Universal Nashville Hosts 7th Annual CRS Luncheon

Universal Nashville hosted its 7th Annual "Team UMG Live at the Ryman" luncheon earlier today and showcased performances by Luke Bryan, Vince Gill, Chris Stapleton, and many more. 

Written by Lauren Jo Black
Universal Nashville Hosts 7th Annual CRS Luncheon

Universal Nashville hosted its 7th Annual “Team UMG Live at the Ryman” luncheon earlier today.

Taking the stage during the nearly two-hour showcase was Lauren Alaina, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Vince Gill, Charles Kelley, Little Big Town, Kip Moore, Kacey Musgraves, David Nail, Jon Pardi, Eric Paslay, Darius Rucker, Canaan Smith, Chris Stapleton and Keith Urban.

Little Big Town opened the show admitting that they were a bit nervous to sing while Vince Gill watched from the side of the stage, but as always, the quartet absolutely killed it.

UMG Canaan Smith 1

Other show highlights included Canaan Smith’s mashup of his song “Stuck” with the Goo Goo Dolls hit “Iris,” Jon Pardi’s sing-a-long of “Head Over Boots,” and Kip Moore’s gritty performance of “Running For You.”

UMG Kip Moore

Darius Rucker earned the first standing ovation of the day with his heartfelt performance of “So I Sang,” a track from his latest album, Southern Style. The song brought tears to his eyes and reminded everyone who was at the “Mother Church of Country Music” what this genre is all about: great songs.

Attendees were also treated to a performance of Charles Kelley’s GRAMMY-nominated song “The Driver” with Eric Paslay and Dierks Bentley. The amount of talent between the three of them is mind-blowing.

After taking the stage for “The Driver,” Paslay stepped into the spotlight on his own later in the show for an energetic performance of “High Class.” It was truly a standout moment for the Texas native. He had everyone on their feet singing along, and his performance proved that his talents go beyond songwriting; he’s a true entertainer as well.

UMG Chris Stapleton

When Chris Stapleton sings, you listen. And that’s exactly what folks at The Ryman did. Stapleton had the audience in the palm of his hand as he sang “Either Way,” a song he penned alongside Timothy Alan James and Kendell Wayne Marvel. It appeared on Lee Ann Womack’s 2008 album, Call Me Crazy. He, too, received a standing ovation.

UMG Eric Church

Eric Church performed a stripped down version of of his next single, “Record Year,” and received a standing ovation and proved why he is and will always be the “Chief.”

Instead of plugging his new single, which is what most artists do when they play to a crowd full of Country radio programmers, Vince Gill opted to perform “Sad One Comin’ On (A Song for George Jones),” and we’re so glad he did. There isn’t a place more fitting to honor “the Possum” than The Ryman. Gill received two standing ovations: one before and one after his emotional performance.

UMG Vince Gill

After Luke Bryan delivered a beautiful performance of “To The Moon and Back,” Keith Urban took the stage to close the show. With his wife, Nicole Kidman, watching and singing along side-stage, Urban wow’ed with his latest single “Break On Me” and brought the house down with a funky, bass guitar driven rendition of “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.”

This event is always one of the most buzzed about events of Country Radio Seminar (CRS), and it once again did not disappoint.