'CMA Best Of Fest': Carrie Underwood, Sam Hunt lead retrospective country music showcase, fans are thrilled
The 'CMA Best Of Fest' promptly kicked off on the ABC network at 8 pm ET on Monday night, as the designated host for the evening, Luke Bryan, greeted country music fans and took stock of the situation this year. Normally fans would be celebrating the CMA Fest in Nashville, the Country Music Association's showpiece event that has been entertaining music lovers the world over since 1972. However, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and social distancing restrictions, everything came to a grinding halt this year, including preparations for the CMA Fest 2020.
That jarring change to the present order of things was felt even more acutely as Bryan greeted fans from an empty Nissan Stadium in Nashville, home to numerous packed musical performances from the past. However, as the 'American Idol' judge reminded us, tonight's ABC programming was to relive the best music and memories from the CMA Fest's glorious history, as well as serve as a reminder that we will all be together again. The 'CMA Best Of Fest' will showcase over 28 brilliant CMA performances from the past 16 years, as well as feature special appearances by many celebs and stars for tonight's show.
Country music superstar, Carrie Underwood, who also appeared on 'American Idol' in the past, kicked things off in style with her barnstorming hit 'Last Name', which she had performed in her Daisy Duke shorts at the CMA Fest in 2010. Carrie's performance was powerful and swaggering, serving as a great reminder of how wonderful things used to be back then. One fan exclaimed on Twitter "They kick off the show with my kitchen karaoke jam!", as another Underwood admirer said, "Yes, 'Last Name' is a phenomenal way to open this show BUT also I want Carrie Underwood’s legs #CMAfest." Another supporter stated, "No matter what year it is, @carrieunderwood ALWAYS kills her performances!"
Next up was Sam Hunt, as he reminisced about moving to Nashville as a young man after college. This was followed by his performance of 'Body Like A Back Road' from the CMA Fest 2017. It was a mellow and groovy performance, and perfectly showed what a great entertainer he is. Thrilled fans on social media certainly agreed, saying "@SamHuntMusic only writes BANGERS." Another admirer declared. "If it was at all possible, I would marry Sam Hunt’s voice."
It's a good thing we have these memories to keep us going until we can meet up again under normal live music conditions. It's a good thing this 'Best Of Fest' came about, it's both inspiring and entertaining.