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Carly Pearce took the stage for fellow singer-songwriter Lainey Wilson to perform the powerful, CMA Award-winning duet “wait in the truck” with HARDY. It happened earlier this month on the main stage at CMA Fest in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee.
HARDY teamed up with Wilson on “wait in the truck” for his 2023 album, the mockingbird & THE CROW. The storytelling collaboration opens with a man encountering a woman trapped in a toxic relationship, and opts to take matters into his own hands to get her out: “I don’t know if he’s angel / Cause angels don’t do what he did / He was hell bent to find the man behind / All the whiskey scars I hid / I never thought my day of justice / Would come from a judge under his seat / But I knew right then I’d never get hit again when he said to me / Wait in the truck / Just wait in the truck.”
HARDY took the stage at Nissan Stadium on the final night of the four-night country music festival, which is hailed the longest-running country festival in the world. During his set — which also included “SIX FEET UNDER (Caleigh’s Song)” and a surprise appearance by Big & Rich for “Save A Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” — HARDY welcomed fellow award-winning artist Pearce to the stage to fill in for Wilson. The duo delivered their rendition of “wait in the truck,” which won in the Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year categories at the 57th CMA Awards in November 2023, marking HARDY’s first-ever CMA victory.
Pearce shared a clip of the performance on TikTok on Tuesday (June 25), when CMA Fest aired as a three-hour concert special on ABC. CMA Fest is available to watch now on Hulu. Though the “wait in the truck” duet does not appear in the CMA Fest special, there are 30 performances to watch, including several surprises throughout the show. Pearce — whose set included “truck on fire” from her new album, hummingbird — said it was “so special” to share the stage with HARDY. Watch a clip of their performance here: