With thunderstorms predicted in Nashville on June 9, the rain and slightly cooler weather was a relief from the heat on the festival’s final day. Well, maybe only for us winter-loving beings.

Day 4 was a more chill and social day for me. I hadn’t a full list of places that I wanted/needed to be like previous days and again, with the cooler weather, I felt more inspired to walk around, see the sights, experience more of Nashville and discover whatever new music took my fancy.

I started my day off by finally heading to the riverfront, firstly to see Sister Hazel perform on the Dr. Pepper Amp Stage. Their song, Your Winter, had been one of my childhood favourites thanks to the 1999 teen comedy film, 10 Things I Hate About You. At the time, I had no idea that they were a southern rock band from Gainesville, Florida.

If you were to tell childhood me that not only would I get to see them play live… in Nashville… at CMA Fest… with my trip paid for by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, trust me, I wouldn’t have believed you. What an incredible honour it was to hear that song and others. They’ve had a long career with ten album releases all of which I’m keen to check out.

There was wind and a little rain but the weather suited me just fine, so I opted to hang around the Dr. Pepper Amp and Chevy Riverfront stages. I had decided to take some photos on the scenic John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge (one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world, spanning 960 metres) and could hear both Adam Doleac and Craig Campbell performing. Doleac was just finishing up, so I went to watch the rest of Campbell’s. From the cheeky Fish to the heartfelt Outskirts of Heaven, I enjoyed his high energy, catchy songs and engaging set.

Although I had seen him on days 1 and 3, I decided to see Travis Collins once again, this time on the Hard Rock Stage. Having seen Collins a couldn’t-even-begin-to-guess number of times, I must admit that this was one of my favourite performances of his in the past sixteen years that I’ve seen him perform live. I wish I could articulate why but I can’t. It just was. I guess, the crowd was vibing and he was at his best – an accumulation, as it were, of his many years of hard work.

The highlight was Raise Me, an ode written before the birth of his first born daughter Ava. He mentioned that during his performance at Sounds Australia’s Aussie BBQ at The 5 Spot the day before that someone had skyped in with his daughter as he sung that song, bringing him to tears. On a happier note, he also played his crowd favourites Don’t Get Me Started and Happy.

After lunch I watched Wyatt Flores, Dillon Carmichael, Kasey Tyndall, LANCO and Drew Baldridge. I stuck around for the surprise side stage meet and greet with Baldridge who was nice to wait until everyone who wanted a photo got one. I also headed back to the Dr. Pepper Amp Stage to see Tyler Farr but his set was bumped for Lorrie Morgan. I’m not sure why.

I also checked out some shops on Broadway, Assembly Food Hall as well as the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum before heading back to my hotel for some light R&R.

I had planned to have a relaxing night in for my final night in Nashville, but I decided last minute (like at 7pm for its 8pm start) to buy tickets to that night’s show at Nissan Stadium where Josh Turner, Megan Moroney, Zach Top, Brothers Osborne, Wyatt Flores, Carly Pearce, Jackson Dean, Bailey Zimmerman and HARDY were set to perform.

HARDY had impressed me at Morgan Wallen’s show in Melbourne (traffic made us late to see Zimmerman that night) and I’d met him at CMC Rocks in 2023. I had been in a media zoom with Dean and interviewed Pearce and John Osborne from Brothers Osborne in the past so it was a reunion of artists I’d had some connection with but never seen live before. But really, HARDY was the main reason I decided to book a ticket as well as just wanting to finish my CMA experience with a bang instead of lounging around in the hotel room – and this seemed like the best option.

Seeing HARDY live was the best way I could have ended the four days. Apart from Josh Setterfield, Australian country music is really lacking that heavier side of country music that I love. He surprised the audience with guest stars Lauren Alaina (One Beer), Carly Pearce (Wait In The Truck) and Big & Rich for a killer duet of their smash hit, Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy).

Another heavier track that I really enjoyed was Brothers Osborne’s It Ain’t My Fault. That electric guitar had my toes tapping, hands clapping and hips shaking. Clearly a crowd favourite too. The song felt like it went on for hours before morphing into a cover of Don Williams’ Tulsa Time. But honestly, I could have lived in that moment for 24 hours more – it was epic and I loved it.

Hosted by Jelly Roll and Ashley McBryde, three hours of Nissan highlights from CMA Fest 2024 will be broadcast on Stan in Australia on June 25. It will also stream in Canada, Norway and the United States. Details can be found at https://cmafest.com/how-to-watch.

So, that was my CMA Fest. I made mistakes like I earlier said, but above all else I got to hear some amazing music (including new discoveries) and meet some incredible artists.

My flight out of Nashville wasn’t until the following night, so I joined the Hop On Hop Off Nashville Old Town Trolley Tour which allowed me to see more of the city. It didn’t go as far as The Grand Ole Opry but I was able to at least get a glimpse of it during my drive to the airport.

I would, however, recommend the tour if you’re short on time. I got off at Marathon Motor Works (stop #1) and had lunch at the Farmers’ Market (stop #11) but I also met some nice people and learnt a lot more about Nashville than I had expected to – namely how Nashville became synonymous for its spicy chicken (it’s a fascinating story of revenge), how it became known as ‘Music City’ (spoiler, the queen) as well as Nashville also being the health service capital.

The 52nd CMA Fest will take place in Nashville from Thursday, June 5 through Sunday, June 8, 2025. Tickets will be available for purchase on Tuesday, June 25 at Ticketmaster.

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This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body.