CMA Fest is a who’s who of the country music world, with four nighttime stadium shows filled with the biggest names in the genre, plus waterfront stages and bars on Broadway packed with fans and musical performances. Still, the Nashville event always comes with surprises, and Blake Shelton brought one of the biggest unexpected moments of the weekend.

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Blake Shelton performs at Spotify House at CMA Fest 2025 – Day 3

After the first two nights saw sets by Brooks & Dunn, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Blake took the stage on night three to great fanfare. Earlier in the day, he played a set during Spotify House at his Ole Red Bar. He included new songs and throwbacks like “Ol’ Red” and “Boys ‘Round Here” before heading to Nissan Stadium.

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As one of the night’s headliners, he performed “Texas” and “Stay Country or Die Tryin'” from his new album, For Recreational Use Only. Then he told the crowd, “They told me I could do whatever I wanted” and brought out country legend Trace Adkins.

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Trace treated the crowd to his 2005 hit “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” before he joined Blake for duets of “Hell Right” and “Hillbilly Bone.” The crowd cheered and sang along, but, judging by the smile on his face, it looked like Blake might have been having the most fun of anyone in the arena.

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Trace was only one of the surprise appearances at Nissan Stadium. On night one, Brooks & Dunn brought out Lainey Wilson, and on night two Jelly Roll surprised the crowd with Shaboozey, and Noah Kahan took the stage alongside Kelsea Ballerini. We’ll be waiting to see what surprises the final night brings.

If you didn’t make it to CMA Fest, you can watch “CMA Fest presented by SoFi,” the Music Event of Summer, on ABC on June 26 and next day on Hulu.