Making its celebrated return to Austin on Saturday, October 30th the iHeart Country Music Festival lit up the Frank Erwin Center for a star-studded night.
The festivities kicked off at the Daytime Village stage and the surrounding outdoor party, open to the general public who flocked to see showcases from the Country’s rising stars. The performances from Carley Pearce and Maddie And Tae were punctuated by bitter-sweet ballads, while the offerings from Parker McCollum and Chase Rice were more fist-pumping party songs that had the crowd singing along.
Once the festival moved inside, the show started off with Country Super-Star Toby Keith launching out on his hit “Made In America” and being greeted by thousands of cheering fans. Each artist was given a brief set in the spotlight, packing in truly stunning performances from the likes of Jake Owen, Little Big Town, Walker Hayes, and even an acoustic guitar pull from several members of the daytime singers.
The true highlight of the evening was the appearance of a surprise mystery guest, George Strait, who came on stage to an eruption of cheers as he played the songs “The Weight Of The Badge” and “Amarillo By Morning.”
At the end of the night, the festival brought out one last titan of the genre, Blake Shelton who stormed the arena with his back-roads anthem, Boys Round Here. Shelton’s charisma was palpable and even brought a special hit to the setlist with the song “Austin,” special to the town that hosted him. The Festival was ultimately brought to a close on the almost hymnal hit, “God’s Country,” reminding the audience why this is the best place to see all the Country greats!
