four magic moments from Friday night in Nashville
Jaw-dropping collaborations? Show-stealing performances? Inescapable '90s country influence?
Sounds like Friday night at CMA Fest.
From Carly Pearce paying tribute to a late Kentucky idol to Kelsea Ballerini singing her truth and Thomas Rhett slowing down into summer, read on for highlights from night two at the 2022 CMA Fest.
ERNEST blooms behind an afternoon with 'Flower Shops'
Big Loud Records artist ERNEST has already achieved five No. 1 hits as a songwriter on the road to headlining on the Cumberland River on Friday afternoon at the Riverfront Stage. As the sweaty, blissful crowd eagerly awaited receiving the weekend's first performance of 2022 pop-country's favorite throwback anthem, "Flower Shops," the star who frequently attended CMA Fest in his Nashville-based youth called his day-ending positioning a "bucket list moment."
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However, as could be expected when he was announced as an artist inspired by "everyone from Eminem to George Jones," he delivered a performance that expressed a breadth and depth of mainstream pop-friendly styles and influences. If -- as many were as the clock struck 4:30 on a delightfully balmy afternoon -- you were waiting to hear the previously-mentioned zooming to top-10 status country radio single, the broad scope of the Nashville native's impressive influences made waiting an unexpectedly enjoyable time.
He's a twanging, rock-adjacent crooner with an evident love of R & B. Thus, for as much as his 90s tastes err towards artists like Alan Jackson, listen closely and crossover soul crooners with flair like Babyface feel crucial to his sound, too. Dig deeper into his album cuts as live performances and vibes reminiscent of The Eagles' mid-70s work seep into "Feet Wanna Run."
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If thinking that ERNEST's artistry limited him to being a trucker-hat wearing everyman turned sepia-tinged jukebox, you discovered at the Riverfront Stage today that you're half right. In taking a longer listen to his "Flower Shops" The Album" work like "Comfortable When I'm Crazy," or songs like "Wasted On You" that he's penned for Morgan Wallen's record-setting streaming champion "Dangerous: The Album," he's a pop-adoring songsmith still growing into his soon expected stardom
For the sun-kissed throng waiting for him to plug in his electronic acoustic guitar and sing about sad lovers' tear-filled blue and bloodshot-sad eyes, ERNEST emerged as a country performer worthy of keener attention.
Kelsea Ballerini brings everyone 'together in this room right now'
Days after she shared the Nissan Stadium stage with Kenny Chesney during his Nashville tour stop, Kelsea Ballerini returned to the towering venue for a pop-country revue that was undoubtedly all hers.
Ballerini – covered in glitter and wearing a sparking head-to-toe outfit (plus a matching sparkled pink guitar) – wasted little time in covering her catalog of contagious songs: A revamped rendition of 2017’s “Miss Me More,” pop-tinged piano ballad “I Quit Drinking” new single “Heartfirst” and a solo take on award-winning Chesney duet “Half of My Hometown” all made the cut.
She gave a one-two-three punch with a lightning-paced medley of “Love Me Like You Mean It,” “Dibs” and “Yeah Boy.” Still, no moment hit quite like an unvarnished solo rendition of “Homecoming Queen?,” prefaced by Ballerini asking fans to pull down life’s emotional filter and be “together in this room right now.”
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“Since I’ve seen you, there’s been a lot that’s happened in the world,” Ballerini said on stage. “Going into it’s been hard, but coming out of it’s been equally hard or harder and I’ve been struggling with major anxiety.
She continued, “I go back to this song that I wrote before the shutdown about giving myself permission to feel my feelings because we're all human and no one’s perfect.”
And, of course, she brought a little white wine with her, sipping from a red Solo cup between songs before ending “with a bang” – drinking anthem “Hole In The Bottle.”
“I just kinda feel like the luckiest girl in the world,” Ballerini said.
Slowing down summer with Thomas Rhett
Thomas Rhett was once a Nissan Stadium nosebleed seat dweller at CMA Fest. Now, he's something of a main stage regular.
His 2022 appearance included playing recent favorites like "Country Again" and "Slow Down Summer," entertaining a blissed-out crowd during night two of 2022's CMA Fest headlining entertainment.
"I used to bug my dad for free tickets [to this event] when it was called Fan Fair at the Nashville Fairgrounds," Rhett told the Tennessean before hitting the stage. Rhett's father, Rhett Akins — much like the current 18-time country radio chart-topper — was a fixture at Fan Fair as the architect behind many hits during his son's suburban Nashville childhood.
As Rhett's 45-minute set weaved its way through his collection of soulful ballads like 2015's "Die A Happy Man," the number of girlfriends comfortably canoodling and singing aloud in Nissan Stadium appeared to double. As he grows into being both a parent and a husband ("my favorite show is Moana," the father of four noted in the press room), his live performance slides into the realm of comfortable, approachable middle-age joy.
"My ultimate goal is to just write great songs that reveal 150,000% of who I am. I've re-lit the creative fire in myself to be the best overall artist I can be," Rhett told The Tennessean in April 2022. Two months later, he's started along his path to achieving his career goals in the next chapter of his career.
Carly Pearce pays a Kentucky tribute to the Judds (with Wynonna)
Since the last CMA Fest in 2019, arguably no artist in country music experienced a momentum shift (or expanded trophy case) quite like Carly Pearce.
She graduated to performing Friday at Nissan Stadium after becoming a Grand Ole Opry member and earning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year honors – both achievements backed by her cathartic and critically-praised divorce album “29: Written In Stone.”
But instead of a riding a victory lap of the best “29” offers, Pearce spent her time on stage honoring a pair of fellow Kentuckians who came before her: The Judds. Weeks after Naomi Judd’s death, Pearce invited Wynonna Judd to celebrate the late Country Music Hall of Famer with a rendition of Judds song “Why Not Me.”
“As a girl growing up in Kentucky, yes, I idolized The Judds and wanted to be like them,” Pearce said after performing her radio single “What He Didn’t Do” during the two-song appearance. My first concert was to see Wynonna. And I’ve always loved all of the music that The Judds made and just feel like it is such a representation of the best of country music.”