CMA Fest 2025 Sunday Night Nissan Stadium Shows: 5 Top Moments

Rodney Atkins kicked off the evening with renditions of his hits like “If You’re Going Through Hell,” but he brought one of the evening’s sweetest, most nostalgic moments when he brought his 24-year-old son Elijah onstage to sing with him. They performed a collaboration of “Watching You,” a tender song about how a young boy pays attention to his father’s choices — positive and negative — and hopes to one day be just like his old man. Atkins wrote and recorded the song when Elijah was just four years old, so to see them collaborate on the song two decades later marked a sentimental moment for many fans.

Grammy winner Ashley McBryde has forged a reputation for solid song craft and rock star-style performances, mixed with her wit and warmth as an entertainer. Her CMA Fest set at Nissan Stadium showcased her versatile performance style, as she not only offered up her own hits (like “One Night Standards”) but also introduced the Roots of Music marching band. A highlight came when she performed a cover of Don Henley’s 1984 hit “Boys of Summer,” as McBryde’s commanding voice made the rock hit her own.

Last year, Zach Top played the platform stage at Nissan Stadium. This year, he’s graduated to the main stage, thanks to his debut country album Cold Beer and Country Music — which gave country music an ’80s/’90s-inspired elevation via breakthrough hits “Sounds Like The Radio” and “I Never Lie.” His throwback sound conjures imagery of sawdust floors, well-worn honkytonks and country summer nights, but also feels refreshingly modern, a sound that can bring a party atmosphere to the biggest of stages. Meanwhile, his laid-back performance style and ace musicianship combine for a performer who can draw in a crowd in any kind of venue.

“This feels like a fun, full-circle moment,” he said, then used that massive moment in the CMA Fest spotlight to introduce a new summer anthem, “Good Times and Tan Lines,” which he released not long after his performance. The song is from Top’s upcoming new album, Ain’t In It For My Health, out Aug. 29.

Bailey Zimmerman brought his thousand-watt energy to Nissan Stadium’s main stage on Sunday night, and brought an extra shot of star power when he welcomed BigXthaPlug for a rendition of their top 5 Billboard Hot 100 hit collab “All The Way,” extending the genre’s canon of wildly successful rap/country hybrids. Zimmerman followed with his first Hot 100 top 10 hit, the angst-fueled “Rock and a Hard Place,” which got the audience lighting up phones across the arena and shouting the lyrics back to the stage, spurred on by Zimmerman’s strong, nimble vocal performance.

Bentley gave the night a shot of humor and humbleness during his CMA Fest performance, as he took time to praise “the all-star fans” early in his set. He went on to offer up hits both new and classic, including “Gone,” “Free and Easy (Down The Road I Go)” and “Drunk on a Plane,” but also highlighted “She Hates Me,” from his upcoming album Broken Branches (out June 13).

Of course CMA Fest’s Nissan Stadium shows and collaborations make for a classic pairing, and Bentley offered up one of the evening’s best when he welcomed his tourmate Top back to the stage for a cover of Alabama’s 1982 hit “Mountain Music,” with Top even lending some appealing lead guitar runs. In addition to being an established, reliable hitmaker in his own right, Bentley has been a strong proponent of championing a new generation of artists, and did so that night by saying of Top, “Let me tell you something about this guy… this is the future of country music right here, Zach Top.”