Austin, Texas felt a heat stroke on Saturday night when the 2017 iHeartCountry Festival took over the city with a powerhouse lineup of country music superstars.
It was an evening full of special music moments (both classic and new) as Little Big Town, Jason Aldean and many others hit the Frank Erwin Center.
From Dierks Bentley's surprise performance with Kelsea Ballerini to Rascal Flatts sparking a sing-along of a Canadian song, it was a memorable night.
Here’s a round-up of some of the biggest moments!
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Right before headliner Jason Aldean took the stage, country music heavyweights Rascal Flatts opened their set with a nostalgic performance of their 2006 release "Life Is A Highway” — a cover of Canadian singer Tom Cochrane’s 1991 smash hit.
During their opening number, the trio – Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney, and Jay DeMarcus – traveled the stage and allowed the sold-out crowd to participate in an infectious sing-along of the venturesome chorus.
Flatts also performed their latest single, the poignant "Yours if You Want It" off their 10th studio album Back To Us, and closed out their mini-set with a confetti explosion.
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Stars crossed paths when Dierks Bentley invited Kelsea Ballerini on stage for a surprise collaboration of "Different for Girls" smack dab in the middle of his 25-minute set, which included numbers like "I Hold On," "Tip It on Back," "Black," "Somewhere on a Beach" and "Drunk on a Plane.”
Taking over honours for Elle King, who originally sings on the Black single, Bentley told the crowd that the on-stage collaboration is "something that [they'll] never see anywhere else again.”
Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum graced the main stage to deliver a mini-set of hits.
The trio opened with their jazzy number "You Look Good" featuring an impressive horn section.
After their performance of the seductive "Bartender," Lady A treated the audience to a listen of "Heart Break" – a tune about being single and content for the summer – off their forthcoming album of the same name.
Lady A debuted “Heart Break” live back in January.
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Little Big Town delivered an emotional performance of their hit single "Better Man," a mournful ballad that was written by Taylor Swift and was pitched to the four-piece country band via email.
The track, which was released as a single last October, peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and appears on their eight studio album The Breaker, released in February.
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After a string of west coast tour dates, Kip Moore took over Austin, Texas, and the Twitterverse couldn't stop talking about how jacked he looked.
Hitting his mark with cuts like "Wild Ones," "Beer Money" and "More Girls Like You," it was a full-fledged Kip showcase – but everyone seemed to be focused on how hot the country superstar looked. We can't make this stuff up.
Fresh off Old Dominion's kickoff set, Owen’s proved to be a memorable set in the evening when he and his eight-piece band got the venue on their feet.
Among the cuts featured in his tropical-themed stage setup included "American Country Love Song," "Good Company" and "The One That Got Away.”
However, if anyone knows the country superstar, or at least have attended his shows, the 15-minute set wouldn't be complete if the 35-year-old didn't churn out the feel-good "Barefoot Blue Jean Night" for the finale. For the song off his 2011 LP of the same name, Owen paced back and forth on stage without shoes, giving new meaning to the title.
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Bobby Bones and Chris Janson may have previously sung "Buy Me A Boat" with mouths full of marshmallows in the past, but the pair delivered the real deal on Saturday night.
Janson, who performed as part of the Daytime Village, surprised the Frank Erwin Center with his rendition of the smash hit, which passed the million sales mark in late 2016.
Alongside The Raging Idiots, Bones teased the crowd, telling them that he wanted to bring out a friend. "He had a No. 1 song because you loved him so much. Welcome my buddy, Chris Janson!”
It was the final number, so you better believe that Janson, Bones and the rest of the gang went full-throttle, delivering one of the most energetic moments of the evening.
Janson further proved his chops at the end of the set, working his skills on the harmonica that only left folks cheering for more.
Introduced by Bobby Bones, Aldean showed up with his five-piece band by his side, upping the ante for the star-studded affair with a number of his country smashes. But as one of the longest sets of the evening, the country titan delivered them like a true rock star, offering banter with the audience, shredding guitar and making sure to keep the crowd on their feet (at least most of the time).
After kicking off his set with "Lights Come On," which was followed by "They Don't Know," "A Little More Summertime and "Dirt Road Anthem," the country superstar revealed that he's not one for slow cuts and far more about that party lifestyle.
"Wednesday, y'all got to be at work the next morning. Y'all party and call in sick. I love it. It's my kind of people here Texas," he said of the Austin crowd, only to transition to the appropriate "My Kinda Party" and then closing with his 2008 hit, "She's Country.”
Original article at iHeartRadio