CMA Fest Stadium Show Night 1

This week is the annual CMA Fest and we are fortunate enough to be in Nashville to cover all of the events! Along with free concerts throughout downtown Nashville and the Fan Fair X Exhibits at the Music City Center, a major highlight of the CMA Fest is the nightly Nissan Stadium concerts featuring the top acts in country music.

Here are some of the highlights in photos of night one:

Kenny Rogers kicked off the show last night. This was my first time seeing Kenny. I wish I would have seen him back in the day because you could tell that he would have put on a great show. Not that this was bad by any means, you could just tell that he wasn't able to preform like he used to.

Brett tore the house down with his performance last night. The crowd was on their feet and energetic, especially when he sang "Somethin' I'm Good At."

Then came the highlight of the night (and quite possibly the entire week). Garth Brooks surprised the crowd by coming out and performing some of his greatest hits. The command he has over a crowd is unmatched. I still can't believe that he was there!

Following the incomparable Garth Brooks, was Cole Swindell. Cole has a way of connecting emotionally with a crowd that is hard to explain. While Cole was singing "Middle of a Memory," he invited Lauren Alaina on stage to help him out...

He is a true entertainer with a lot of pressure having to follow Garth, but he pulled it off!

Dierks Bentley was all over the stage last night and put on a great show! Singing such hits as  "Somewhere On A Beach," "Drunk On A Plane," and he brought out Cole Swindell to preform "Flatliner."

Miranda Lambert never disappoints when she takes the stage anywhere. Her biggest reaction of the night was surprisingly for her song, "Vice." If the CMA Fest has taught me anything, it is that the songs the artist perform are a good indication of new singles that will be coming out to radio. My bet is that later this summer, Miranda will release "Pink Sunglasses" toradio.

Luke Bryan wrapped up the show last night, coming on stage at midnight. If the crowd was tired, they sure did wake up when he took the stage.

Stay tuned to see more from the 2017 CMA Fest with WKDQ and Expressway Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram!!