CMA FEST: Day 2 - June 9, 2023

As if it were clockwork (or lack thereof), I rushed to make it to the first panel of the day. Cody Johnson was set to do his sit-down on the CMA Close-up stage at 10:45 AM. By the time I got situated with parking, it was 11:20 AM. So much for catching ‘The Painter.’ If there wasn’t a more apparent trait of mine, it’s being on Latin time. IYKYK. At this point, it's a CMA Fest tradition that I’m hoping to break on Day 3.

Luckily, the crowds were slimmer than the day prior. Dolly Parton had the streets lined with hopeful fans waiting to get in yesterday. As a media participant, I found it quite difficult to get through the crowd myself. However, the organization this year had improved significantly. (Shout out to CMA & MCC for the cohesive efforts on getting on the same page.) I digress.

I made it into the Music City Center at 11:30 AM. As I made my way through the media escorts, I realized most of the journalists and video folks were on the other side of the panel... PERFECT! It gave me my pick of the spot to post up on the left side of the stage.

The host of “Country Heat Weekly” LIVE introduced singer-songwriter Sam Hunt. The crowd eagerly welcomed the Georgia native. He was immediately asked about how he feels a decade after his breakout hit that set everything in motion.

It was clear he has spent time reflecting, considering his pauses between questions. While discussing being 10 years into his career, he mentioned how his upbringing and now being a dad has influenced his music, focusing on being more family-friendly at shows.

Kelly Sutton: “Being an athlete, he wasn’t really around creativity, but when he moved here, he was able to grow as a songwriter."

Sam Hunt was an Economics Major. Though he wasn’t thrilled about those opportunities, he was determined to graduate, so he took the path of least resistance (or so he thought). He knew he wanted to get into music.

Hunt also discussed how Shane McAnally brought him into his songwriter circle, which he eventually became a part of. The crew included Brandi Clark and Trevor Rose, who have all gone on to great things.

The conversation then pivoted to his Kenny Chesney cut with “Come Over.” He claims this is the biggest moment in his career. When asked if he bought anything fun with that check, he said no, but he thought he was set.

Amber Anderson: “How do you bring that athlete mentality to music?”

Sam Hunt: “It helps with having thick skin, growing up with men telling him what he could improve on, and the discipline to learn and develop as a writer. This mentality is ultimately what helped him in the first years of his career.”

Kelly Sutton: “Do you think your blow-up happened too quickly?”

Sam Hunt: “Well, I was excited for the success, but looking back, it did affect the trajectory of my life.” He briefly shared that he struggled with demons and adjusting to the fame.

As I made my way to catch the BRELAND set on the Chevy River Stage, I could hear Hunt share how much he loved the first three years of his career and how the creative process is the most rewarding for him, but it is slim to none these days due to how busy his schedule is.

BRELAND kicked off his set with “Cowboy Don’t.”

Everyone stood up expeditiously. Ironically, he gave that angel energy while riling up the crowd.

His next performance was his feature with Nelly, “High Horse.” The perfect hype song to keep the high vibrations going.

The third song he performed was his collaboration with Dierks Bentley and Hardy, “Beers on Me.” He strategically shifted to a more country song, which is apparently a fan favorite.

Many folks sang along while BRELAND proudly displayed his best Hardy impression when the “QUIT” songwriter’s verse came on.

Something I recognized during the set was his sound. It's clear there are notes of hip-hop and R&B while keeping it country. The boy has soulful melodies, that’s for sure.

It was only right for him to follow up that performance with his song, “Thick.” He prefaced this by saying that the song was influenced by women he fancies. IKTR.

Before I had to collect my things to head over to the next stop, BRELAND blessed us with his rendition of Future’s “Good Kush & Alcohol.” The cadence on “Heartbreak and alcohol” was a welcomed jam for my little hip-hop heart.

Walking up to the gates, the excitement was palpable. As soon as I arrived, they announced Brittney Spencer was coming up to the Dr Pepper AMP Stage.

She kicked off her set with “I Got Time.”

Then, in a delightful twist, she brought out Abby Cole to join her on stage. Together, they performed “Night In,” a beautiful and soothing song that felt like an anthem for introverts.

As their performance wrapped up, I knew it was about time for my next move but not before noticing that the crowd started to thicken up. As it should!

As I struggled to make my way through the crowd, I eventually reached the media entrance to the Good Molecules Reverb Stage. Thank goodness for that separate entrance; otherwise, there was no way I would have made it into the vicinity of that stage.

Once I made it to the stage side, all motor skills were lost as I became entranced by Shaboozey, rather than taking any notes of any kind. It was just vibes from the moment I arrived.

And so it began.

The Virginia native drew in a crowd, all of whom remained at the mercy of this man. Do I blame them? Absolutely not. Each song only got more energetic. At one point in the set, he got emotional. Surely, seeing the fruits of his labor from the past ten years hit him while on stage. He even shouted out his Day 1 fans and dedicated his performance of his prior releases to the ‘BOOTCUT Gang,’ as he calls his tribe.

Naturally, everyone went berserk when he finally performed his mega hit, ‘A Bar Song.’ You just had to be there.

the first thing I noticed about Reyna Roberts was how breathtakingly gorgeous she is. Her bright red hair is hard to miss and her outfit was absolutely stunning—sheesh!

I was walking up to the Hard Rock stage mid-performance of her first song. However, fans were captivated by her already. She transitioned seamlessly into "Raised Right," a fitting track for the very girls in the crowd..

The fun continued with “He Gonna Be A Problem.” It was clear that song was favored amongst her fans since they sang along with Roberts without missing a beat.

Something I loved about Reyna aside from her vocal chops is her stage presence. She has it!

Feeding off her energy and reciprocating it tenfold.. It made me sad when I realized my parking situation was up and I had to rush towards the Gulch to get that taken care of. However, the part of the show I did get to experience only solidified me as a new fan of Reyna Roberts. What a way to close out an already awesome day.

As I wrapped up my CMA Fest activities, I can’t help contain my excitement. After kicking off the festival with Dolly P and the litty Shaboozey set to start this Friday.. I’m on a high for the rest of the week.

CMA Fest is in full swing.

Tune in tomorrow for Saturday’s festivities.