Miranda Lambert was one of the headliners during CMA Summer Jam in Nashville this week, and she brought out a few friends during her Wednesday night set. The country star welcomed Dierks Bentley and Brothers Osborne to the stage for a collaborative performance of the Allman Brothers Band’s “Midnight Rider,” which was released in 1971.
“Midnight Rider” was written by the Allman Brothers Band’s Gregg Allman with Robert Kim Payne and released as the second single from the band’s second studio album, Idlewild South. It was later released as a solo version by Allman and has been covered by multiple artists including Willie Nelson. Lambert’s performance with Bentley and Brothers Osborne saw the four artists trading lines and harmonizing with each other as they made their way through the song.
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Prior to the team-up, Brothers Osborne had performed their hit “Ain’t My Fault” and Bentley took the stage with his current single, “Gone.” Lambert’s set featured several of her hit songs including “Kerosene,” “Gunpowder and Lead” and “Mama’s Broken Heart” as well as her latest single, “Settling Down.” CMA Summer Jam was held at Ascend Amphitheater in downtown Nashville and also featured performances by Jimmie Allen, Gabby Barrett, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Florida Georgia Line, Mickey Guyton, Carly Pearce, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Cole Swindell, Carrie Underwood, Lainey Wilson and Dwight Yoakam.
Other collaborations included Shelton and Stefani, who performed their hit “Happy Anywhere,” Bryan and Swindell, who duetted on Swindell’s “Single Saturday Night,” Rhett assisting Florida Georgia Line on the duo’s “Round Here” and Yoakam joining Underwood to sing his hits “A Thousand Miles From Nowhere” and “Guitars, Cadillacs.”
The show was taped for a special that will air on ABC on Sept. 2. In addition to the performances from Ascend Amphitheater, multiple performances were taped at other locations in downtown Nashville including Bentley with BRELAND and HARDY from Bentley’s Whiskey Row bar on Broadway, Church at on the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge overlooking the Cumberland River and Rucker set up on the outdoor stage at the city’s Fifth & Broadway complex.
CMA Summer Jam marked the first new outdoor concert event for CMA in almost two years after the annual CMA Fest was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. The four-day festival is scheduled to return in 2022 from June 9-12.
