Blake Shelton Surprises Nashville Fans Ahead of CMA Fest

CMA Fest week is officially here, and Blake Shelton surprised fans early on Friday, May 31 when he popped up for two surprise performances in Music City.

First, he supported Musicians on Call by headlining the organization’s 20th anniversary kickoff celebration at CMA Theater, which was honoring Warner Music Nashville’s Senior Vice President of Artist Development Shane Tarleton,Vice President of country formats or Cumulus Media Charlie Cook and singer Lauren Alaina with three different awards.

Shelton took the stage after singer Cale Dodds, with The Voice coach performing for over an hour and entertaining the audience with hits from the very beginning of his career all the way to his latest single.

The Tennessean shares that Shelton’s set included his first No. 1, “Austin,” as well as hits including “Honey Bee” and “Boys ‘Round Here.”

“I’m here for you all, let’s have fun with this thing,” he told the crowd. “If there’s a song you want to hear, I’ll try. I don’t know if it will be very good.”

Requests from fans included “Sangria,” to which Shelton quipped to his band, “Do you all remember how to play that?”

Tarleton asked for Conway Twitty’s “Goodbye Time,” which Shelton included as a cover on his third album Blake Shelton’s Barn & Grill. Shelton jokingly swore at his friend for the request but ultimately honored it, performing the vocally demanding song in powerful fashion.

He also enlisted Alaina for an appearance on his song “Lonely Tonight,” saying, “You can’t have Lauren Alaina here and not take advantage of her,” before adding, “That sounds disgusting.”

Shelton’s set also included new single “God’s Country,” which he introduced by saying, “I’ve been making records almost 20 years. When I got to this spot I started thinking, ‘Is it over? Are we going down from here?’ I wasn’t prepared for this moment, and by this moment, I mean this song.”

The Oklahoma native then headed to his bar, Ole Red, which is located on Lower Broadway in downtown Nashville, where he performed “God’s Country” to an audience of hundreds. The performance will be broadcast during this year’s CMA Fest television special, as Shelton won’t be in Nashville for the actual festival, which takes place June 6 — 9.

Shelton was joined by Devin Dawson for his performance at Ole Red, with the duo sharing the stage as cameras captured their every move. Dawson co-wrote “God’s Country” along with HARDY and Jordan Schmidt.

“We’re not used to being on television,” Shelton cracked. “We’re trying to figure this (stuff) out. You’re all going to be famous before it’s over.”

Photo Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Stagecoach