The Red Clay Strays and Carly Pearce Lead an Exhilarating First Night of Billboard’s Country Live Series

18-year-old Ty Myers kicked off the Thursday edition of Billboard Country Live with a flurry of rock guitar riffs and his mesh of country, rock and soul. An early high point in his set came when Myers and his band launched into his passionate version of Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie” (originally recorded by the Zutons). Myers, who released the project Heavy on the Soul earlier this year, continued starting the event on a high note with songs including “Leaving Carolina,” “Stay,” and “Drinkin’ Alone.”

The Band Perry brought a dynamic performance to the Category 10 stage, with lead singer Kimberly Perry and her husband/bandmate Johnny Costello roaring through The Band Perry hits “Better Dig Two,” “You Lie,” “Chainsaw,” and newer material such as “Psychological.”

Perry called the event “our official return to CMA Fest,” and it was clear that Perry has retained her energetic, commanding performance style that has long been a hallmark of the group. Clad in a white dress and sky-high black boots, she led the crowd through her CMA single of the year-winning ballad “If I Die Young,” as the audience swayed and sang along to the song’s timeless and stinging-yet-hopeful message of a life cut short. Upping the tempo once again, they closed out the performance with The Band Perry’s 2013 song “DONE.”

Corey Kent caught the afternoon crowd’s attention as he immediately kicked off his set with a full-throttle rendition of The Beatles’ “Come Together,” before keeping the energy elevated with songs including “Wild As Her.” “Contrary to popular belief, there are a few country artists who don’t live in Nashville — some of us live in Texas,” he told the Music City crowd gathered at Category 10, before ripping into a solo version of “Rocky Mountain Low,” his collaboration with Koe Wetzel. He continued with the groovy heartbreak track “Empty Words,” saying, “We thought this would be a deep cut. You guys are the reason they can’t slow this down and they have to send it to country radio.” He closed with his own “Something’s Gonna Kill Me,” before thanking his ace band and the packed crowd.

Just hours before Country Live kicked off Thursday, the performance roster was further heightened with the addition of Grammy winner Carly Pearce, who brought her traditional country-tilted songs, as well as a surprise cover.

“I wrote this song for all of us who have ever been done wrong and wanted to set fire to someone’s stuff,” Pearce said, before launching into “Truck on Fire.” She then followed with a solo rendition of “If I Don’t Leave, I’m Gonna Stay,” which she recorded with Riley Green. Recalling her memories of attending early CMA Fests, Pearce then launched into a breezy rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” which made the most of her silky voice. Her set also included the fan favorite “What He Didn’t Do,” as well as “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” which Pearce co-wrote with Category 10 bar owner and fellow country artist Luke Combs. Throughout the performance, she paused to thank all the fans for their support, and offering her gratitude for CMA Fest week, saying, “We get to make it all about you the country music fans.”

North Carolina native Lanie Gardner, who was first discovered after her cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” when viral, delivered a fiery set that included the menacing stomp of “Boots Down” and then the toe-tapping, sassy “Buzzkill,” about a girl who may look great, but isn’t going to provide the thrills you think she is.  The cheeky attitude continued with a fun, spirited cover of Miranda Lambert’s “Little Red Wagon.” Gardner, who is opening for Luke Bryan this summer, slowed things down a little with the mid-tempo “Faded Polaroids” and then sped it back up with “Daughter of a Gun,” before closing with the languid “Taking the Slow Ride.”

Hunter Hayes didn’t show off all 30 instruments he can play, but his guitar chops were in fine form during the Grammy-nominated artist’s rousing set opening with “Wait” then segued into a cover of Harry Styles’ “Golden,” before slowing it down with the sultry “Every Piece.” “I want to try something, let’s see how it goes,” Hayes said, slightly skeptically, before going into a heartfelt, spot-on cover of Noah Kahan’s “The Great Divide.” Backed by a tight band, Hayes then jumped into “Evergreen,” before ending with an exhilarating, extended bluesy, thumping “Elephant, that really showed off what the band could do. 

Drew Baldridge announced his new album, Farm, Faith Family,  coming Sept. 18, live from the stage, and debuted a new song dropping at midnight, “Diesel & Dirt,” during his quick- paced, enthusiastic set. He kept the party going with a cover of Tim McGraw’s ‘90s smash “Something Like That,” segueing into Brooks & Dunn’s “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.” “We can’t come out here and not play something for the country ladies,” he said before busting into Shania Twain’s “Man I Feel Like A Woman,” which he swore he’d never played live before. He returned to his own material, current single, defiant “Rebel.” He then told a little of his compelling backstory of coming to Nashville and not breaking through, so he returned home in 2019 and starting over playing thousands of backyard parties and other events, before launching into the resilient “Tough People.” He closed with “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” his self-released hit that he took into the Country Airplay top 10 in 2024, telling the women in the audience to remember their worth.

No act on stage had a better backstory than The Grimm, who more than 60 years after they first formed, have come back together for a new chapter. They started in the 60s, but as Billboard recounted recently, the Vietnam War and church missions stopped their momentum. But no longer.

Lead singer Greg Ericksen and his robust vocals ran his collective through a tight set of sturdy, riff-heavy rock tunes, including “Ride Pony Ride,” “Crawlin’,” and “Hit Me Now,” before closing with the propulsive “Black Finger Woman,” which included cowbell! More cowbell!

Chase Rice, playing the penultimate set of the night before a packed venue, opened with 2023’s “Walk That Easy,” before delving back to “Ready Set Roll,” a top 5 hit in 2013 he wrote after he first came to Nashville in 2012. He drew a cheer when he asked if there were any Garth Brooks’ fans in the audience (we assume the question was rhetorical), before going into a faithful version Brooks’ first hit, “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old).” He then thanked all who have served our country, including his grandparents, with the chugging poignant “Circa 1943.” He ended with a two-fer: his 2020 Country Airplay No. 1, “Drinkin’ Beer. Talkin’ God. Amen” which featured Florida Georgia Line and FLG’s massive hit, “Cruise,” co-written by Rice. He left the crowd perfectly warmed up for the Red Clay Strays.

The reigning CMA and ACM Awards’ group of the year closed the first night on the eve of the release of their new album, Grateful, opening with the rockabilly-tinged, swirling “I Don’t Wanna Know” to get the 45-minute set off to a kicking start. Lead singer Brandon Coleman showed off his supple voice on next number 2024’s yearning “Stone’s Throw,” before announcing this was only the band’s second time playing on Nashville’s famed Lower Broadway. The crowd leaned into the heaviness of “People Hatin’,” as the band stretched out showing off their country-rock, multi-guitar-pronged approach with guitarists Drew Nix and Zach Rishel, bassist Andrew Bishop, keyboardist Sevans Henderson and drummer John Hall.

Part of what makes RCS so appealing is its effortless embrace of different genres and the easy nimbleness with which they glide back and forth, even adding in a gospel touch on the gorgeous “Moments,” “a song about going through terrible things in life and realizing how you were made by that terrible moment,” Coleman said. They kept that theme going with the dark “Drowning.” Coleman than candidly talked about struggles with mental health and encouraged anyone in the audience similarly struggling to reach out for help before going into the husky “Devil In My Ear.” The theme of dealing with life’s trials continued with “Sunshine” and the faith inspired “I’m Still Fine.” The band concluded with a full-throated version of “Wondering Why,” their 2022 song that broke out on TikTok, as well as the aching “Wanna Be Loved” and an expansive, explosive version of “No One Else Like Me.”