Did you watch the CMA Awards live on Wed Nov 5th on ABC? If you did, what were you’re thoughts? If you missed the awards and wanted to know if your favorite artist won, check out the full list of winners right here!
‘Automatic,’ Miranda Lambert (Written by Nicole Galyon, Natalie Hemby and Miranda Lambert) ‘Follow Your Arrow,’ Kacey Musgraves (Written by Kacey Musgraves, Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally) — WINNER!
‘Give Me Back My Hometown,’ Eric Church (Written by Eric Church and Luke Laird)
‘I Don’t Dance,’ Lee Brice (Written by Lee Brice, Rob Hatch and Dallas Davidson)
‘I Hold On,’ Dierks Bentley (Written by Brett James and Dierks Bentley)
‘Automatic,’ Miranda Lambert — WINNER!
‘Drunk on a Plane,’ Dierks Bentley
‘Give Me Back My Hometown,’ Eric Church
‘Meanwhile Back at Mama’s,’ Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
‘Mine Would Be You,’ Blake Shelton
Musical Event of the Year
‘Bakersfield,’ Vince Gill and Paul Franklin
‘Meanwhile Back at Mama’s,’ Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
‘Somethin’ Bad,’ Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood ‘We Were Us,’ Keith Urban and Miranda Lambert — WINNER!
‘You Can’t Make Old Friends,’ Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
Music Video of the Year
‘Automatic,’ Miranda Lambert
‘Bartender,’ Lady Antebellum ‘Drunk on a Plane,’ Dierks Bentley — WINNER!
‘Follow Your Arrow,’ Kacey Musgraves
‘Somethin’ Bad,’ Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood
Musician of the Year
Sam Bush
Jerry Douglas
Paul Franklin
Dann Huff Mac McAnally — WINNER!
Audio Still Magazine traveled to Nashville, TN to cover the 2014 CMA Music Fest. What a time we had while we were in music city! One thing you never have to do while at CMA fest is look for something to do. The hardest part is trying to decide who to watch perform as two of your favorite artists might be performing at the same time in different parts of town.
Thursday started off at Fan Fair and was held at the new 2.1 million square foot Music City Center. Fan Fair is part of the four day CMA Music Fest where you can meet some of your favorite artists. Checking out Fan Fair can lead to autograph signings, concerts and other activities you won’t want to miss!
LeAnn Rimes
The first event that we caught was LeAnn Rimes on the CMA close up stage telling stories about her career as well as singing her first hit “Blue” for the large crowd that gathered in front of the stage.
We also met a great new and upcoming artist, Elizabeth Lyons. She was so sweet and took the time to chat with us about music and photography. Lyons just released a new single “#PartyRules.” It is a great, upbeat and rocking song. Get over to iTunes now and download the single https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/partyrules-single/id885112567 and check out her other music as well.
As we checked out the events at Fan Fair, we saw Eli Young Band posing for photos and singing autographs, new artists such as Native Run showcasing their music to the crowds of people in attendance and other artists like The Henningsens bowling at XBowl. There is a little something for everyone at Fan Fair.
Granger Smith
It was time to head out into downtown and check out all the other activities. We stopped by the Bud Lite stage located outside the Bridgestone Arena and saw Granger Smith perform for the ever growing masses. The song that seemed to get people moving was “The Country Boy Song” off Smith’s 2013 release “Dirt Road Driveway.”
Katie Armiger
We were also able to catch Cold River Records recording artist, Katie Armiger, take the Bud Lite stage as well. Her fourth studio album “Fall Into Me” was released in January 2014 with the first single, “Safe” which pay tribute to our first responders. Katie was a big draw to the fans at CMA Fest.
JT Hodges
Up next on the schedule was the Show Dog Universal Fan Party held at the Silver Dollar Saloon. Artists performing at this event were Josh Thompson, JT Hodges, Krystal Keith, Joel Crouse and Native Run. This was a great intimate event where fans could get up close and personal with some of their favorite artists. Each artist played a hand full of songs to the packed house and took the time to meet each guest before the show.
After the Show Dog Universal party was over, it was time to start making way over the Cumberland River to LP Field for the nightly shows. Events outside Lp Field, at the BMI Tailgate Party, got fans fired up before they headed into the stadium with acts like David Fanning.
David Fanning
Now that everyone was ready for a great night at LP Field, we took our spot in the media area. While we chatted with other media/photographers, the stadium continued to fill with fans; you could feel the energy building. There were about 60,000 concert goers that filled the stadium for the nightly shows, thus being our biggest show to date.
Alabama
The first act to grace the stage was a treat for all – Alabama. This is one group that many of us have been listening to for many years and many artists name them as a very big influence in their careers. The band consisted of the original three cousins: Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook. They played some of their hits such as, “If You’re Gonna Play in Texas”, “Dixieland Delight” and “Mountain Music.” Alabama was a real treat to have at CMA Fest and enjoyed by all.
Luke Bryan
Next up was Luke Bryan…….what more can we say, ladies! Luke is one artist that takes command of the stage and brings 110% to each and every performance. Luke entertained the massive crowd with hits such as, “That’s My Kind Of Night”, “Rain Is A Good Thing” and one of his biggest, “Country Girl (Shake it for me).” It is always a pleasure seeing Luke and his band perform.
Brantley Gilbert
The new country bad boy, Brantley Gilbert, was up next. Gilbert is no stranger to the music scene. He has co-written the huge Jason Aldean hits, “That’s My Kinda Party” and “Dirt Road Anthem.” This singer/songwriter has really made a name for himself on stage in the last few years. Brantley performed songs like “Country Must Be Country Wide”, “Bottoms Up” and he even brought out Justin Moore and Thomas Rhett for the latest single “Small Town Throwdown.”
Now that the crowd was fired up after the first three stellarDierks Bentley
acts, Dierks Bentley was up next. To kick it off, Bentley opened with his 2012 hit “5-1-5-0.” This was one artist that we were looking forward to seeing while at CMA Fest, having never seen him before. We were pleasantly surprised……..his live shows are fantastic! He followed with songs such as, “Am I The Only One”, “I Hold On” and his current smash hit “Drunk On A Plane.”
Rascal Flatts
Just as we thought the night couldn’t get any better, who came out, but Rascal Flatts. What better song to kick off their set than their 2006 cover of Tom Cochrane’s “Life Is A Highway.” This led right into their current single, “Payback” from their 2014 release “Rewind.” The next song the Flatt’s performed took the 60,000 people by surprise – an A cappela version of Pharrell Williams hit, “Happy.” Rascal Flatts are always amazing to see live!
Tim McGraw
The last act of the night needed no introduction, performing hits such as “Real Good Man” and ” I Like It, I Love It”, it could only be one artist – the one and only Tim McGraw. Throwing in others like “Truck Yeah” and “Live Like You Were Dying”, we’re sure residents all over Nashville heard the noise of the crowd at LP Field. But the moment of the night was during McGraw’s performance of his latest single “Meanwhile Back At Mama’s” when his wife, Faith Hill joined him onstage.
Our first day at CMA Fest was action packed and busy. There was so much going on in the city of Nashville during CMA Fest; I wish we were able to cover each and every event. Stay tuned soon for part two of the CMA Fest issues of Audio Still Magazine!
