Bryan Andrews Says He Brought Justin Pearson Onstage at CMA Fest After Organisers Had Warned Him Not To

Country singer Bryan Andrews says the Country Music Association (CMA) warned him not to bring Tennessee lawmaker Justin Pearson onstage at CMA Fest. Pearson, a Democrat from Memphis, joined the singer's set in Nashville on 4 June and took the microphone to address the crowd.

Nearly five months after CMA Fest, Pearson's name is on the ballot. Today, 3 November, he is the Democratic candidate in Tennessee's redrawn 9th congressional district. The singer says the new map behind that race is the reason he defied the CMA and brought Pearson into his set.

What the CMA Told Andrews Before His Set

Andrews, from Carrollton, Missouri, writes songs that criticise President Donald Trump. His CMA Fest debut came with a 5pm slot at the trade body's four-day summer festival. On the radio show Taste of Country Nights in July, he said the CMA asked him to keep politics out when it booked him. Organisers then gave Pearson a guest pass but warned Andrews not to bring him onstage, he said. Rolling Stone's video of the pair is below.

'Because they told me not to do it, and I did it anyway,' Andrews said. He gave the same account to Billboard in August. Taste of Country, which ran the interview, says the CMA usually keeps appearances by public officials for moments it sets up and approves. By August, Andrews said, the CMA had still not raised the set with him, and he did not know if it would ask him back next year.

Why Andrews Wanted Pearson Onstage

Andrews says he messaged Pearson after the new map passed. On 7 May, lawmakers dismantled the former Memphis-based 9th district, Tennessee's only majority-Black congressional district, and split Memphis and Shelby County among three districts. Democrats, including Pearson, called the change an attack on Black voters. Republicans are seeking a clean sweep of Tennessee's nine congressional seats. In July, Andrews called Pearson a victim of gerrymandering, where one party draws maps to suit itself, though Pearson kept his state House seat.

Onstage, Pearson criticised billionaires, data centres, and living costs, then urged listeners to vote, Rolling Stone reported. The crowd included tourists who could not vote in Tennessee. 'Music is a protest,' Pearson told the magazine. He stayed to sing along to 'Yeehaw', whose chorus aims an expletive at the law. Earlier, Andrews had opened his show with recordings of Trump's speeches, then answered them with protest songs, including 'Are We Great Yet?'

Where Pearson Stands on Election Day

Pearson, 31, won the Democratic primary on 6 August and faces Republican state senator Brent Taylor today. The new district runs from Memphis towards Nashville's suburbs and is tougher for Democrats. In 2023, the state House expelled him over a gun-control protest, and Shelby County commissioners reinstated him within days.

Andrews has said the risk was worth taking. He has 3.8 million TikTok followers and 1.5 million on Instagram, according to Billboard. Next comes the CMA's 60th awards show, in Nashville on 18 November. Andrews still hopes to play the Grand Ole Opry one day.