According to an age-old cliché, getting knocked down ain’t what matters – it’s how you get up, and Sony Music Nashville’s Nate Smith knows firsthand. With a personal journey scarred by disaster, but defined by revival, he could have stayed down multiple times through life, and instead grew into something else entirely: A beacon of country-music hope.
Featuring a mix of gritty backwoods soul, rock ‘n’ roll swagger and velvet-thunder vocals, Smith is a Nashville artist with a unique connection to life’s inner tug of war. And with his first batch of major-label music, he’s aiming to tip the scales once and for all.
“I just feel lucky that I get to be the messenger for these songs,” says the rising singer-songwriter. “I’m not here to be cool or anything like that. It’s literally just to hit people in the heart.”
With Special Guest: John Morgan
Dierks Bentley broke out in the country music scene with his 2003 debut hit single “What Was I Thinkin'” off his eponymous debut album. The Phoenix, Arizona-born artist’s playful blend of country, rock and bluegrass shines on songs such as 2005’s steamy ballad “Come a Little Closer,” 2014’s “Drunk on a Plane,” and swooning duets like 2016’s “I’ll Be The Moon” with Maren Morris. With nine Top 10 albums under his belt and 15 Grammy nominations, the singer-songwriter has also spent most of the past two decades on the road, touring with the likes of Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley and Miranda Lambert, the latter with whom he hit the road on 2013’s stacked Locked and Re-Loaded Tour. The “notorious road warrior” (Rolling Stone) — now based in Nashville — has completed over a dozen headlining tours that often evoke summer barbeques and high-energy tailgate parties.
With Special Guests:
Chase Rice
Gram Barham
BROTHERS OSBORNE IN CONCERT:
Nashville-based country duo Brothers Osborne became one of the genre’s hottest acts out of the gate. Both clocking in at over six feet tall, the brothers command the stage with ease and charisma as they tear through crowd favorites like the free-spirited “Let’s Go There”, the subtle lullaby “Love The Lonely Out Of You”, and the booze-soaked summer anthem “Rum”. Each song is crafted with catchy hooks, tight harmonies, and singalong choruses that highlight singer TJ’s dynamic baritone and guitarist John’s soulful grooves. Combining the old school twang of Merle Haggard and Hank Williams with the modern flare of Zac Brown Band, the down-home duo is showing ticket buyers a rollicking good time with their classic country shows.
HARDY
Jon Pardi, 
country music’s California cowboy, has brought the West Coast to Nashville with four Top 5 albums on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, four platinum-certified No. 1 singles on the Country Airplay chart and six North American headlining tours since 2014. The Dixon, California native moved to Music City and cut his teeth opening for Dierks Bentley before releasing a slew of successful singles including 2012’s “Missin’ You Crazy” and 2013’s “Up All Night” ahead of his debut album Write You a Song in 2014. Pardi’s 2016 follow-up, California Sunrise, featured his first two Country Airplay No. 1 singles “Head Over Boots” and “Dirt on My Boots,” while 2022’s Mr. Saturday Night hosted his highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100, “Last Night Lonely.” In 2023, he became the first California native to be invited to join the Grand Ole Opry.
Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1988, country singer Jordan Davis has Southern music roots that run deep—not only is his brother also a country singer, but his uncle, Stan Davis, wrote multiple hits for Billboard-topping country singer Tracy Lawrence. It would be putting it mildly to say that Davis grew up around music, but, ironically, he didn’t pursue it as a career until after finishing his degree in conservation at Louisiana State University. Moving to Nashville in 2012, Davis would be exposed to a bright, hard-hitting world of singer-songwriters, citing John Prine and Jason Isbell among his favorites. Synthesizing his influences, Davis worked to come up with a smart, R&B-flavored brand of country rock, and he signed with Universal Music Group Nashville in 2016.
With Special Guests:
Ashley Cooke 
Kenny Chesney has been one of country music’s most prolific crossover artists for almost the entirety of his three-decade career. The Tennessee native has not only notched 17 No. 1s on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, but has topped the mainstream Billboard 200 nine times, and has sold 35 million albums worldwide. After kicking off his solo career with 1994’s In My Wildest Dreams, Chesney nabbed his first of 23 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart with “She’s Got It All” from 1997’s I Will Stand. His 2003 single “There Goes My Life” remained atop the chart for seven weeks, while 2009’s “Out Last Night” marked his career peak on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching No. 16. Chesney earned his first No. 1 album of the new decade with 2020’s Here and Now.
With Special Guests:
UT-IN-BAY, Ohio – Jelly Roll, who last week won Best New Artist at the Country Music Awards, will headline the first day of Put-in-Bay’s Bash on the Bay music festival in August.
He will join country star Hardy, who was previously announced as the headliner of the second day of the show.
Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, is a country and rap artist best known for songs including “Son of a Sinner,” “Dead Man Walking” and “Save Me,” a duet with Lainey Wilson. Also on stage on Aug. 21: Oliver Anthony, Warren Zeiders, Ashland Craft and Logan Crosby.
On stage Aug. 22 with Hardy: Ernest, Drake White & the Fire, Tigerlily Gold and Cory Farley.
Brantley Gilbert
Born in Jefferson, Georgia, in 1985, Gilbert grew up listening to a mix of Southern rock, alternative and country, but only decided to pursue a music career himself following a near-fatal truck accident at the age of 19. After initially performing as a solo acoustic artist, Gilbert assembled his own band to help bring his rowdy sound to life and in 2009 released his debut album, Modern Day Prodigal Son.
Follow-up Halfway to Heaven arrived a year later, but only found a large audience in 2011 when it was reissued by Gilbert’s new label, Valory Music Co. The record not only reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 but also spawned two US Country No. 1 singles, “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” and “Country Must Be Country Wide,” both of which helped Gilbert pick up the CMA Triple Play Award in 2013. Gilbert consolidated his new-found success with wins at the ACMs and iHeartRadio Awards, and 2014’s chart-topping Just As I Am, which also sold over one million copies and produced two more No. 1 hits, “Bottoms Up” and “One Hell of an Amen.” Just like its predecessor, 2017’s The Devil Don’t Sleep peaked at No. 1 on the US Country chart and No. 2 on the Billboard 200, and was supported by a sell-out tour of the same name. Gilbert also has a strong social media presence, amassing over one million followers on both Instagram and Twitter, and 3.5 million on Facebook.
Cole Swindell is well known as a songwriter for some of country music’s biggest names, including Luke Bryant and Scotty McCreery, but with the 2013 release of his solo debut single “Chillin’ It,” Swindell scored a hit of his own and established himself as an artist in his own right.
The sunny, laid-back song became a summertime staple on country radio, cementing his place among country’s rising stars and earning him a host of supporting slots with big name acts. Before “Chillin’ It,” Swindell penned such hits as Craig Campbell’s “Outta My Head” and Scotty McCreery’s “Water Town Town,” both of which climbed the country charts and bolstered his growing reputation.
Swindell’s 2013 live concerts earned him praise as a young performer with promise, generating anticipation among ticket buyers for his 2014 full-length debut and appearance alongside Luke Bryan on the 2014 That’s My Kind of Night tour.