Blake Shelton reunited with his longtime friend and frequent collaborator Trace Adkins for a special performance of “Hillbilly Bone” at CMA Fest in Nashville.
The country superstars joined forced for an unforgettable performance of their country megahit on the Nissan Stadium stage in front of a massive crowd of near 70,000 diehard country music fans.
“We all got a hillbilly bone down deep inside/ No matter where you from, you just can’t hide it/ When the band starts bangin’ and the fiddle sobs/ You can’t help but hollerin’ “yee-haw!”/ When you see them pretty little country queens/ Man, you gotta admit that it’s in them jeans/ Ain’t nothin’ wrong, just gettin’ on/ Your hillbilly bone-ba-bone-ba-bone-bone,” Shelton and Adkins sang on the track’s chorus as the crowd belted out the lyrics.
Ahead of the show, Shelton opened up about having Trace Adkins, who he called “one of my best friends in the world,” join him for a surprise performance. The pair of hitmakers have a longstanding friendship and have toured together multiple times, with the latest being on Shelton’s Friends And Heroes Tour.
“I’m happy to be here, and I’ve got new music that I haven’t gotten to perform in front of the Nissan Stadium crowd, but also I have a secret weapon tonight. Trace Atkins is going to come out and perform “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” which if I understand it right, it’s the 20-year anniversary of that song becoming a hit or the release of it. And then once he’s out there, I’m keeping him on stage with me.”
He continued, “[Trace] is literally like a brother to me and so anytime I get him on stage with me, I just want to keep him out there. So I’m super excited and been doing this a long time, but tonight’s going to be a special one for me.”
Adkins also delivered a solo performance of his fan-favorite hit, “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk,” while Shelton offered an energy-filled performance of his latest single, “Stay Country or Die Tryin’,” a track that appears on his latest album, For Recreational Use Only.
2025 CMA Fest
Dubbed “The Music Event of Summer,” CMA Fest Presented by SoFi featured 30+ performances from some of Country music’s hottest stars, including Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, Cody Johnson, Riley Green, Jason Aldean, Trace Adkins, Jordan Davis, Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Parker McCollum, Ashley McBryde, Rascal Flatts, The Red Clay Strays, Dylan Scott, Zach Top, Keith Urban and more.
The three-hour broadcast also included unforgettable collaborations from the 2025 CMA Fest. Brooks & Dunn teamed up with Lainey Wilson for “Play Something Country” and with Marcus King for “Rock My World [Little Country Girl],” Dierks Bentley joined forces with Zach Top on “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go)” and a “Mountain Music” medley, Cody Johnson and Carín León performed “She Hurts Like Tequila,” Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll delivered a powerful performance of “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” Jason Aldean and Travis Tritt united for “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive” and Bailey Zimmerman and BigXthaPlug showcased their new duet “All The Way” and more.
CMA Fest presented by SoFi was filmed at Nissan Stadium during Music City’s four-day country music festival, which took place Thursday, June 5, through Sunday, June 8. 2025 marked the 19th consecutive year that CMA has produced a summer concert TV special. The show is a production of the Country Music Association, executive produced and written by Robert Deaton and directed by Alan Carter. The 2025 airing marks the 22nd consecutive year CMA has produced a summer concert TV special.
The CMA Fest special aired on Thursday, June 26 at 8/7c on ABC and is available to watch on-demand on Friday, June 27 via Hulu.
