Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban are throwing it back to CMA Fest memories of years past.
Videos by American Songwriter
On Thursday (June 8), the 50th anniversary of CMA Fest kicked off in Nashville, with many of country music’s biggest names set to take to the stages all over downtown. One of those artists is Tim McGraw, who’s preparing for his set at Nissan Stadium on Sunday (June 11) with a throwback photo circa the 1990s or early 2000s. Donning his signature white cowboy hat and a guitar slung over his shoulder, McGraw can be seen performing in front of hoards of fans.
“Throwing it back to when it was still called Fan Fair,” McGraw captioned the photo while asking fans to guess what year the picture was taken. “See you Sunday night #CMAfest!!”
[RELATED: 5 Major Moments in CMA Fest History]
Meanwhile, Urban shared a most recent memory, posting an awe-inspiring shot of him and Lil Nas X walking off the stage at Nissan Stadium following an electrifying performance of Lil Nas X’s hit, “Old Town Road,” with Billy Ray Cyrus at the 2019 festival. Urban is set to perform at the venue on Friday (June 9).
“45 days until #CMAfest 50th,” he wrote in April 2023. “I looooove the energy it always brings to town, seeing so many artists in one space together, and the opportunity to collaborate !! Always a blast. We’ll see you at Nissan June 9 !!!!!”
Lambert’s throwback post saw her performing one of her signature hits, “Kerosene,” at the 2021 CMA Summer Jam, which replaced the typical CMA Fest in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. “A week till #CMAfest begins! I’m going big for the 50th anniversary,” she promised in the caption. “See you later!” Like Urban, Lambert will also take the stage at Nissan Stadium on June 9.
Hit songwriter Nicolle Galyon got sentimental with her post, sharing a series of humorous throwback photos and videos she took with her video camera when she attended CMA Fest as a 13-year-old. Among the memories are a sepia-toned photo of her with Keith Urban and videos of Rascal Flatts performing and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill greeting a packed room full of fans. The future ACM Award winner also got a signed photo of The Chicks and footage of LeAnn Rimes at her merchandise booth.
“Hey Nashville don’t get too impatient with the cma fest tourists this week,” the “Tequila” co-writer began in the caption. “One of them might be 13 years old waiting in an autograph line figuring out she needs to move here and it changes everything. Love, this girl who literally carried a VHS recorder around the fairgrounds like 20 years before instagram existed.”
Luke Combs, Luke Bryan, Lainey Wilson and Ashely McBryde are among the many other artists performing during the four-day festival.
Photo by Adam Hagy/Getty Images for ABA
