CMA Fest 2026 Recap: Favorite Moments, ABC Special & Planning for 2027

CMA Fest 2026 may be over, but the excitement hasn't worn off! We're still riding the CMA Fest high, and trust us, you'll be able to tell from the moment you hit play!

In this episode of the Country Music Rocks Podcast, we're sharing our complete CMA Fest 2026 recap, from our favorite performances and fan moments to the incredible atmosphere that makes CMA Fest one of the best country music festivals in the world. We discuss what stood out most during our time in Nashville, why the CMA continues to outdo itself year after year, and how the festival creates an unmatched experience for country music fans.

We also dive into the CMA Fest television special on ABC, sharing our thoughts on the performances, memorable moments, and how it brought us right back to the excitement of Music City. Whether you attended CMA Fest or watched from home, this episode is your chance to relive the memories with us. The special is available to stream on HULU now.

And if CMA Fest is on your bucket list, now is the time to start planning. CMA Fest 2027 returns to Nashville June 10 - 13. Start making your plans now, because this is an experience every country music fan should have at least once. Get your hotels and airfare booked as soon as you can, and then start counting down to the days to CMA Fest 2027.

Tune in to this new podcast episode as we celebrate the music, the memories, and the community that make CMA Fest unlike anything else.

 Be sure follow along as we'll have a new episode each week! Follow the Country Music Rocks Podcast on all streaming platforms:  Apple Podcasts,  Spotify, iHeart Radio, YouTube and more.

Also follow us on Facebook and Instagram, as well as our main Website so you can stay up to date with all the country music news!

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Turn it up. You're listening to the Country Music Rocks podcast with Danny and Julia. Your all access packed to all your favorite artists, untold stories, and the real behind the scenes of country music. Well, that month just flew by.

SPEAKER_00 0:17

I mean, did June even happen? It's crazy. We're in July, mid-July almost at this point.

SPEAKER_02 0:23

It is crazy. And I feel like we just stepped off the plane from the CMA Music Fest.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Oh my God. Yes, we totally did. Again, whirlwind weekend in Nashville, but such an exciting, incredible, tiring, but in the best way weekend. Yeah, those the days flew by, the nights flew by, everything flew by.

SPEAKER_02 0:43

It was the fastest.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

I will tell you the steps do not fly by.

SPEAKER_02 0:46

No, they did nothing.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

The steps, I think, kept getting longer and longer and more and more.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

But and every day we were there, we were trying to figure out quicker ways to get around town. And I think we took more steps. Yeah, it still didn't work. It was interesting.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

But it was so worth it.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

Yeah. Oh my gosh. The experience of a lifetime for me. My first ever, I know you've been before. That was truly something I will live for the rest of my life remembering because it was so amazing. My voice still cracks from it.

SPEAKER_00 1:11

I can tell, yeah. No, it's it the way CMA does it, they just make it so special. Yeah. And it's like I had gone before, but it's been years. Um to go back and see how much it's grown, it's it's again, it's wild. There's just I just love how much there's so much love for country music. Yes. Like there's tens of thousands of people there. Oh my gosh, literally just for country music. And that is just so almost magical. Like it's just it's just so special.

SPEAKER_02 1:38

It was. And it was interesting at the hotel that we were staying at. Every day we'd come down and we'd see people with their cowboy hats on, they're ready for the day, and everybody had smiles on their faces. They were super excited to see their favorite artist, or maybe just even hope to bump into somebody wherever it may be on that street corner, or maybe see somebody in John Rich's bar or Eric Chiefs or Eric Church's bar Chiefs. It was like one of the greatest experiences I've ever seen. And I cannot wait. I'm gonna say this now. I cannot wait to do this again.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Oh, absolutely. Like I've already checked these dates off on my calendar. So next year, June 10th to June 13th of 2027. Yes. You gotta start preparing ahead of time.

SPEAKER_02 2:16

You do.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

You really, really do. Lock those dates in, get the time off, get your hotels booked, get your flights booked. That way there, it's literally you're just waiting for the moment to get here. And you're not already, you're not worrying about, you know, getting everything dialed in. But you gotta do it in advance.

SPEAKER_02 2:31

You have to, because I feel like we were like last minute on a live.

SPEAKER_00 2:35

It's definitely last minute because we were just trying to get logistics figured out. And I unfortunately missed the first day, but and you know, I just didn't have as many things pre-lined up, but it it all ended up working out, and I got to catch some amazing things. And yeah, um, but yeah, next year it's definitely gonna be way more dialed in.

SPEAKER_02 2:53

Yeah, way more. And I felt like with me radio there were kind of like last minute, like we're gonna get you all set up, and it was great. Uh, I got a chance to broadcast from the Hard Rock Cafe and from the hotel room and get to see a lot of people. Uh, for me, just walking around the streets, like even if you're not there for CMA Music Fest, there's still so much to see and do there.

SPEAKER_01 3:12

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 3:13

But if you don't have tickets to get into the CMA fest, you can at least enjoy the experience, right?

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Oh, 100. I mean, when you think about it, you really only need tickets for the nighttime show at Nissan Stadium.

SPEAKER_02 3:24

That's true.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

So you have so much available at your fingertips. I mean, you can go, whether you're going into a bar, whether you're going into one of the stage. I mean, CMA has so many stages. I mean, they had, you know, the Dr. Pepper stage or the riverfront stage, they had the um, oh my gosh, uh, good what is that, good molecule stage? Yeah, there was that one.

SPEAKER_02 3:42

There was the one in fanfare.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Yeah, there was the Wrangler stage. Yeah, there was the one inside fanfare, which, you know, fanfare, again, that's well, you got to break from the heat, first of all. So that was really nice. Yes. Um, different free AC. Yeah. Um, and it's so cool in there, just the nostalgia of so many different eras of country music and just like the the booths that are just you know involved in the industry. And it was really cool. And it's the artists that come through. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:07

I know Randy Travis was there one morning, Carly Pierce was there. Yeah, it was very fun. I will say, going into that building, it was cool to see so many different sponsors. Like Boot Barn was there and Wrangler was there. Excuse me, my voice is still cracking hard. Um, but it was just one of those moments like walking around and going, I love country music. This is why I love country music. The fans, the people that are involved with it. Roper was there. Yeah. A friend of mine was actually um modeling some stuff from clothes for Roper while she was there. Very cool. It was very fun. And and just walking around and seeing the atmosphere is what made me feel good inside. And I was like, where are we going next? What's I was like a little kid in a candy shop. 100%.

SPEAKER_00 4:48

Yeah. It's like you don't even realize you're having early mornings, long nights, but I felt like you don't even get tired. You know what I mean? Like you're running on such an adrenaline rush the entire time.

SPEAKER_01 5:01

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 5:01

I mean, I'll be honest, the first day, night I was there, I mean, I got in, I took a red eye out, which I'll tell you, I do not like red eyes. Right. I cannot sleep on the plane. Like, not even in I think I psych myself out. Like, I'm like, okay, I'm gonna try to relax, get some sleep. Not even a wink. Like I never slept. So I was up literally from Thursday morning at 6 a.m. our time till, you know, I got there Friday morning. Right.

SPEAKER_02 5:27

When you knock on the hotel door.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

We did all of Friday. We went to the show Friday night, got back really late, like early Saturday morning. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:36

You were almost up for like 27 hours.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

Yeah. And I I don't know how I did it because like I'm the girl that's I'm like, you know, oh, it's only 8:30 tonight, is us too early to go to bed, you know? And I'm like, yeah, I rallied for sure. Oh, but I never felt tired. Like I just was like, I never hit the wall. You know, I was I was ready, like, okay, what's next? What's next? Let's keep going.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

Yeah, I I feel that same way because I think it's the adrenaline that kept us going.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

It's just going through your bloodstream at that point, and you just want to just keep it going.

SPEAKER_02 6:04

One point when we were downstairs having lunch, I kind of had a lull in a moment. I was like, oh, I can relax for just a second. But then we had cocktails, and next thing you know, like we gotta go. And we were off and running to the next big show.

SPEAKER_00 6:17

It's almost like you can't sit down and relax because if you do, I think you will hit that wall. I think that's it. Yeah. So I think you just had to keep going. And for sure.

SPEAKER_02 6:24

What was your favorite moment that looking back of the whole thing?

SPEAKER_00 6:28

You know, that's really hard because there were so many, so many incredible moments. But I will say, I think for me, the standout moment, um, and I know you had left early on Sunday, and I remember I was like, okay, I want to get up and I want to get down to the cowboy church with Brandon Lake.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

And, you know, it started at 9:30. So I'm like, that's plenty of time to, you know, I'm gonna get up, I'm gonna get ready, I wanna stop for coffee, you know, just casually take a walk down, you know, what is it, Fourth Avenue, crossover, get to Broadway. And then I was kind of like just, you know, laying in bed and just scrolling through social media, and I'm like, oh, some people are, you know, already excited about the show.

SPEAKER_02 7:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:06

So I'm like, okay, maybe I should start getting ready now, you know, a little early. I thought it was early.

SPEAKER_02 7:11

It wasn't.

SPEAKER_00 7:12

Oh my gosh, should we get down there? You know, after I stopped and get my coffee, because again, didn't realize what we were gonna be walking into. We almost couldn't even walk onto Broadway.

SPEAKER_02 7:20

Really? It was that bad.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

Like the riverfront was already shut down. Like they were already at capacity. I'm like, it doesn't and this was like around nine o'clock ish.

SPEAKER_01 7:30

Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

So that was a half hour in advance.

SPEAKER_01 7:33

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 7:34

So we were able to finally get in. I had talked to one of the security, I'm like, hey, we're media, and they're like, yep, just just go on in. The I can't even express the number one, the amount of people.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

Right.

SPEAKER_00 7:45

I mean, so they sent people over to another stage that because they were gonna live stream it. Oh, that reached capacity. They sent people over to another stage, once again, reached capacity.

SPEAKER_02 7:54

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 7:55

I looked over, so you know the walking bridge that you walk that we walked to the many pedestrians. Yeah, pedestrian bridge was lined with people standing on the bridge looking over just to, you know, because of course, you know, sound travels, just to hear it, catch a glimpse.

SPEAKER_02 8:11

Right.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

It was just so surreal. People on rooftop, rooftops like right around there. Yeah. I mean, they were full of people. It was absolutely it was so moving, first of all. Like I could literally almost cry right now. It was so moving. It was beyond incredible.

SPEAKER_02 8:26

Yeah, it was one of those church services you definitely don't want to miss.

SPEAKER_00 8:30

Like, and I it wasn't like a church service, it was more of like it was just a worship. Gathering gathering. It was all music. All love. It was just music, you know. Um, it wasn't like Brandon like stopped and preached or anything like that. I mean, he had, you know, Dan and Shea come out, he had Lainey Wilson come out, um, CeCe Wynans.

SPEAKER_02 8:49

Oh, that's awesome. Drew was there.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

Yeah, I yeah, it was just it was so just beautiful.

SPEAKER_02 8:55

I remember seeing the photos that you guys had taken and all the stuff you guys were doing when I was flying home on the airplane. And I was like, man, the one day not to fly home early to go get back, but I had to because I worked. But I was like, what a performance in a show. I wish they would have televised that during the CMA performance.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

Same. And I know we'll talk about that, but yeah, I I wish that that was part of it too because just to give people a glimpse of and it's just wild because again, we all had late nights.

SPEAKER_02 9:24

Right. And we weren't getting home till like 1:30 in the morning.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

Exactly. So I know many of those people, those thousands and thousands of people that were down there, I'm sure had a very late night. Yes. I'm sure they probably, you know, maybe partied a little harder than we did, because it's not even like we, you know, partied hard. It was just, you know, on the go and, you know, late nights and whatnot. But they were up and atom and uh to see Broadway, I mean, just filled. I mean, we were literally like trying to go through people just to get we walked to the exit of the riverfront stage just to see if we could get in. And they thankfully they let us in.

SPEAKER_02 9:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

But it was it was incredible. I hope that's an annual thing.

SPEAKER_02 10:02

I think so. I think it would be just because of the fact that there's we need that.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

Oh, absolutely to make us feel good and it was just happy inside. And I mean, you just you just just standing there in that presence, and I literally can still feel it and remember it like it was just happened.

SPEAKER_01 10:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Um it just it sticks with you. And I think Brandon Lake did a great job with it. The CMA did a great job with it. It just I again, I hope they do make it an annual thing.

SPEAKER_02 10:26

I like that they were on top of it, like there's too many people here. We're gonna live stream to the next stage. And then they just kept doing that. So I think they might have been prepared. And if they weren't, good on you guys for doing that, because that was awesome.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

I want to go back to the rooftops because, like you said, you like you don't even have to have the pass. It's nice to have the pass because we had the passes to get in to the riverfront stage area.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

For media, for media purposes, of course, yes.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

For it was awesome. And you know, you see the river behind the city, it's beautiful. The weather was like absolutely perfect this year.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

It really was because it usually rains at some point during the CMA fest.

SPEAKER_02 10:58

No rain this year.

SPEAKER_00 10:59

I yes, I know.

SPEAKER_02 11:01

I was so excited.

SPEAKER_00 11:02

I thought we were gonna get some on Sunday night, and I kind of prepared for it. Like I brought a jacket and everything over to the stadium because I'm like, I have a feeling, and and you kind of feel that like ominous feel in the air, but thankfully.

SPEAKER_02 11:13

Yeah, well, and especially there, because at any moment, you know, the the tornado can come through and you never know what's gonna happen, right?

SPEAKER_00 11:21

I mean, I didn't re like I was in a different area for that night, so which I didn't realize where I was gonna even be. Um, and I'm very grateful, but uh so I was undercover the whole time I was inside, but it was great.

SPEAKER_02 11:32

But I I just look back and I I think one of my favorite moments, uh again, like you said, it's really hard.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

It is it's so hard because there's so many incredible moments.

SPEAKER_02 11:42

But for me, like walking into Nissan Stadium as a as a sports fan, for the first time, I was like, this is cool. I'm in the home of the Titans. And there's been some great players over the years, but when you walk out and you see that stage, how big it was, I was like, holy cow! Yeah, that is like one of the biggest stages I have ever seen. And I have seen stages like Cody Johnson stage with Kenny Chesney at Lumen Field. I've been in Fort Payne, Alabama for the Alabama June jam. Right. And that was a double stage series, still was not as big as that stage was at that Nissan Stadium. It was huge. And then to see the new Nissan Stadium going up.

SPEAKER_00 12:20

I know. Can you believe it's gonna be there next year? I well, and that was the thing all goes according to plan.

SPEAKER_02 12:25

Right. And and the thing that shocked me was that we got a chance to experience the very last at the at the original Nissan Stadium.

SPEAKER_00 12:33

I don't think, and I know we had this conversation while we were there, but I don't think it really hit us until it was actually Cody Johnson. Yeah. It was on stage that Friday night, and he had said that, you know, the last, and we both I remember we both looked at each other and we're like, oh my gosh, this is the last CNA fest at this Nissan Stadium.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

And there's probably people that have been going for so long. So when it originally was fanfare at the at the fairgrounds, those people were like, oh great, now they're gonna take it over to Nissan Stadium. We had that same moment.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

It was called LP Field.

SPEAKER_02 13:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

Yeah. So I think it was the same location, maybe just different name, but you know, it's just kind of it's grown over the years. And you know, name changes and and whatnot. But yeah, next year it's gonna be completely different, which is wild.

SPEAKER_02 13:15

It's gonna be insane. And I I again, like it's hard to just narrow down one performance, but I loved seeing like Tim McGraw. The dude is so ripped.

SPEAKER_00 13:23

Um, can we get his workout plan, please?

SPEAKER_02 13:25

Holy cow.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

Goodness.

SPEAKER_02 13:27

I felt chubby next to him.

SPEAKER_00 13:29

Like, it was wow.

SPEAKER_02 13:32

Yeah, he and then, and then uh like over the 4th of July, he performed on the a different stage across the street, and he looked like he'd been working out even more. I'm like, what is happening right now?

SPEAKER_00 13:41

So, like, does he do a quick workout before he takes the stage? He has to be. Yeah, I don't know. It's gonna see.

SPEAKER_02 13:45

I think that there's uh a contest going on in Nashville, and I said this to your husband on like who could be the the guy with the biggest biceps. Because I went to that pool party with Dustin Lynch.

SPEAKER_00 13:55

Oh, that's right, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:56

Which was crazy. And Dustin is, you know, sun's out, guns out. That's the way it was this that weekend. And then Russell Dickerson. I know he's getting yoked up, and then Tim McGron, I'm like, holy cow, all these guys are like on the road, they're working out, they got killer workout plans.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

Good for them. Yeah. Making good use of their time on their road. Absolutely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

I think one of the coolest things was though that when we first got our tickets, because we didn't have tickets to the Nissan Stadium shows at night.

SPEAKER_00 14:19

Right. So we got lucky every night.

SPEAKER_02 14:21

Every night a friend of ours said, Hey, I got tickets for you guys. We're like, cool, thank you so much. We appreciate it. I love the fact that we had the probably worst seats in the house, but the best view of everything.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

Which was so cool because you know, you're so right. Because a lot of times, you know, we're spoiled.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

Right.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

You know, and we so we're normally like down in it. But it was really cool this time to sit back and see everything. And like we got to see, like, you know, how many people were there because normally you can't really tell and judge the feeling of that. Um but yeah, so that was really cool. We got to see like all the video stuff and all the lights, and yes, it was actually there's something to be said about you know, seats in the 200 level. There's nothing wrong with them.

SPEAKER_02 15:04

No, there was nothing wrong with those, that's for sure. And I I love the fact that like watching Laney Wilson on that screen, again, a massive screen. It felt like we were right there.

SPEAKER_00 15:12

I did too. I didn't even, I actually forgot where we were at, to be completely honest with you. And it was kind of nice not getting bumped into and we had our own row.

SPEAKER_02 15:21

It was nice.

SPEAKER_00 15:21

We totally did. Nothing was spilled on me. Like, I actually kind of enjoyed it. That actually kind of spoiled me, I'm not gonna lie.

SPEAKER_02 15:27

Yeah, and I and it was funny because when this special came on, I was telling my wife, Kimmy, I'm like, this is where we sat. We were right there in those seats. And she's like, Really? I'm like, Yeah, I go, but the best thing was we had the best view of the giant monitors and the screens. It was perfect.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

No, I loved it. We were able to actually, you know, talk about like certain parts of the show, like just very easily. It was cool. It was cool.

SPEAKER_02 15:47

I felt bad for your husband, John, who's our photographer and our videographer for the podcast and everything. The poor guy, all night, his neck was probably killing him. Oh, I know because he was the stage was so high, it was like nine feet high, and he was looking up the entire time.

SPEAKER_00 16:01

He was down in it.

SPEAKER_02 16:02

Yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Yeah, he actually had to watch the TV special to see what was going on. It was funny because I had it on and he walked in, he's like, Oh, where was this at? And I'm like, Well, you should know. And he's like, I'm just seeing out of a small lens, and he wasn't seeing like the real big picture of it. So it's kind of funny.

SPEAKER_02 16:18

I'm looking through a quarter-inch window. Yeah. Uh, and it was funny because when the special came on, I kept looking for him the time.

SPEAKER_00 16:24

I was like, okay, the camera guys do a good job.

SPEAKER_02 16:26

I'm gonna see that lens wherever he's at. They hid them very well. They did, they did them. That's for sure. Uh fanfare to me was really cool because I remember this girl. Um, every year, they always go and they the stars take their clothes and they donate them and they sell those for charity and different charities. Tucker Wetmore was selling his for St. Jude. Ella Langley was selling it for like an animal rescue theme. And there was like two dresses left from Ella Langley's. Like the rack must have been full.

SPEAKER_00 16:53

Yeah, I'm sure her stuff went like Oh, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_02 16:56

Yeah. But one lady was so excited there was one dress left, even on this rack, that she's like, I am not gonna leave without that. I'm taking it home.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

Oh, cool.

SPEAKER_02 17:04

And I thought it was so funny. I'm like, here we are buying other people's clothes like we would at Goodwill. Right. But knowing that the money's going to a charity.

SPEAKER_00 17:12

You're potentially buying something of your favorite artists that they wore on stage. You know, I mean, we saw Jelly Rolls clothes there, Dirk Spentley's.

SPEAKER_02 17:20

Um Dirk had that famous like button-down shirt with the the plaid. I saw that, I was like, dang it. That's a that's a total Dirk shirt.

SPEAKER_00 17:27

Yeah, they had Tyler Hubbard stuff. Yeah. Um, of course, you said Carly Pierce. Uh so I mean, like you name it, that artist probably had something there. I mean, there were shoes, boots, I mean, accessories, yeah, yeah, it's like jewelry, yeah, everything was there. Loranda Lambert, she had a bunch of stuff there. So very cool.

SPEAKER_02 17:43

It was fun to walk around, like you said, free AC to cool off for a little bit because it did get pretty warm. It got a little muggy for a while. But just walking through that building, as big as it is, it's the Music City Center. And it was nice to be able to see so many people walk through there in advantage and take take pictures of with the artists because there were artists there.

SPEAKER_00 18:04

That's where they do all the meet and greet, well, I don't say all, but they do a lot of them of meet and greet sessions there. So it's really cool. And I I love that the artists of all calibers of in their career go and and give fans their time. Yeah. I love that.

SPEAKER_02 18:18

I will say the only bad experience that I had there was my own mistake because I didn't pay attention. I had rented a scooter because my the hotel we were at was like seven blocks away. Yeah, and and the first day I got there, I was like, oh, this will be a piece of cake. I'll take my scooter, I'll ride down to the Hard Rock Cafe. So I'm thinking this will be a five-minute trip, no big deal. And I had, I was a little bit late because I, well, I was late for a couple of reasons, because I was on West Coast time and I needed to be on Nashville time. Right. So I felt like I was a little late and I was actually two hours early. Two hours early. And so I took this scooter, I hauled butt down to the Hard Rock, and then I got there and the dang thing wouldn't shut off. And I was like, I couldn't park it. And I was like, what is going on? So I asked a police officer, I'm like, can I I can't turn it off? Do you know what to do? And the guy's like, you can't even park it here. I'm like, wait, what? Why? And he's like, because this whole section is closed off. I literally had to take it up another nine blocks.

SPEAKER_00 19:13

Oh my gosh.

unknown 19:15

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 19:16

To park it. And then I ran back nine blocks. Have you ever tried running nine blocks in hey dudes? They don't stay on your feet. And when I'm running in the heat in Nashville, like I was sweating. I was like, oh my gosh. So by the time I got to the hard rock, I was like panicked. I'm like, okay, I don't want to mess up the house. Yeah, I was ready to. Oh, yeah. But the good news was is I had a chance to kind of calm down, relax a little bit before I did my interview. Yeah. And it that was the only bad experience. Everything else, though, was simply amazing. And like I said, I will do this time and time again. Yeah. Because the atmosphere, friends that ask all the time, what's your favorite thing to do in Nashville? Now there's so much. Yeah. There's not just the one thing, it's everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

Yeah. It just, I mean, I think that's why we love the city so much.

SPEAKER_02 20:02

The food was incredible. Like we we didn't even really get to experience like specialty foods.

SPEAKER_01 20:07

No.

SPEAKER_02 20:08

But like everything there, there was barbecue there. Excuse me, again, my throat is so messed up from talking so much for the last couple last month. But it's been one of those trips that my wife was like, Did you like it? And I'm like, Yeah, next year, you're not saying no. You're gonna go with it. She has to absolutely performance uh was the Keith Urban performance.

SPEAKER_00 20:30

That was I was gonna say that was really cool.

SPEAKER_02 20:31

Yeah, I'm just I'm I love the new album, and I'm a massive fan of Keith Urban's anyways. We're friends, we've been friends for years from the very get-go when he was in Tewallaton at Fred Myers.

SPEAKER_00 20:41

There you go. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:42

So we have a history together. But watching Michael McDonald walk on that stage, it was one of those moments.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

I love the surprises. Yes, I do too.

SPEAKER_02 20:50

I was a little disappointed though, because we got told, we got tricked.

SPEAKER_00 20:53

We did. Well, there was like so many rumors.

SPEAKER_02 20:56

You know, there were rumors.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

Taylor could she could show up, you know. Um Morgan Wallen, that was another one on Sunday. People were thinking, oh, is he gonna show up? Right, right. But yeah.

SPEAKER_02 21:07

Well, the crazy thing was is that Taylor was in town.

SPEAKER_00 21:10

She was exactly, she was in town. Because it could have happened.

SPEAKER_02 21:13

It could have happened because for those that didn't know, uh, us in radio, a bunch of people got invited to fly to Nashville to see a special screen of Toy Story before it hit the theaters on Friday. Right. So this happened on Thursday. Every radio personality had to sign a DNA report. NDA. Yeah, an NDA, uh saying they will not talk about it, they will not post about it. They even took their phones away so nobody could take it.

SPEAKER_00 21:36

Oh, yeah, no, it's a big deal. I think anything with Taylor is a big deal.

SPEAKER_02 21:39

And it was at a private residence where she had all of her awards the Grammys, the ACMs, the CMT awards. So everybody got a chance to hold it. So I knew that she was in town. Right. But I was like, maybe it's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

I was thinking we didn't know. So it was like, well, can't leave.

SPEAKER_02 21:54

No, no, and it was one of those moments like we were trying to get out to beat the crowd.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Exactly. Should we? But then we're like, can't we? Miss this moment. So but then you know, I'm glad we stayed. It was yeah, it was cool.

SPEAKER_02 22:05

It it ended up being Tim McGraw and Lainey Wilson performing together.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

You know, that was an awesome, awesome with them.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

Talk about the TV show, the production of it all.

SPEAKER_00 22:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

I can't believe how fast they turned that around. And it was really interesting.

SPEAKER_00 22:19

I know, because I mean, literally, what was that, two weeks later? Yeah. Because it used to be, you know, CMA Fest was in June. Right. And then they would have the TV special, I believe, like in August.

SPEAKER_02 22:28

Right.

SPEAKER_00 22:28

I was shocked when I saw the dates, and it was gonna be literally like two weeks later. I'm like, I mean, they just they know what they're doing.

SPEAKER_02 22:34

Yeah, now they know for sure. Like they've got it down to a science.

SPEAKER_00 22:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:37

I loved all the behind the scenes that we didn't get to see.

SPEAKER_01 22:39

I know, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:40

Which was cool. I love when Laura and Riley were driving in that golf cart together. Yep. And then I saw Russell and he was trying to teach her how to dance. Yeah. That was really funny. I wish we could have seen that because it looked like they drove past an area where we were walking in.

SPEAKER_00 22:53

Oh, probably.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

And for and I was like, man, those people that just saw a golf cart drive by didn't realize who that was. And Luke Bryan, same way, right?

SPEAKER_01 23:02

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 23:03

It was one of those moments I was like, man, that would have been cool. Like to walk in front and stop. And there's like, oh, sorry, guys. And then you realize who it is.

SPEAKER_01 23:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:10

Um, the other thing, like the lighting was incredible. And from our vantage point, again, we were in the 200 level, the very back. So we saw the drones, we saw the cameras flying behind the scenes everywhere. Yeah. And to see the camera shots they got, I was like, wow, man, that is.

SPEAKER_00 23:28

The TV special was really cool. I think they I really feel like they touched on everything, you know, obviously as much as they could, but they took touched on pretty much every artist. Yeah. You know, um something special for everybody. Yeah, yeah. They it was just a really great, it was a great piece that they did.

SPEAKER_02 23:44

I love the girl from Tampa that was like seven or eight years old, and she was a fiddle champion, the bluegrass champion.

SPEAKER_00 23:51

Yes, that played with Carly Pierce. Yes, like and it was cool to hear her story on the TV special because of course we just saw her come out on stage and play.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

Right. We didn't hear that. So getting to hear that and tying that all together, I was like, that was a cool moment for that girl. That was awesome.

SPEAKER_00 24:04

And then um, you know, Fetty Wap with Russell Dickerson, that was a great surprise.

SPEAKER_02 24:08

I was gone. I was already so I I knew it happened because I'd seen Russell in the videos.

SPEAKER_00 24:13

It was really cool um when he came like the crowd. I was again, I wasn't in our seats for that show. I was actually um I was actually in a suite for the last night. Oh, nice, which was really cool. But it was cool to see it on TV because when you were in a s the suite we were in, we couldn't really hear it as well. So it was nice to be able to actually see it and kind of relive that whole night, that whole Sunday night. Yeah. I relived when I got to watch it. That's but like everybody, I mean, like even like looking down on the crowd, people were not expecting that. No, they were not expecting that. And I guess, you know, Fetty was shopping in Nashville during the day and it was his birthday.

SPEAKER_02 24:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:49

Um, so it was really kind of cool.

SPEAKER_02 24:51

And again, you never know who you're gonna bump into, right? Like it could be anybody anywhere.

SPEAKER_00 24:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:56

A couple years ago, I had some friends that went and they were like done for the night. They'd gone to the Nissan Stadium shows and they went to Taco Bell. And they're like, we're just gonna sit down because we our feet hurt. We're walking in our boots all day long. And who comes walking in? Russell Dickerson.

SPEAKER_01 25:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:12

He came in, he got like a 10 box, a 10 pack of tacos. He sat down with them and said hi.

SPEAKER_00 25:17

How cool! He's such a great guy.

SPEAKER_02 25:19

Like, yeah, one of those moments, like that is so cool because you just don't know who it's like. So random.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

Yeah, you never know who you're gonna. I mean, that's you're in their town.

SPEAKER_02 25:26

Yeah. I remember uh on my scooter ride, coming back, walking down the street. I was like my last block, I saw a Mercedes G-Wagon driving by, and it was dark, it was gray, and I was like, okay, it's gotta be somebody because not many people can drive those cars. It was a huge cowboy hat, and when he got right to the side of me, I realized that was Riley Green. That's cool. I just saw Riley Green in his G-Wagon.

SPEAKER_00 25:47

Yeah, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 25:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:49

Um I love that um Florida George Line. Oh my gosh, reunion. I think that was, you know, of course, one of the high definite highlights, obviously, you know, for the fans and just for them as a duo, but I think just their friendship. You could just tell, you know, even when we saw Tyler like the next day and he was talking about it, um, how much it meant.

SPEAKER_01 26:12

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 26:12

You know, it was it's they got their friendship back, I think first and foremost, which I think is the most important part. Of course. Um, but also at for us in country music, you know, just them back together, I think is really special.

SPEAKER_02 26:24

The energy that night, because we weren't at that show, right? But um the energy that night, you could just sense there was something big happening in the air. Yeah. And then when it broke, like all social media went crazy. Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_00 26:37

Rightfully so. Right.

SPEAKER_02 26:38

And then to see the the TV spir series come together and how they walked in together like a boxing ring. Yeah, that was awesome.

SPEAKER_00 26:46

I just I yeah, I thought it was all very well put together. Yes. Um, again, CMA, they just they just knocked out of the park every single time. They just made it so special, not only for the fans, but I think they even made it special for both Brian and Tyler. Oh, sure. That was amazing. Giving them that moment there is it was just huge on so many levels.

SPEAKER_02 27:05

I got a little nervous for the both of them standing on that platform. There was no ropes around it.

SPEAKER_00 27:09

Well, I was watching that because you know, again, we weren't there, but yeah, I was like, are they tied? They're not even tied off. I mean, granted, I'm sure there was, you know, they practiced, you know, they they're but still I I don't know if I could do that. Like, you know, because I don't know while it's going up and I couldn't do that. There's no way.

SPEAKER_02 27:26

No. Uh the I'm gonna talk about the rooftop bars because, like you had said on that Sunday morning for that service, that was incredible. You don't need that riverfront stadium ticket. You could actually visit on top of the bars, one of the category 10, which is Luke Combs Bar. I was inside there for the Billboard special that they put together with Stella Lefty. Dan and Shea came up. Priscilla Block was there, Drew Baldridge was there. I mean, they had so many people there. Yeah. But getting to that rooftop is a great advantage spot. So for next year, like you said, if you're gonna go to the show, plan for it because that's definitely one of the rooftop bars you can jump on early, enjoy the day, enjoy some cocktails with friends. And I will tell you, I got a chance to go into their sports bar area that I got invited to. That was pretty impressive.

SPEAKER_00 28:14

Was it really?

SPEAKER_02 28:15

Wow. It was really cool. And it was it was nice, it was open, couches everywhere. You got a chance to lounge around. Yeah, it was very cool. It was it reminded me of the Fort Nash party that we got invited to.

SPEAKER_00 28:25

Yeah, that was really cool. Very laid back. It was kind of it was nice to uh go to something like that. Um, and Priscilla Bloch was there with us. Um, she was a guest that night. Yeah. Just to kind of just relax a little bit, not too much because you know you don't want to get to um yeah, so that was that was a really cool little industry thing that they put together. It was cool.

SPEAKER_02 28:44

Those are the type of parties that like they just pop up, you don't know where it's gonna be.

SPEAKER_00 28:47

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 28:48

Like the one you did with Hardy.

SPEAKER_00 28:49

Yeah. That that well, definitely everybody got the memo on that one because it was packed. Oh, wait. Yeah, it was, I mean, packed.

SPEAKER_01 28:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:56

Um, but it was really, really cool. I mean, there there were fans that were there, they were lined up early, because I knew, you know, I think he was going on around two or three. Okay. Um, but yeah, they were they were ready for it. And it was really cool because he announced his um MacArthur lifestyle brand. Right. Um, he started with a couple hats, so he had some hats there for sale. And, you know, he's just really um passionate about, you know, the farmland and just not selling everything off and building and you know, he's just his his passion, you could definitely tell, you could hear it in his voice. Um, and I think that's where this whole MacArthur thing is going to go.

SPEAKER_02 29:34

Right.

SPEAKER_00 29:34

Um, I think there's more, there's gonna be a lot more to it.

SPEAKER_02 29:36

I'm sure. Um I think we haven't seen the tour dates yet. We haven't seen what's really gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00 29:41

Yeah, but you know, he he played it there acoustically. He played he played, gosh, I think he was only gonna do like three songs, and I think he ended up playing like five songs. Wow, and I gotta say, if people are don't sleep on Hardy. You know what I mean? Like he his voice is incredible. It's wrong. It's just he's so passionate when he sings, and I I think people don't realize, I mean, I think they know him as a songwriter, maybe.

SPEAKER_02 30:08

Right.

SPEAKER_00 30:08

But or do they?

SPEAKER_02 30:09

I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 30:10

I don't even know. Yeah, I think that he doesn't get the recognition he should get. Yeah, he is such an incredible number one songwriter, but his all his performances that I saw that weekend, I was blown away.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:21

And and it made me remember because he was in town by us last year. Yeah, and I'll be honest, that was my favorite show last year. Okay. Because I and I wasn't anticipating that. I was like, yeah, I'll go, I'll stay for a few songs or whatever. I was like, I'm not leaving, I'm I'm having fun. He just he puts on a great show. He does. He knocked it out of the park at Nissan Stadium at night, that night. It was unbelievable. I yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:45

I I if you look up the songs that he's written for people, like he just scored like his seventh number one with Ella. With Ella, and then you realize how many songs I think he is one of the most talented songwriters.

SPEAKER_00 30:56

So talented.

SPEAKER_02 30:57

It it's incredible. And it's funny too because I was thinking about this. Uh, it's been about eight years, maybe nine years ago, that we had him at along the waterfront for the Portland Rose Festival. He performed for us for one of our shows. Yeah. And I thought to myself, oh my God, it's the same guy. I forgot like how talented he was then. And then you realize, oh, okay, now I've seen the progress of what he is doing. It's amazing.

SPEAKER_00 31:20

He played Bottomland at Nissan Stadium. He played it that day at um Morgan Wallins Bar when he did his pri pri well, it wasn't really a private show. Um, it was just if you got there in time, you were able to get in there for the MacArthur lifestyle line. But he played Bottomland at Nissan Stadium. He literally sat on a speaker and just elted that song out, and it was just like, whoa.

SPEAKER_01 31:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:43

And it's like, again, if people didn't know who Hardy was at that point, they know now.

SPEAKER_02 31:47

They know now.

SPEAKER_00 31:48

And I feel like everybody needs to know. He's in a different caliber, like, and he needs to be sure recognized.

SPEAKER_02 31:53

He's jumped up a whole nother level. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:55

I mean, he just he again, it was incredible.

SPEAKER_02 31:58

Yeah. Uh the other thing, too, that I think about is just again, walking around so much merchandise, like the sales in that town that weekend. Oh yeah. Like this is crazy. We got free hats, but I went there with two baseball caps and I came home with 11.

SPEAKER_00 32:14

I know that was kind of like us. My husband's like, Oh, I'm gonna bring a hat. I'm like, don't bring a hat. I'm sure you're gonna you're gonna wind up with a hat.

SPEAKER_02 32:20

Right.

SPEAKER_00 32:20

I don't know how many hats we wound up with, but it was just like, and I keep telling them, no more hats, no more hats.

SPEAKER_02 32:26

I know it's a bad habit.

SPEAKER_00 32:28

Now we still have hats.

SPEAKER_02 32:29

I know. It's a terrible habit that I have.

unknown 32:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:31

Um, but yeah, the sales, like the tourism that brings into the outskirts of Nashville. Because you know, if people aren't able to stay right downtown, they're still bringing so many, you know, so much revenue into you know the state of Tennessee in just different random areas. I think it's incredible.

SPEAKER_02 32:48

Up by the Opry Land Hotel, if you've never had the chance to get out there, it's first of all, it's a it's a definite stop. You should check it out. 100%. It's amazing. That hotel is beautiful. It is. There's a river boat that runs through the middle of it. I thought it was cool to see the General Jackson boat running once again.

SPEAKER_00 33:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:03

I finally got a chance. I was on that boat years ago.

SPEAKER_00 33:06

Because we saw that together. Yeah, I was like, have you been on that? Because there used to be a party on there every year.

SPEAKER_02 33:10

Yeah, Sony Records would every year rent that boat out in a seminar that we would go to called Country Radio Seminar. You've heard us talk about it before. And each year they'd always bring like a special guest. And one of the last years we were on there, Cheap Trick was one of them, Z Z Top was another. It was amazing. Yeah. But to see that, I haven't been on that boat forever. So to see it coming down the river, I was like, that is so cool, man. It brought back so many memories for me. Yeah. And then again, like you said, standing on that pedestrian bridge, listening to that music. When I walked over on the first day to go get some of my credentials, I was listening to Russell Dickerson early, and the lines were nuts for him for people to get in to see him already.

SPEAKER_00 33:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:49

But I had walked across that bridge three or four times, and what a beautiful shot of the city.

SPEAKER_00 33:53

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:53

It's I mean, it's so well performed. The CMAs have done such a fantastic job with that whole thing. Yeah. It's really special. Really, really special.

SPEAKER_00 34:01

It really is. Yeah. I think that again, you know, next year is June 10th to June 13th. I again, I already have those dates marked off. I I I want to go again. Um, definitely be way more prepared. Yes. Um, not gonna book my flight like the night before.

SPEAKER_02 34:15

No, that was a bad idea.

SPEAKER_00 34:16

I know. But um, yeah, it's it's just such a truly incredible weekend of music. I just love that everybody's there. Like, and everybody's so friendly. Like I feel like everybody's just on this high of country, you know?

SPEAKER_02 34:30

It's I mean, I've always said this, it's the greatest format. Oh, just because I and don't get me wrong, I love all forms of music. I just don't, not classical so much, but all forms of classic rock and yacht rock and hip hop and top 40. Yeah, I love all that. But I feel like country is the format that everybody can get behind because for one, the artist end up being just as grateful.

SPEAKER_01 34:53

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:54

Like Thomas Rhett, yeah, just got his star on the Walk of Fame across the street from the Grand Old Opera. Yeah. I mean, from the Country Music Hall of Fame. And the thanks that he gave to the fans. Yeah, he touched them, he took videos with them and selfies, those that's what that's what makes this format so great.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

It is, it's so special. And, you know, even talking about like the other genres, I think it's also so embracing. I mean, like they had, you know, um uh I'm blanking out, is it James Marston from Big Time Rush? He's now starting to get into he wants to really feel like, you know what, I I want to do country.

SPEAKER_02 35:28

I got a picture with him at the pool party.

SPEAKER_00 35:29

Yeah, you know, he's ready to step into this genre. Um, and everybody's so welcoming. Shine Down. Yeah, Shine Down. Um what is Chase Matthew just came out with a single with him, uh Waka Flocka Flame or whatever. Oh, I don't know. Yeah, he so he's an artist. I'm probably totally butchering his name, but um, anyways, I know it's Waka Flocka something. Okay, uh, but yeah, he's he had a whole set down at the um riverfront, and I think it reached capacity. Really? Yeah, I mean he was out in the crowd. Yeah, I didn't know. High five and everybody were there for it. So again, I think this genre just embraces just all walks of life.

SPEAKER_02 36:06

Yeah, and I love that. I will, I will advise everybody if you pack, pack what you need lightly for the day. And you have to watch the weather because I realized I overpacked way too much. Like I brought three pairs of shoes. I was, I brought a pair of cowboy boots. Yeah, I only wore those for one night. Thank God. Because my feet were killing.

SPEAKER_00 36:25

I almost say, like, yeah, you, you know, you want to look the part, you want to wear the boots, you want it, but it's like it's hard. You are on your feet a lot. A lot. So it's kind of like yes, look the part, but also dress accordingly because you're gonna put some steps in, you're gonna put some miles in because those Ubers can only get you so far. Yep. And then it's up to your two legs.

SPEAKER_02 36:42

Let's talk about that for a hot second.

SPEAKER_00 36:44

Oh my goodness. Yeah. Definitely try to, you know what? I'm just gonna save everybody, just walk back from the stadium. Don't even try to get an Uber. Nope. Because they are gonna send you to East Nashville to go get one, along with 5,000 other people that you're gonna be waiting in line, and then you're just gonna turn around and walk all the way back, anyways.

SPEAKER_02 37:05

Let's just break it down for a hot second. We were leaving Nissan Stadium and we said, which way to the Ubers? And the police officer said, just follow the crowd, go that way. So we did. We ended up walking three blocks one way. There was no crowd. We were getting a little bit nervous.

SPEAKER_00 37:18

Yeah, it was weird because I felt like we were in this industrial you know, there's railroad tracks and these big metal buildings, and I'm like, okay, this is a bad horror movie. Exactly. I'm waiting for the person with the chainsaw to come running out, and I'm like, okay. And there was no crowd. There was no crowd. It was weird.

SPEAKER_02 37:32

And then we went to the next block where we were supposed to go. And we started seeing it. And we started seeing a bunch of people. We get to the Uber pickup spot, and there was about 3,000 people there.

SPEAKER_00 37:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:43

We were like, this is not gonna work. In the meantime, we had already taken about 3,000 steps to get over there.

SPEAKER_00 37:49

Well, and I had already ordered the Uber, so it's like, oh yeah, it'll be here in a few minutes. And I'm like, we're gonna miss our Uber. And I get there, and it's you know, of course, it's like, oh, it's you know, another five minutes, another five, and it's like, this Uber's not gonna get here. There's no way. There's I mean, there's just lines of cars. Lines, and then on the other side of the road, there's lines of taxis.

SPEAKER_02 38:06

Which were ripping people off big time.

SPEAKER_00 38:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:09

We I'll tell this funny story. Uh uh, we saw this one couple jump in a taxi. He's like, I'll take you to your hotel. We're like, great.

SPEAKER_00 38:14

And I'm like, we're getting in the next taxi.

SPEAKER_02 38:16

Yeah, we're jumping because they were they were flying.

SPEAKER_00 38:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 38:18

The couple immediately turns around and jumps out of the taxi. I'm like, well, that was weird. What happened there? Then another couple jumps in, they were in there for like two minutes and then they jumped out. Yeah. We realized that the taxis were charging like $500 for people to get to your hotel, which was insane. And I wouldn't even trust them then because they would drive you to like the Opriland Hotel, which is like 12 miles away.

SPEAKER_00 38:40

Exactly. Yeah. So again, just be prepared to walk. Yes. For sure.

SPEAKER_02 38:45

How many steps did you think you got in the entire time?

SPEAKER_00 38:47

I wish I wore my Apple Watch and I didn't. I had worn a different watch that weekend. I I don't know. I mean, we had to have gotten in minimum. Did you wear yours?

SPEAKER_02 38:57

I I have it on my phone.

SPEAKER_00 38:58

Okay. We had to walk at least a minimum of 15,000 steps a day.

SPEAKER_02 39:02

Double.

SPEAKER_00 39:03

Are you serious?

SPEAKER_02 39:04

We did 38,000 steps for four days.

SPEAKER_00 39:07

Wow. That is wild.

SPEAKER_02 39:09

I know. I don't even know whether that breaks down in miles, but I know it was miles.

SPEAKER_00 39:13

That's all okay. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 39:15

I broke it down per day and I added it up, and I was like, holy cow, we got a lot of steps in. So yeah, there's a lot of walking in.

SPEAKER_00 39:22

Yeah, definitely a lot of walking. That is, and we took some Ubers.

SPEAKER_02 39:24

We did here and there. Just to kind of save time.

SPEAKER_00 39:28

And yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:29

It was, it was magical though. I like I said, I will never complain about it. It was fantastic. It was a trip of a lifetime. Um, it's about from what we're hearing from John, it's about 17 to 20 miles that we walked for the four days.

SPEAKER_00 39:43

That's crazy. Yeah. But yeah, hey, it was well worth it.

SPEAKER_02 39:46

Oh my God, totally. Yeah. I can't wait to do it again next year.

SPEAKER_00 39:49

Absolutely. I again, huge shout out to the CMA Fest. They just do an incredible job. I mean, just getting all these artists together.

SPEAKER_02 39:57

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 39:58

Yeah. And just, you know, the love of country music is, I mean, it is proud. It is loud. And I, you know, I'm so proud to be just having the tiniest part of this genre.

SPEAKER_02 40:07

It was so cool. And there's tons of gear. Like I wore this shit. Yeah. Um, there's trucks everywhere to sell and buy stuff. So again, pack lightly.

SPEAKER_01 40:16

Yep. You're gonna come home with stuff.

SPEAKER_02 40:17

Yeah, you're guaranteed to come home. I, in fact, I one cowboy hat that I was looking at, I really, really wanted it. It looked like a Zach Brown hat.

SPEAKER_01 40:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 40:24

And I it was in uh the Omni Hotel. There's a little store in there, and I thought, that's a cool hat. Maybe I'll check that out.

SPEAKER_00 40:29

Is it one of those customers?

SPEAKER_02 40:30

It wasn't custom.

SPEAKER_00 40:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 40:32

But it but it could have easily been. Yeah. I picked it up and I put it on. I'm like, this looks really good. And then I looked at the price tag. I said, Yeah, my wife would divorce me if I bought that hat. So that didn't come home with me.

SPEAKER_00 40:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:42

But be prepared because you're gonna spend some money. Yep, but it's well worth it.

SPEAKER_00 40:46

Start saving now. Again, book book your stuff now. Book your flights, book your hotel. Um, again, the dates for next year, June 10th through June 13th of 2027. Yep. It will be incredible every year. I don't know how they get bigger and better and just do things to make it even more special every year, but somehow, someway they do it.

SPEAKER_02 41:06

Yeah, they did a fantastic job into the CMAs. Again, thank you for all the access that we got to go expose all the fun. That was one of the best trips of my life ever in radio all the years, 30 years. That was just one of those most memorable moments ever.

SPEAKER_00 41:19

That's awesome. I mean, 30 years in radio, and that was your first time there. I think that's really incredible. Yeah, it's cool that you got to do it. Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_02 41:24

That was another thing to check off the bucket list. So it was great. That and the Grand Ole Opry in one year, man, it was yeah, you're right.

SPEAKER_00 41:30

That's that's pretty incredible. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 41:32

Yeah. So if uh again, listen, if you have any questions about CMA Fest, Julia, myself, can answer all the questions. Email us.

SPEAKER_00 41:39

Yeah, send us an email at CMR at country musicrocks.net. And yeah, we will uh until next time.

SPEAKER_02 41:45

Yeah. In the meantime, thanks for checking out the podcast. Share it with your friends, your family. Find us on all the platforms, and thanks for checking it out.