CMA Fest 2023: Five must-catch performers on Saturday's lineup

It's going to feel like triple-digit temperatures today at CMA Fest, so before you're advised to see anything, it's advisable you do one thing: stay hydrated. Water is plentiful on Lower Broadway, so take advantage of every opportunity to refresh yourself and stay cool.

As the Country Music Reporter here at The Tennessean, it's my job to, day-by-day, take a broad yet nuanced survey of the genre at-large. Accordingly, I've taken a look at the full scope of the day's events at CMA Fest and for Thursday, here's what I believe could create — outside of the evening's slate of performers at Nissan Stadium — some of the potential highlights of CMA Fest's third morning and afternoon.

10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

• Amp Stage: Whether you know her as K. Michelle or Puddin, the veteran R&B star, cast member of Love and Hip-Hop, or an aspiring country artist will be her authentic, yodeling, African-American female Memphis native self while taking to one of CMA Fest's stages early on Saturday morning. She's performed so far at the Bluebird Cafe, Ryman Auditorium and on BMI's rooftop so far, with well-appreciated results. As 2023 turns into 2024, she's a performer to watch in the pop-crossover country space whose traditional-rooted sound and influence of The Judds and Alison Krauss are significant in refining her style against beat-driven productions.

12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum: Songwriter Laura Veltz is the pen behind Grammy-nominated songs “Better Than We Found It” (Maren Morris), “Speechless” (Dan + Shay), and “The Bones” (Morris). She's noteworthy because her songs are directly responsible for being a key engine ushering in country music's mainstream crossover growth. At this ticketed event, the Hall and Museum state that "fans get a chance to meet the minds behind some of country music's biggest hits, as they share the stories behind their work in an intimate performance setting, with audience Q&A."For ticket information, visit https://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/calendar/songwriter-session-laura-veltz.

2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

• Riverfront Stage: Jackson Dean's voice is a hauntingly inviting instrument that is resonating impressively well of late with mainstream country fanbases. His crunching, heavy and outlaw rock-styled country track "Don't Come Lookin'" topped Billboard's Country Airplay charts before the close of 2022, while his album "Greenbroke" continues to wow audiences. A recent interview quote best summarizes his appeal: "I'm not there to make you laugh and be a comedian. I'm there to sing my ass off, play my guitar, headbang and give you something raw [emerging] from my hands."

3:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

• Vibes Stage: Kasey Tyndall's a mother of a newborn who described her best plan for success as "running on adrenaline and Jesus" to stardom in a recent Tennessean interview. Add in the prominent influences of Avril Lavigne, Joan Jett and Alison Krauss, plus Brantley Gilbert, Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban to develop the musical Venn diagram that you'll expect to hear in her set. The 2023 CMT Next Women of Country class member's single "Nothing Wrong With Being Country" is a standout.

4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

• Reverb Stage

  • Shreveport, Louisiana native Willie Jones' brand of turnt-up country also occupies space directly between Lainey Wilson's hometown of Baskin, Louisiana, Ashley McBryde's roots in Waldron, Arkansas, Charley Crockett's beloved Dallas and Janis Joplin's legendary home in Port Arthur, Texas. Regarding his growing hitmaking potential showcased on his forthcoming album "Something To Dance To," fellow artist (and country chart-topper) Blanco Brown noted that songs like "Down By The Riverside" and "Slow Cookin'" represent "experimental, unprecedented music that sounds like nothing that's ever hit the radio before."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: CMA Fest 2023: Saturday lineup includes these must-catch performances