This is it...the weekend us Country fans have been WAITING for...our 2018 iHeartCountry Festival is happening in Austin, Texas.
Even if you're not making it to Austin for the festivities, you don't have to miss it. We'll broadcast it live tomorrow night starting at 8pm, and you can also watch it live at @ATT on Twitter or on AT&T's website by clicking here.
Our first iHeartCountry Festival back in 2014 was one heck of an inaugural bash with Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum, Florida Georgia Line, and Hunter Hayes. I mean...WHAT A LINE-UP, especially for a first year, right?
But over the years, the festival has grown and I think this year is bigger and better than ever! For starters, Luke Bryan is playing it again this year. Think about how many more hits Luke Bryan has had since that first festival in 2014. Keith Urban is on top of his game. Dustin Lynch is hitting his stride and, rumor has it, will be debuting a brand new song at the festival. Sugarland is BACK after a several year hiatus. Cole Swindell is about to explode into superstar status (and after the iHeartCountry Festival, he's bound for Charlotte Motor Speedway for the pre-race concert before the All-Star Race! Heck Yeah!). Maren Morris, while one heck of a Country singer, has been RULING the pop charts the last several weeks with her collaboration with Zedd called "Meet Me In the Middle." Billy Currington is always great, with strong song after strong song after strong song. Dan + Shay have a major hit on their hands with "Tequila," which could turn out to be their biggest hit to date by the time all is said and done. Brett Young is on a string of three number one hits and his breand song "Mercy" is sure to be his fourth straight number one hit. Jon Pardi is on a roll with hit after hit and really making a name for himself. And then there's our North Carolina boy Luke Combs who is ABSOLUTELY. ON. FIRE.
The Daytime Village was recently added and will feature some of the greatest up-n-comers in Country, including Brett Young, Luke Combs, Lauren Alaina, Dylan Scott, and Danielle Bradbery.
I mean...WOW! If this isn't the Mecca for Country Music lovers, I don't know what is!
As excited as I am to watch the festival online start to finish tomorrow night, I am most excited to see Luke Bryan. Don't get me wrong... I LOVE every performer there! But Luke...there is something special about Luke. The same year that Luke played our first ever iHeartCountry Festival, I went to New York City to see him perform at the famous Madison Square Garden. The buzz was "be sure to catch his show open. It's going to be spectacular." So I had my cell phone ready, and I'm SO GLAD I caught the opening because it was indeed spectacular! Here is the video I took that night.
Pretty cool, huh? It's not often that you see a pick-up truck in New York City, let alone inside Madison Square Garden!
As for the Frank Erwin Center in Austin Saturday night...I'm sure there is going to be a lot of special stuff going on there as well. I can't wait to watch it online! Join me, won't you?!