A Story Written About CMA Fest

By Kinsey Haynes

At CMA Fest, it is not all about the bands at who play LP Field.

There are bands that play the smaller stages too, and they play a big role in getting these big names to their final destination.

Everyone knows Florida-Georgia Line's "Cruise", The Band Perry's "Done", and Lady Antebellum's "Better Off Now That You're Gone." All of these bands played over the course of four days at LP Field, but what about those who played throughout downtown in the day?

What do Chase Rice, John & Jacob, and Will Hoge all have in common? They all have written songs for these main stage artists.

Asheville, North Carolina singer, Chase Rice played the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage at 1:30 on Friday. Rice is best known for writing Florida-Georgia Line's No. 1 single "Cruise" which has gone platinum six times over in just the U.S. However, his place on the main stage remains to be seen. "Cruise" is currently the best selling Country song of all time and it was written by someone who played a smaller stage.

Birmingham, Alabama duo, John & Jacob, played the CMA Close-Up stage on Sunday at 1:45. They first made a name for themselves by co-writing The Band Perry's hit single "Done".

"We went to Europe with them," said John. "We had such a good time that Neil and Reed [Perry] asked if we wanted to write with them. That was the first song that we wrote."

"When Kimberly [Perry] got a hold of it, she just killed it," said Jacob. "We are thankful that they did it. It's very surreal."

"Done" has been certified gold in the U.S. and has been No. 1 on numerous country charts in the last year.

In 2013, Nashville native, Will Hoge received a phone call from Lady Antebellum with an interesting request: to ask if they could use of his song, "Better Off Now That You're Gone" for their then upcoming album, Golden.

At the Bud Light stage on Friday, Will stated, “This next song is one of mine that I recorded and was picked up by a band you may have heard of called Lady Antebellum." The song is on Hoge's 2003 release Blackbird on a Lonely Wire.

"We called him up and asked if we could do the song. He was more than happy to let us do it," said Charles Kelley from Lady Antebellum. "We love Will and he is extremely talented."

Hillary Scott, singer for Lady Antebellum had a similar response when asked about Hoge.

"I love Will and his music," Scott said. "I love the way the song turned out and I love his version as well. I expect big things from him."

Maybe one day these three "small stage" acts will gain their rightful recognition and have their LP Field moment. 

Matthew Mayfield and John & Jacob Iron City Birmingham, AL 6/29/13

So, Matthew Mayfield is doing a home show? Ok, when do tickets go on sale? Not only was this a home show, it was the first time that I had gotten to see Matthew headline. The other two times I saw him, he was opening for Needtobreathe (not complaining at all! Both were great shows, but I was due a headline show at some point, right? Right.) When I got to the show, I was the only one in line, so I talked to the security guard. The show was at a new venue called Iron City. This was my first time going to a show there and I cannot wait to go back. When the doors opened, I went inside and was a little confused by the layout. Once I figured it out, I ran for the first row of chairs on the floor. I hate to sound cheesy and stereo typical, but I really did have the best seat in the house: the front row in the middle of the stage. Not long after the doors opened, the opening act, a group of brothers who called their band John and Jacob, came on. Even though they were from Birmingham, I had never heard of them. I wish I had heard them earlier, because they were great. They both had acoustic guitars and Jacob had a trumpet and a tambourine, which is not something you see everyday at a rock and roll show. They played about 10 songs, one of which was a song they co-wrote with The Band Perry. They said, “This next song is not a John and Jacob song. It’s a song that is actually at the top of the billboard charts right now. Last year, we went to the UK with The Band Perry. When we got back, their singer Dillon called us and asked if we wanted to write a song together. We were like did he really have to ask? The result was this song and it’s called Done” The crowd freaked out. I thought that was really cool. Their set ended and it was finally time for Matthew. The stage set up was very simple with two guitars and candles for decoration. When Matthew walked out, the whole crowd went into a frenzy and he played Track You Down. I swear the things that man can do with an acoustic guitar. He followed that with

Dancing In The Dark

(Song I cannot remember!)

Can’t Change My Mind. (He made a Toni Braxton reference because the candles reminded him of her)

Now You’re Free (First time he ever played this acoustic) (My favorite!!!)

Ain’t Much More To Say

Look Me In The Eye

Boys Of Summer (Cover song)

Beautiful

Welcome to the Jungle (Guns N Roses cover) (He said he was going to play a song by one of the greatest bands of all time and if we didn’t know who it was, he would pay us the amount we paid for our ticket to leave. That was hilarious. He also played this because the people in the bar in the back were being loud and it was making him mad.)

Heart In A Wire (He was still annoyed during this song and he didn’t want to be “that guy” that tells everyone to shut up, so he asked the audience if any of us wanted to do it. This blonde girl jumped out of her seat and ran to the stage and said something to the effect of “Look y’all. We have Matthew home for a night. So how about we be quiet and respectful like he deserves?” Everyone cheered and Matthew looked very amused on stage, which made me chuckle more than anything the girl said)

In Or Out

Fire Escape

Seasons In Our Dream (He told us that this song was on his first release and he was excited to play it for us)

Best Of You (Foo Fighters cover) (He asked if we knew who Dave Grohl was. The response was about 50/50 so he said he was the singer for Foo Fighters and the drummer for Nirvana. Then people cheered. I loved this cover)

Miles and Miles

Element (Encore song. He wrote this when he was 19)

Swing Low Sweet Chariot

Fact Or Fable

Even though the crowd in the back was less than stellar, the crowd in the front was lively and dedicated to Matthew. When the show was over, Matthew came out to the merch table. I was excited because I had just done an e-mail interview with him earlier in the week and I wanted him to be able to put a face to the name (even though he had met me two times prior). I told him I was the girl from the interview and he studied me, trying to rack his brain and he finally said “Kinsey?” Yes, that’s me. He remembered that last time I saw him and asked me what happened to my blonde hair. Ha! (I cut it all out). He the asked me how old I was and asked me which part of Alabama I was from. I thought it was cool that he was actually interested in that. He proceeded to talk about how the people in the back really got on his nerves but he didn’t want to say anything about it because he did not want to be “that guy” and “it really fucking pissed him off.” I told him that was definitely going in the blog. He said, very enthusiastically, “Please, put that in the blog!!!” After that, I hugged him, took a picture, and thanked him for the amazing show. He said he would see me soon. That ended my great night and if you ever get an opportunity to see Matthew Mayfield, you need to take it. You will not be sorry, and you can thank me later.