The 2008 CMA Music Festival

by rpshen | June 7, 2008 at 10:35 am | 1449 views | 23 comments

It's that time of the year again. The 2008 CMA Music Festival officially began Thursday June 5 in downtown Nashville and it will continue through this Sunday June 8.

With temperatures hovering around 90, fans were comforted by blue skies, an occasional wind from the Cumberland River and dozens of artists performing at Riverfront Park and along lower Broadway. When the sun goes down, the music moves to LP Field for an evening concert featuring Jennifer Hanson, Montgomery Gentry, Kellie Pickler, Luke Bryan, Jewel, Taylor Swift, Sugarland and another act that was only revealed Thursday morning -- Rascal Flatts.

Tickets are required for the concerts at Riverfront Park and LP Field, but there's no admission charge for lots of performances taking place at the other downtown stages. In particular, the Chevy Plaza stage in front of the Sommet Center is featuring a strong lineup, including Thursday's bluegrass offering of Dan Tyminiski, Mountain Heart, the SteelDrivers and Sierra Hull. Other notables playing the free shows on the Chevy Plaza stage include Julie Roberts, the Grascals, the Clark Brothers, Cory Morrow, the Greencards, Michael Peterson, Riders in the Sky, La Familia and Texas music legend Augie Meyer.

In addition to the morning's show headlined by Vassar, Thursday's music at Riverfront Park also included Mindy McCready, the Bellamy Brothers, Heidi Newfield, Richie McDonald, Mark Chesnutt, Tracy Byrd, Crystal Shawanda and Erika Jo. By Sunday afternoon, the stage will have featured more than 100 artists, including Joe Nichols, Darryl Worley, Jake Owen, Josh Gracin, Bo Bice, Jeffrey Steele, Michael Martin Murphey, Mark Wills, Sunny Sweeney, the Oak Ridge Boys, Lonestar, the Road Hammers, Bryan White, Jimmy Wayne and Buddy Jewell. Riverfront Park will also host performances by two members of the Country Music Hall of Fame -- Bill Anderson and Mel Tillis.

The nightly concerts at LP Field -- stadium home of the NFL's Tennessee Titans -- remain the biggest draw of all. Friday's bill features Ashton Shepherd, Jack Ingram, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Jake Owen and Faith Hill. Saturday includes performances by Jason Michael Carroll, Craig Morgan, Little Big Town, Jamey Johnson, Rodney Atkins, Darryl Worley, Trace Adkins, Alan Jackson and Kenny Rogers. And closing out the festival Sunday night is Chuck Wicks, James Otto, Bucky Covington, Randy Travis, John Stephan, Sara Evans, Phil Stacey, Billy Ray Cyrus and Dwight Yoakam.

The star-studded lineup includes Dwight Yoakam, Faith Hill, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis and Billy Ray Cyrus among others.

A strong lineup of veterans and newer artists are appearing throughout the weekend at the 2008 CMA Music Festival, providing thousands of fans from not only across America but also around the world the opportunity to witness first-hand country music’s diversity and multi-generational appeal.

They include Dwight Yoakam, who last appeared at the festival 20 years ago in a landmark event performing alongside the late Buck Owens, and Faith Hill, who returns for the first time in 10 years.

The reigning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Carrie Underwood and multiple CMA award winners Alan Jackson and Randy Travis are on the weekend bill. And the contemporary face of country is equally well represented by such stars as Miranda Lambert, Josh Turner, James Otto, Darryl Worley and Rodney Atkins.

Friday's concert begins at 7:45 p.m. and is being hosted by Country Music Television (CMT) personality Allison DeMarcus, with Ashton Shepherd, Jack Ingram, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Jake Owen and Faith Hill scheduled to appear.

The stars of ABC Daytime (WKRN-2 locally) will host the Saturday night event, among them Bobbie Eakes and Ricky Paull Goldin from All My Children, Kassie DePaiva from One Live To Live and Bradford Anderson, Rebecca Herbst and Jason Thompson from General Hospital. Jason Michael Carroll, Craig Morgan, Little Big Town, Jamey Johnson, Rodney Atkins, Darryl Worley, Trace Adkins, Alan Jackson and Kenny Rogers are performing.

Comedian Killer Beaz hosts the Sunday night finale. Chuck Wicks, James Otto, Bucky Covington, Randy Travis, John Stephan, Sara Evans, Billy Ray Cyrus and Phil Stacey are on the bill, with Dwight Yoakam’s set concluding the 2008 CMA Music Festival shows at LP Field.

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dasgogo

at 07:38 on June 8th, 2008

The yellow grabbed my attention. Carrie is easy on the eyes as well.

I received an e-mail inquiry asking if this photo was real or if it was manipulated in Photoshop. The photo is 100% real.

It is a parking garage building that has a huge empty wall facing West. Well, a couple of years ago they decided to turn this empty wall into a huge billboard for different advertisements. (A very smart garage owner!!) The ad is located in downtown Dallas near Griffin and Patterson.

dasgogo has contributed a photo to this story.

LOU MARTINI,JR.

at 10:48 on June 8th, 2008

LOU MARTINI,JR OF "THE SOPRANOS" BACKSTAGE AT THE DWIGHT YOAKAM SHOW IN NYC.(ALSO PICTURED GIRLFREIND LIZ)

LOU MARTINI,JR. has contributed a photo to this story.

richwalkup

at 11:37 on June 8th, 2008

My wife and daughter took these photos in Orlando at the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert. I'm not sure how often Billy Ray shows up to sing along side Miley but they were able to get some really great shots of them singing "Get Ready, Get Set, Don't Go". My 10 year old is already better with a camera than I'll probably ever be.

richwalkup has contributed a photo to this story.

ronhenry

at 11:38 on June 8th, 2008

Dwight Yoakam at the Producers Guild Award February 2, 2008 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
photo by: Ron Henry

ronhenry has contributed a photo to this story.

Freakychick1978

at 12:22 on June 8th, 2008

It was a great concert in Oklahoma and he was nice enough to allow photos.

Freakychick1978 has contributed a photo to this story.

kimberlina180

at 12:24 on June 8th, 2008

My pics are up. Here's the story behind them.

Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood in Baltimore

I took these pictures at the Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban concert in Baltimore. I saw him almost a year ago in Washington, DC because he kindly and generously donated tickets to the wounded soldiers at Walter Reed. I did not know his music but was blown away by his talent and the stage show. So when he came back to Baltimore (about an hour away) I knew I had to buy a ticket. When I knew Carrie Underwood was opening I knew I had to buy the best ticket I could find. It was an amazing show. Carrie is simply stunning and Keith was a pure joy to watch.

TheMumblingInferno

at 12:59 on June 8th, 2008

See what happens when an application is used to crawl for subjects? No, this is not Cyrus. The title for this pic is "You mean Billy Ray Cyrus is a loser?"

TheMumblingInferno has contributed a photo to this story.

Anni_Lichty

at 13:03 on June 8th, 2008

These pictures were taken in Altoona, IA at Prairie Meadows. It was my first time to see Dwight and he was incredible! If you ever get the opportunity to see him in concert do yourself a favor and go - you'll be glad you did. He'll leave you with a greater appreciation for real country music.

Anni_Lichty has contributed a photo to this story.

dnicu26

at 13:57 on June 8th, 2008

Ah, glad I could contribute with a photo!

dnicu26

at 13:59 on June 8th, 2008

good stuff:

rpshen, I like this story. It's good stuff.

peace. love. jonas.

at 14:22 on June 8th, 2008

i took this picture of billy ray cyrus when i went to one of his free concerts in quantico VA.

peace. love. jonas. has contributed a photo to this story.

lise_s73

at 14:39 on June 8th, 2008

Happy to help u getting pic to ur stories. I got this pic from a friend, and she got it on the net. Never been to a consert with him, but i wish i could. I live to far away. Im from Norway. And i cant see the CMA Music Festival live, because they dont send it live here. Maybe in a month or two they send a rerun. I wish i could get CMT on tv too, but lost it several years ago, and it never returned.
Lise.

lise_s73 has contributed a photo to this story.

kongfused

at 15:20 on June 8th, 2008

Shots snapped from the John Paul Jones arena in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2008. Keith and Carrie put on a wonderful delightful show. Keith Urban deserves to win the entertainer of the year award, and it shows from his style. Throughout the night, fans were awarded guitar picks, hugs, autographed shirts, and one lucky boy got one of his guitars as he walked out to the crowd.

Keith also rewarded the cheap seats with an intimate concert as he used the runway and walked all the way to the back of the arena.
Enjoy the pics!

kongfused has contributed a photo to this story.

shelbymcquilkin2

at 18:39 on June 8th, 2008

This was taken in March at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. Carrie Underwood opened a fabulous concert with Keith Urban. Carrie changed clothes five times during her show. She went from casual jeans to a beautiful blue formal gown.
We were seated on the floor, a good distance from the stage, but a catwalk brought our performers right out into the crowd.
Carrie sang beautifully and performed like a legend. It was a memorable evening for everyone.

shelbymcquilkin has contributed a photo to this story.

dolphin_collector_77

at 20:34 on June 8th, 2008

This photo was taken in at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Carrie Underwood opened for Keith Urban. She's a great performer and thankfully we had great seats.

dolphin_collector_77 has contributed a photo to this story.

Clarence Hannon, Jr.

at 21:21 on June 8th, 2008

This is Billy Ray Cyrus with my granddaughter, Alexis Hannon and my son, Todd Hannon. This was taken at Walmart in South Point, Ohio.

Clarence Hannon, Jr. has contributed a photo to this story.

Alexa_Faye

at 06:32 on June 9th, 2008

All I have to say is Randy Travis has the sexiest voice around, and that will never change. He doesn't plan on quitting any time in the near future.

Alexa_Faye has contributed a photo to this story.

Glenn B.

at 19:04 on June 9th, 2008

dwight yoakam's bass player at the 2008 stagecoach festival in indio, california.

Glenn B. has contributed a photo to this story.

Rodney Spann

at 18:25 on June 11th, 2008

This is Carrie in a Q&A session that I was part of.

Rodney Spann has contributed a photo to this story.

liquidray

at 13:28 on June 14th, 2008

One of the greatest benefits of coming to the Coachella festival every year (IMHO) is the opportunity to see amazing acts you would have never ventured out to see otherwise. I am not a huge country fan but seeing Dwight on the bill peaked my interest... As I drew closer to the outdoor stage on a sunny afternoon I witnessed an amazing performance that, rather than seeming out of place, was communal which to me indicative of a great artist... A diverse crowd gathered to watch an inspired performance which I couldnt help but document in this and other photos.

liquidray has contributed a photo to this story.

scorpiogeek

at 09:52 on June 18th, 2008

Billy Ray Cyrus in the Wildhorse's 'Green' room with Billie-Ann Collins, Assistant Director of HR, Opryland Hotel and Resort in Nashville.

scorpiogeek has contributed a photo to this story.

NyteMagic

at 02:34 on June 23rd, 2008

These photos were taken June 17, 2007 at GM Place in Vancouver during the Soul2Soul tour.

This was Faith Hill's portion of the show.

NyteMagic has contributed a photo to this story.

Cristal Jones

at 20:19 on June 23rd, 2008