Here's Why Thomas Rhett Gets Nostalgic On This Nashville Stage

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Thomas Rhett is taking in a full-circle moment… The award-winning singer-songwriter reflected on the 2022 CMA Fest as the “music event of the summer” is nearly ready to air on ABC. Rhett recalled attending the music festival as a kid, and now, he takes the stage as one of the biggest artists of the weekend.

Rhett is one of many performers included in the star-studded lineup of the event that airs Wednesday evening (August 3). Dierks Bentley and Elle King are set to co-host the three-hour primetime concert special, which will include dozens of performances by Rhett, Lady A, Carly Pearce with Wynonna Judd, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean and tons of other artists.

The “Slow Down Summer” singer tagged along with his dad, Rhett Akins, when he was a kid. Akins played the festival in the ‘90s, though it was called Fan Fair at the time. Rhett, who is currently on his “Bring The Bar To You Tour,” spoke about the energy of the festival in a statement shared by his record label:

“You get to go on tour and you get to meet a couple people every night in these towns, but when you come to Nashville for CMA Fest, you get to see everybody. You see people in the crowd that you’ve seen a lot at your shows all across the country, and all the sudden everybody’s in Nashville. And also get to play in front of a lot of people that maybe don’t know your music at all. Just the community that country music has that can literally involve people from not only our country, but from Canada and Australia and Europe and all over the place, to be here under the name of country music is always just pretty special. And so me and the band are super excited to be here as we are every year are super excited to be here as we are every year. I’ve been comin’ to this since I was a little kid, and so every time I get to step on that stage is little hints of nostalgia for me.”

Rhett is on tour after releasing his latest album, Where We Started, which is the first of two collections he plans to release this year, followed by Country Again Side B in the fall. His latest project is packed with fan-favorites, including “Church Boots,” “Half of Me,” the title track and others. His tour is named after his collaboration with Riley Green, “Half of Me.” When he took the stage at CMA Fest — which was held in June in Nashville, Tennessee — Rhett played a medley of hits, including “Get Me Some Of That,” “It Goes Like This” and “Vacation.”