CMA FEST 2018

I have been to a lot of country music festivals...the camping kind, the beach kind, the mountain kind... but nothing has been better than the CMA Fest in the city that made country famous, Nashville. The four-day festival happens the second weekend of June and brings in almost all of the big names in Country to play at Nissan Stadium and closes down Lower Broadway. The best part of the festival is the amount of music that you can see for free. The festival runs two free stages with concerts all day and evening to keep you entertained. On top of that, almost everyone that is a name in Nashville or trying to make a name will be in town, and many will be having fan club parties with opportunities to hear some of the bigger names in smaller venues, and meet the artists themselves.

The hard part of CMA fest is that you must plan as far in advance as possible. The tickets to the actual shows at Nissan Stadium sell out ridiculously fast. Hotel rooms are hard to find, and the price of them seems to at least double during the weekend. Plan to go as far in advance as you can. Secure a hotel room ASAP. Decide which artists you would like to meet and join their fan clubs. The fan club parties are a cool way to see and meet the artists in a smaller venue and hear the songs that are not usually on their set list.

If you decide just to wing it, I still don’t think you will be disappointed.

The local talent playing in bars will leave you wondering how you haven’t heard their names. CMA fest has an app, where you can follow who is playing where and what time. Will I see you there?