CMA VISITS LOS ANGELES WITH FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE, COREY CROWDER, ERNEST K., HARDY, RAELYNN AND CANAAN SMITH
The
Country Music Association visited Los Angeles Wednesday, Oct. 10 with
multi-platinum superstar duo and Tree Vibez Music founders Florida Georgia Line, joined by Corey Crowder, Ernest K., HARDY, RaeLynn and Canaan Smith.
During the trip, the songwriters met with students from Harmony Project
for conversations about songwriting, followed by a sold-out CMA Songwriters Series Presented by U.S. Bank performance at The Novo.
Wednesday afternoon, Crowder, Ernest K., HARDY, RaeLynn and Smith
welcomed students from Harmony Project, ranging in age from middle
school through high school, at The Novo for a conversation about the
craft of songwriting. Shortly into the discussion, FGL’s Tyler Hubbard
and Brian Kelley surprised the group and shared their own tips on
songwriting, just before inviting the students to watch soundcheck.
After soundcheck, the CMA Foundation and U.S. Bank surprised students
with 102 new musical instruments as well as tickets to attend the CMA
Songwriters Series show that evening.
Harmony Project provides comprehensive, tuition-free music education
and social support, serving 3,500 youth across Los Angeles, Southern
California and beyond. More than 90 percent of students in the program,
which begins in elementary school, go on to graduate high school and
enter college. The CMA Foundation provided a $50,000 grant to Harmony
Project this year and has invested $350,000 through a five-year
partnership. Additionally, U.S. Bank granted $25,000 to Harmony Project
as part of its Community Possible giving platform and its Places to Play
partnership with the CMA Foundation.
Following the visit with Harmony Project students, FGL took The Novo
stage for a sold-out performance, which featured Crowder, Ernest K.,
HARDY, RaeLynn and Smith joining the 11-time nominated and four-time CMA
Awards-winning duo to perform and share the stories behind their hit
songs. FGL kicked off the night with their 2013 CMA Awards Single of the
Year “Cruise,” as songwriters joined the duo on stage throughout the
night, praising each other for their work and cracking jokes in between
songs. RaeLynn performed new single “Tailgate,” joking, “If my tailgate
told on me, it’s a bad day in my household.” Smith performed his hits
“Hole in a Bottle” and “Love You Like That,” adding that both songs
“helped pay the bills,” while Ernest K. broke out his beat boxing skills
during “Locals Only.” Before performing current single “Simple,”
Hubbard spoke about writing the song. “We were in the back of a bus and
life was feeling complicated. We were talking about how we needed a
break, so we talked about writing a song about being simpler.” Crowder
played Chris Young’s No. 1 hit “I’m Coming Over,” sharing it was the
first record he produced with Young and that Crowder’s son wished in a
wishing well for him to have a No. 1. HARDY explained how he is forever
grateful to the FGL guys for believing in him before performing “Talk
You Out of It” and sharing, “This will be FGL’s new single.” The show
closed with the full lineup performing FGL’s record-breaking No. 1 hit
“Meant to Be,” that had the entire crowd up on their feet as Kelley
addressed the students from Harmony Project in the audience: “Rock on.
Don’t take no for an answer. Chase your dreams. If we can do this, you
can too!”
See below for the full set list.
Setlist:
Florida Georgia Line – “Cruise”
Corey Crowder – “Think of You” (recorded by Chris Young with Cassadee Pope)
HARDY – “Up Down” (recorded by Morgan Wallen feat. Florida Georgia Line)
Canaan Smith – “Hole In A Bottle” and “Love You Like That”
Florida Georgia Line – “Get Your Shine On”
Corey Crowder and HARDY – “Happy Hour”
HARDY – “Signed, Sober You”
Ernest K. – “Locals Only”
Florida Georgia Line – “You Make It Easy” (recorded by Jason Aldean)
Corey Crowder – “Can’t Turn You Down” (recorded by Jon Pardi)
HARDY– “Rednecker”
RaeLynn – “Bra Off”
RaeLynn – “Tailgate”
Florida Georgia Line – “Simple”
Corey Crowder – “I’m Comin’ Over” (recorded by Chris Young)
HARDY – “Talk You Out of It”
Florida Georgia Line – “Meant to Be” (recorded by Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line)
About CMA Songwriters Series
Currently in its 14th season, CMA Songwriters Series has presented more
than 100 shows in cities including Austin, Belfast, Chicago, Dublin,
London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, Park City (at the Sundance ASCAP
Music Café), Phoenix, Toronto and Washington, D.C. at the renowned
Library of Congress and John F. Kennedy Center. Artists and songwriters
who have participated in the series include Jessi Alexander, Dierks
Bentley, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Brandy Clark, Tom
Douglas, Brett Eldredge, Miranda Lambert, Hillary Lindsey, Little Big
Town, Shane McAnally, Lori McKenna, Kacey Musgraves, Tim Nichols, Liz
Rose, Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood, Craig Wiseman, Chris Young, and
more.
About the CMA Foundation
Established in 2011 as the philanthropic arm of the Country Music Association (CMA), the CMA Foundation
is committed to improving and sustaining music education programs
across the United States, working to ensure every child has the
opportunity to participate in music education. Through strategic
partnerships, professional development and grant distribution, the CMA
Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3), has invested more than $21 million
across the national public school system, after school programs, summer
camps and community outreach organizations. Guided by the generosity of
the Country Music community, proceeds from CMA Fest, the four-day long
music festival held annually in Nashville, are used to power the CMA
Foundation’s social impact and unique model of giving. For more
information visit CMAfoundation.org.