Free Music at the CMA Music Festival
The CMA Music Festival comes to Nashville Tennessee June 11 – 14, 2015. The nightly concert series at LP Field gets lots of the attention for this event, but there’s also plenty of free music for folks to enjoy in addition to, or instead of, the big paid concerts. A country music fan could happily spend June 11th – 14th in Nashville taking in free concerts throughout the city and meeting their favorite musicians at the CMA Fan Fair X.
CMA Fan Fair X
The CMA Fan Fair happens at the Music City Center (201 5th Avenue South). If you have a four day CMA Music Festival Ticket, entry to the Fan Fair X is included. If you don’t have a festival ticket and still want to go to the Fan Fair, you can purchase single-day passes for just $10 or a four-day pass for $25.
The Fan Fair is a fun way to get up-close to your favorite country music artists. There’s always autograph signings going on and most performers giving out autographs do not require an autograph ticket. For the few that do require tickets, there’s a drawing you can enter to get one.
Each day of the Fan Fair has a featured artist who kicks of the day with Q & A’s and acoustic performances. The featured artists are Little Big Town for June 11th, Hunter Hayes for June 12th, Chris Young for June 13th, and Darius Rucker for June 14th.
Free Entertainment
You don’t need an LP Filed Festival Pass to enjoy great music at the CMA Music Festival. There are seven additional stages with free music.
The Chevrolet Riverfront Stage is located on the banks of the Cumberland River and features daytime concerts. The Bud Light Plaza Stage at Bridgestone Arena Plaza has free concerts from morning to late afternoon. The Belk Park Stage next to the County Music Hall of Fame and Museum has free concerts, plus hammocks and cornhole. The Chevrolet Roadhouse Stage is located in the Fan Alley area on Broadway and features country music newcomers. The Gildan Broadway Stage at Hard Rock Cafe has more music. The BMI Tailgate Party has pre-concert music outside of LP Field. And the HGTV Lodge is an additional venue in the Fan Alley area. With all the free entertainment opportunities, it’s easy to fill your day with music without paying a thing.
The free music line-up is more than we’ll try to list here, but performers include Canaan Smith, Cassadee Pope, Charles Esten, Dustin Lynch, Eric Paslay, Gary Allan, Kellie Pickler, Lonestar, Lorrie Morgan, Maddie and Tae, Raelynn, Scotty McCreery, Tanya Tucker, Thompson Square, Chris Carmack, The SteelDrivers, A Thousand Horses, Marshall Tucker Band, The Grascals, and many, many more. See the full CMA Music Festival performer list.
CMA Music Festival Hotels
So even if you don’t have a festival ticket for the big LP Field concerts, there’s still a lot of free and cheap things to enjoy at the 2015 CMA Music Festival. You just need to find a place to stay. The good news is that Nashville has plenty of hotels. Your best bet will be to stay in one of the downtown hotels so you can walk to the Fan Fest and free music stages. If you end up staying outside town, that’s okay too. There are multiple public parking areas in downtown Nashville.
Map of hotels closest to the CMA Music Festival Fan Fair at Music City Center (and the rest of the downtown stages).
LP Field Concerts Line-Up
LP Field performers for the 2015 CMA Music Festival include Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Brett Eldredge, Chris Young, Cole Swindell, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Erick Church, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Lee Brice, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Maddie & Tae, Neal McCoy, Randy Houser, Rascal Flats, Sam Hunt, The Band Perry, The Oak Ridge Boys, Thomas Rhett, Wynonna & The Big Noise, and Zac Brown Band.
Main Stage tickets are sold out. Try Ticket Liquidator’s reseller marketplace for tickets. 4-Day Festival Tickets