This year was my third time attending CMA Fest, I have previously attended in 2012 & 2014 and this year was by far the most fun I have had. Not to say the other years weren't great because they were, this year was just different than previous times. One of the biggest differences was not attending the nightly shows at Nissan Stadium which turned out to be a great decision and attending the CMT Music Awards for the first time. I always try to balance my schedule out between day time stages, fan parties and autograph signings. This time I didn't get to see many of the free outdoor stages but went to 4 fan parties, saw several artists play around town at various venues and went to several autograph signings in Fan Fair X. I will give highlights of what I did each day. I was in town for a week & had a blast! If you are a country music fan I highly recommend attending CMA Fest at least once.
Monday, June 6th
- Ate dinner at The Loveless Cafe (Some of the best food I have ever ate)
Tuesday, June 7th
- Went to the free autograph signings between Country Music Hal Of Fame & Fan Fair X. Met Kip Moore, Michael Ray, Canaan Smith, Russell Dickerson &Thompson Square.
- Attended Kelsea Ballerini's fan club party at Mercy Lounge & got to meet her.
- Grand Ole Opry 9:30 show. Darius Rucker,Charles Esten,Chris Janson,Carrie Underwood, Lindsay Ell,Jeannie Seely & Bill Anderson.
Wednesday, June 8th
- Kick off concerts at Ascend Amphitheater: Chris Young,High Valley,Steve Moakler,Michael Ray.
- CMT Music Awards - First time attending & it was so much fun!!
Thursday, June 9th
- Two Story Road Fan Party @ Bluebird Cafe (One of my favorite venues in Nashville)
- Lauren Alaina autograph signing - One of the sweetest & most genuine people you will meet.
- Finally getting to meet Brandon Ray & see him perform live.
- Meeting Natalie Stovall again
Friday June 10th
- Surprising my friend Colby Dee at her show at Listening Room Cafe
- Mark Wills Fan Party & meeting him again
- Seeing Ashley Gearing again after 4 years
- Seeing Austin Webb after a 1.5 years
- Meeting Lindsay Ell
- Seeing Kristen Kelly at Acme Feed & Seed and finally meeting Tyler Barham at Puckett's
Saturday June 11th
- Attending The Springs fan club party & getting to see Lily Nelsen, Alayna, Holly Tucker, Marcus Whybrew, Levi Riggs, Alex Dooley sing live & meeting Alayna, Holly & seeing Lily again.
- Meeting duo American Young & High Valley
- Attending Jana Kramer's fan party and getting to meet her after almost 3 years & she still remembers me.
- Running into Jamie & Brandon (Two Story Road) & getting to meet sibling trio The Cains at the Wildhorse Saloon.
Sunday June 12th
