Luke Bryan served as the host for the CMA Best of Fest special on Monday night, appearing from an empty Nissan Stadium in Nashville to introduce memorable performances from CMA Fests past. Along with his hosting duties, Bryan also gave the night’s only new performance, teaming up with Darius Rucker for a socially-distant rendition of John Mellencamp’s “Small Town.”
The two artists, as well as several band members, all played standing six feet apart on the football field, delivering an energetic and unique, if not unusual, performance to celebrate the event. Bryan and Rucker traded off during the song’s verses before harmonizing on the chorus, Bryan strumming an acoustic guitar as the pair delivered the classic track in a brand new way.
Videos by PopCulture.com
CMA Best of Fest, which is available to watch on ABC’s streaming platforms and on Hulu, featured performances from CMA Fests all the way back to 2007 including solo efforts from stars like Tim McGraw, Maren Morris and Jason Aldean and collaborations between Carrie Underwood and Joan Jett, Rascal Flatts and Little Big Town and Eric Church and Lzzy Hale.
See the full list of performances below.
Jason Aldean, “She’s Country: (from 2015)
Kelsea Ballerini, “Yeah Boy” (from 2017)
Garth Brooks, medley (from 2017)
Brooks & Dunn and Brothers Osborne, “Hard Workin’ Man
(from 2019)
Kane Brown and Lauren Alaina, “What Ifs” (from 2018)
Luke Bryan, “Country Girl (Shake It for Me)” (from 2012)
Luke Bryan and Darius Rucker, “Small Town” (NEW)
Kenny Chesney, “Summertime” (from 2009)
Eric Church and Lzzy Hale, “That’s Damn Rock & Roll” (from 2014)
Luke Combs, “When It Rains It Pours” (from 2018)
Dan + Shay, “Tequila” (from 2018)
Sam Hunt, “Body Like a Back Road” (from 2017)
Lady A, “Love Don’t Live Here” (from 2008)
Miranda Lambert, “Kerosene” (from 2007)
Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus and Keith Urban, “Old Town Road” (from 2019)
Little Big Town, “Pontoon” (from 2012)
Tim McGraw, “Something Like That” (from 2010)
Maren Morris, “Girl” (from 2019)
Brad Paisley, “American Saturday Night” (from 2010)
Rascal Flatts and Little Big Town, medley (from 2011)
Thomas Rhett, “Life Changes” (from 2018)
Darius Rucker, “Wagon Wheel” (from 2014)
Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins, “Hillbilly Bone” (from 2010)
Carrie Underwood, “Last Name” (from 2010)
Carrie Underwood and Joan Jett, medley (from 2019)
Keith Urban, “Wasted Time” (from 2017)
Dwight Yoakam and Dierks Bentley, “Fast as You” (from 2018)
Zac Brown Band, “Chicken Fried” (from 2009)
