Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus And Keith Urban Bring Surprise Performance Of “Old Town Road” To CMA Fest On Day Three

The surprises continued on day three of CMA Fest, as Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus and reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Keith Urban took the Nissan Stadium stage to perform the No. 1 song in the country, “Old Town Road.” The packed stadium erupted with excitement, bringing the audience to their feet, dancing and singing along to every word.

Tim McGraw headlined Nissan Stadium, including a surprise appearance by Luke Combs to perform “Real Good Man.” Miranda Lambert performed her new song “Locomotive,” while Dierks Bentley welcomed Tenille Townes to the stage, celebrating women in Country with cover performances of Trisha Yearwood’s “She’s in Love with a Boy” and Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine.” Current CMA KixStart Artist Scholarship recipients Kassi Ashton, Travis Denning and Jameson Rogers made their debut performances at Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest, while Runaway June performed the National Anthem.

Metro Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson presented Cyrus with a 2019 MNPD coin backstage at Nissan Stadium. The coin, which commemorates Metro Nashville’s new headquarters building and remembers the sacrifices made by their officers, bears Cyrus’ song “All Gave Some, Some Gave All.”

The Firestone Country Roads Stage at Ascend Amphitheater once again sold out last night, with performances presented by Warner Music Nashville. During his co-headlining set, Cody Johnson recognized military and law enforcement in the audience, asking them to stand while thanking them for their service. Chris Young was featured as the Artist of the Day on the CMA Close Up Stage yesterday, participating in a discussion with Country Countdown USA host Lon Helton about his music as well as the CMA Foundation, followed by the audience singing him an early “Happy Birthday.” Kelsea Ballerini was participating in a surprise meet-and-greet at Xfinity Fan Fair X when she received word her single “Miss Me More” just hit No. 1 at Country radio.

Chrissy Metz participated in a Q&A panel “Meet the Stars Behind the ‘Breakthrough’ Movie Soundtrack” at the CMA Close Up Stage at Xfinity Fan Fair X with guests DeVon Franklin, Mickey Guyton and Diane Warren, while Kiefer Sutherland played to a packed crowd at the Budweiser Forever Country stage. The Nashville Acoustic Corner Stage hit capacity during The Wandering Hearts, while Blanco Brown jumped into the crowd at the Radio Disney Country Stage and had fans on their feet dancing before bringing his niece on stage for a remixed version of the National Anthem.

CMA Fest is the longest-running Country Music festival in the world with a portion of ticket proceeds directly benefiting high-quality music education initiatives across the United States through the CMA Foundation, thanks to all the artists performing at CMA Fest donating their time.