BY SYDNEY HARP
In the hot summer sun on Thursday June 7th, Tiera Kennedy took to the Dr Pepper Amp Stage at CMA Fest in Nashville, Tennessee. The sun was absolutely baking, and the crowd did not seem to budge. They were READY to see Tiera rock it. I was so happily surprised to see such a large crowd for a relatively new artist.
To start, I should mention how adorably fun it is to watch Tiera Kennedy perform. It makes all the sense in the world that she had a crowd gathered to enjoy. She has the energy that you just want to hang around. It is welcoming, fun, and youthful. The crowd knew most of her songs and were so proudly yelling out every word. I must emphasize that this is not the norm for a CMA Fest crowd at a smaller daytime stage. But her crowd was the loudest one I heard all day on Thursday. Not only was this crowd the loudest, but this crowd was so fun that everyone was genuinely dancing and having a fantastic time. That takes quite a performer to elicit that response from a crowd. Especially the ones baking under the Tennessee sun!
Genuinely entertaining to stunning lyrics, Tiera Kennedy impressed me so much. It felt as though we were all friends with her having a great time. She made sure to include some covers in her setlist and her choices were on point. She included ‘Little Too Late’, ‘No Air’, and ‘Burning Up’. She gave a shoutout to the millennials in the crowd who loved the cover choices.
My favorite part of the setlist was when Tiera sang her song ‘Jesus, My Mama, My Therapist’. The way she sang the song was so relatable! This was one of the songs the crowd was going crazy for. Even those that may not know the song were singing at the last chorus. This proves to me that Tiera is on her way to a bright future in country music. I look forward to being in her crowd next year for the party and celebration that is a Tiera Kennedy show.