NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Fans are jamming out on Broadway for the second day of CMA Fest, and some artists are experiencing the festival for the first time.
Bryanna Leblanc is celebrating her birthday and bachelorette party at CMA Fest.
"It’s every year on my birthday—it’s the best thing ever," Leblanc said.
For rising country star Madeline Edwards, this is her first time experiencing it. She loves being able to perform in-person at Spotify House.
"Yes absolutely, it makes you really grateful, I think it puts you in a place of a lot of humility, definitely just seeing how much the fans appreciate new artists even like me, that are just given a chance when they first come to Nashville," she said.
Spotify House took over Broadway bar Ole Red for CMA Fest. It's been a hit according to Mary Catherine Kinney, Spotify’s Lead for Strategic Music Partnerships.
At some points, the line to get in was wrapped around the building.
"We are trying to get as many people in as possible, and it’s great, in the pandemic we saw that country music consumption on Spotify completely exploded, fans really gravitated to the platform—looking for country music," Mary Catherine Kinney said.
Artists like Madeline relied on apps and social media to connect with fans when they couldn't play in-person.
"It gives me a lot of hope seeing how many people area really truly fans of country music," Edwards said.
Some fans staked out spots at the RiverFront early in the morning. For Jim and Vicki Rizzi, this is their fourth CMA Fest in Music City.
"Great music in every bar hands down." Rizzi said. "Four days all day all night are you kidding! We get a lot of big artists in Vegas, but we don’t get it like this."
Anyone can come walk around on Broadway to check it out. You only need a pass to get into the CMA stages.
