Protest Music
Rep. Justin J. Pearson delivered an impassioned speech during liberal country singer Bryan Andrews' set about exercising the right to vote: "That's our power"
Bryan Andrews made his CMA Fest debut on Thursday afternoon by taking the stage to a recording of President Trump’s greatest hits. But the Carrollton, Missouri, country singer wasn’t playing talking points like “We will make America great again!” over the PA in agreement. Rather, he was there to light them up.
Andrews has made a name for himself online as an outspoken critic of Trump and the Republican Party in a series of often expletive-laced videos. Onstage at CMA Fest, he let his music do the talking, performing songs like “Are We Great Yet?” and the new “Not See” (say it aloud) to a modest but lively and diverse crowd, some wearing Black Lives Matter T-shirts, others in hats that read “Resist.” One man on the street posed for photos with a “Fuck Trump” flag draped across his back.
But Andrews didn’t tackle his CMA Fest debut alone. Near the end of his 5 p.m. set, he welcomed state Rep. Justin J. Pearson, a candidate running to represent Tennessee’s 9th congressional district, who, along with Rep. Justin Jones, was expelled for his role in a gun control protest on the Tennessee State House floor in 2023.
