Jason Aldean Teams Up With His Musical Hero Travis Tritt For Iconic CMA Fest Surprise

Jason Aldean made his CMA Fest 2025 performance one to remember when he surprised fans with his special guest, Travis Tritt, during his headlining set at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on Thursday, June 5. Fans got to relive the epic moment tonight during “CMA Fest presented by SoFi,” the three-hour broadcast that aired on ABC.

As the final act of the night, Aldean went out with a bang. After delivering hits like “Hicktown,” “Dirt Road Anthem,” “My Kinda Party,” and his latest No. 1 hit, “Whiskey Drink,” he rounded out his set by inviting fellow Georgia native Travis Tritt to join him on stage.  

He introduced the country icon by saying that his next song wasn’t one of his, but instead a hit by one of his musical heroes that was released in 2000 and remains a fan-favorite to this day.

“This guy is from Georgia and 25 years ago, he had a No. 1 song…so we’re going to play this one for you and see if you remember this one. If you do, sing along.”

With his guitar in hand, Aldean launched into the opening verse of “It’s A Great Day To Be Alive,” the beloved country anthem made famous by Travis Tritt. After finishing the first chorus, Aldean encouraged the crowd to “make some noise,” before bringing out the legend himself.

As Travis Tritt walked onstage, the energy inside Nissan Stadium soared to new heights. The two Georgia natives joined forces on the feel-good anthem, trading lines and strumming side by side while fans belted out the lyrics, making for one of the standout moments of opening night.

“And it’s a great day to be alive/ I know the sun’s still shining/ When I close my eyes/ There’s some hard times in the neighborhood/ But why can’t every day be just this good,” the country acts sang alongside the screaming fans.

Reflecting on the opportunity to join forces with an artist that he has looked up to throughout his entire career, Aldean admitted, “anytime I get a chance to work with one of my heroes, I jump on it.”

While it wasn’t their first time sharing the stage, the moment felt full-circle for Jason Aldean, who opened up about how much it meant to perform alongside an artist who helped shape his path in country music.

“He was one of those guys to me that I’m like, man, that guy came from Georgia. He played all the bars in Atlanta. He was doing the stuff that I was doing, and he made it so it made it seem like it was attainable, that this was something that was actually possible.”

Aldean goes on to say that he grew up covering plenty of Tritt’s music in small clubs and even paid for his first car after he won a singing competition using the song, “Help Me Hold On.”

“He always kind of makes country and Southern rock, which, I like a little bit more of the rock side of stuff too…And it’s been 25 years since he had a hit with “Great Day to Be Alive.” And so somebody approached us, my manager said, ‘Hey, would you want to bring Travis out?’ And I’m like, ‘absolutely, let’s do this.’ So we played together before, but tonight’s going to be fun. He’s one of my favorites,” he added.

Tritt echoed the same sentiment for Aldean, reflecting on their long-standing connection and the first time they shared the CMA Fest stage back in 2015.

“I think we need to start making a regular 10 year thing out of this. Every 10 years we get together and come back to the CMA and play for CMA fest. It is just so, so much fun and the crowds are always fantastic here,” he shared.

He also noted how their bond goes back to Aldean’s early days, before the record deals and chart-toppers. On top of their CMA Fest appearances, the pair also toured together back in 2022.

“Going out on tour with Jason has been a blast. We did a tour together in 2022. I hope we get an opportunity to work together a bunch more, but he’s just one of those that I feel like he’s following in the footsteps.

Tritt, who recalls playing CMA Fest at the stadium when it was brand-new in the early 2000s, credited all the dedicated fans who continue to come back to the festival year after year and bring the best energy with them each time.

“The response from the crowd, I mean these are diehard country fans that come to CMA Fest every single year,” he shared. “And boy, you can sure tell it when you go out on that stage. They let you know and they sing every word to your music back to you at full volume. You can’t ask for anything more than that.”

His most recent on-stage moment with Jason Aldean served as a reminder of the power of country music and based off the roaring voices in the crowd, it’s safe to say this collaboration struck all the right chords during this year’s CMA Fest.

Jason Aldean and Travis Tritt’s performance marked one of many surprise musical appearances that took place during CMA Fest 2025. Highlights from all four nights of shows at Nissan Stadium were captured for the special television event, “CMA Fest presented by SoFi.”

Hosted by Cody Johnson and Ashley McBryde, the three-hour concert event aired Thursday, June 26 at 8/7c on ABC and will be available the next day on Hulu.