CleveRock’s Chad Carlson is live in Nashville covering the 42 annual CMA Music Festival! Stay tuned for daily updates this week and into the weekend!
Sara EvansThe 2013 CMA Music Festival is comprised of four days of country music of all disciplines, from bluegrass to folk to southern rock, and everything in between. While the concerts at L.P. Field grab the national headlines, often the shows at the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage are the most entertaining of the week.
Sara Evans was given the honor of opening the concerts at Riverfront this year, kicking things off at 10:00am Thursday morning. As all the fans want from their favorite artists throughout the week, Sara played all of her greatest hits, including “Stronger,” “Suds In The Bucket,” and“Perfect.” While she has been out of the national spotlight for the past couple of years, Sara’s performance on Thursday morning proved that she still has quite the country music following.
Joe Nichols returned to the CMA Music Festival stage with a performance this morning on the popular stage along the Cumberland River. He has returned to country radio with his latest single, “Sunny and 75,” and his live version of the song was superb, as was the case with the rest of his set, including “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” “Gimme That Girl,” and “The Impossible.”
The Riverfront crowd was treated to other top notch, high energy performances throughout the day, including Craig Morgan and Dustin Lynch, who delivered sets filled with radio favorites intertwined with their own on-stage spontaneity and creativity.  Gloriana, Love and Theft, andMark Chestnutt put on impressive performances as well for the most part, but their inability to evoke enthusiasm from the audience significantly deterred from the overall effect of their show.
Phil Vassar closed down the show on Thursday with a set full of catchy, familiar, sing-along tunes that had the audience dancing on the hill.  “Carlene,” “Just Another Day In Paradise,” and“A Real Love” were standouts of the set, but unfortunately, a significant number of fans had left to get ahead of the impending traffic following the close of the day’s concerts.
The nine artists who played at the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage on Thursday set the bar high for the rest of the festival, from Sara Evans to Craig Morgan to Dustin Lynch. The CMA Music Festival is a celebration of music and the fans, treating them to their favorite songs and some future favorites.
