The pop-punk hero also performed Lambert’s “Kerosene” at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium
Miranda Lambert may have had the surprise guest of CMA Fest 2023 on Friday night as she brought out pop-punk hero Avril Lavigne during her performance at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium.
Lambert introduced the moment by saying she was about to “make more badass happen right now” and calling Lavigne her “new bestie.” The pair did a quick run-through of a verse and chorus of Lambert’s hard-charging early single “Kerosene” before the band quickly switched to the spiky riff from Lavigne’s 2002 smash “Sk8er Boi.” As fan-shot video of the performance shows, there was an audible eruption of excitement when the stadium crowd realized what was happening.
Lambert’s set was a largely up-tempo bunch of songs, the major exception being the opening number, “Bluebird.” It was aggressive from there, with crowd favorites like “Mama’s Broken Heart,” “Gunpowder & Lead,” and “Little Red Wagon” playing up Lambert’s feisty, rock & roll side. In addition to Lavigne, Lambert also welcomed Leon Bridges to perform their new duet “If You Were Mine” and Elle King to reprise their joyfully rowdy hit “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).”
Guest appearances were a consistent theme of the evening on Friday. Tanya Tucker, who kicked off the night of performances, returned during Lainey Wilson’s set along with King to do a rendition of “Texas (When I Die).” Later in the show, Cody Johnson sang a solo version of “Whoever’s in New England” and surprised everyone with a visit from Reba McEntire.
Wilson and King will be joined by Dierks Bentley as hosts of CMA Fest, the three-hour television concert from this year’s 50th anniversary event in Nashville. The program will air Wednesday, July 19, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.