From June 6-9, downtown will be overrun with country music fans who’ve made the pilgrimage to CMA Fest. Those planning to come through have known that for once, the festival doesn’t coincide with Bonnaroo, and they might also be able to catch the Wu-Tang Clan at the Ryman, if they’re so inclined. Now, they know some of who they’ll actually get to see at the fest, as the initial lineup has been announced.
Some of the most important takeaways from country music in 2018 focused on serious systemic problems with gender balance, especially at radio. Reports on this year’s Country Radio Seminar don’t seem to show much improvement in that realm. Last year’s CMA Fest was notable for the limited space it offered women on the big stage at Nissan Stadium. This year, it’s still far from equal booking, but there is a noticeable increase: You’ve got a roster of 18 acts, six of which are women or feature women, compared to a 26-act bill with only six women last year. All of their performances will be filmed for the annual three-hour ABC broadcast later in the summer.
Perhaps the biggest treat will be seeing Pistol Annies rev up the stadium crowd with tunes from the superb Interstate Gospel, but you also get Miranda Lambert’s solo show, plus more established star power from Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley and Little Big Town. Maren Morris appears shortly following her second LP Girl. The album is out Friday (ahead of a long-sold-out-show at the Ryman on March 13), and its title track pushes back against the prevailing trend for mainstream country songs to feature lyrics praising women without actually including women.
Kane Brown, Luke Combs and Brothers Osborne, all of whom had a huge year in 2018, are playing Nissan Stadium, too. Dan + Shay will be there; though it’s not likely they’ll be performing rock operas as Scene pop-culture critic and recap correspondent Ashley Spurgeon suggests they could, still expect a big show. The same bro contingent as last year will appear (Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan), and Tim McGraw seems to be the sole representative of the genre’s past, though that past is much more recent than the one represented by previous legacy artists like Charley Pride and Kenny Rogers.
Speaking of the past, the Forever Country stage, slated for the lawn at Ascend Amphitheater, is advertised thusly: “Do you love Country Music from the ’80s, ’90s and ’00s? Then you'll love the Budweiser Forever Country Stage!” In that light, booking Lorrie Morgan, Ricky Skaggs, Deana Carter, Joe Diffie and even Uncle Kracker makes sense. But why Charles Esten, Kendell Marvel, Jerrod Niemann, Kiefer Sutherland and Sister Hazel, who’ve only become established country artists during the past decade? Well, it seems like a bit of a head-scratcher, but that’s where you'll be able to see them.
If the results of the Scene’s 19th Annual Country Music Critics’ Poll are anything to go by, organizers might have missed the boat by not putting Ashley McBryde on the main stage, but she will be at the Riverfront Stage. On the bright side, it’s a big venue, though still intimate compared to the stadium, so you could look at this as a rare chance to see a top-tier talent up (sort of) close. On that stage, you’ll also see notables like Carly Pearce, Lindsay Ell, Lauren Alaina, Cassadee Pope, RaeLynn, Jimmie Allen, Walker Hayes, Eric Paslay and Ryan Hurd.
Check out the complete initial lineup announcement right here. While the majority of shows during the festival are free, you’ll need tickets (sold as four-day passes) to get into the stadium shows. Few of those remain, but they start at $223.95 and are available here.
