Scott’s Version: Big Machine Records and Nashville Harbor’s CRS lunch doubled as both a showcase and a reset, coming just after Scott Borchetta’s departure from the newly rebranded Blue Highway Records. Borchetta addressed the room with his trademark confidence, joking about his next chapter as “Big Machine (Scott’s Version).” The music kicked off with a true whirlwind moment as Naomi Carman took the stage just 30 minutes after officially signing, performing two songs including a cover of "Be-Bop-A-Lula.” Cole Goodwin also made his CRS debut with “Call Me Colorado” and “Howdy,” which he introduced as his “version of a pickup line.” Caroline Jones followed with “You’re It For Me, Honey” and “Storm Chaser,” with additional performances by Hunter Flynn (“Ghost Of A Girl”) and Shaylen (“You Smell Like A Cigarette”). Mackenzie Carpenter dropped some lore during her set of “High Pony” and “All In Already,” sharing that she broke up with her boyfriend the same day she met her now-husband. The Jack Wharff Band delivered “Strange” and “Washed,” followed by a surprise video appearance from Billy Bob Thornton and Mark Collie (The Back Beat Troubadours) announcing a film about Bobby Ray Hall. Collie tied it in with a performance of “True American Racer,” accompanied by Thornton on screen.
Closing the event, The Band Perry delivered a nostalgic punch with “You Lie” and “Better Dig Two,” and, much like the new but not-so-new label, looked ahead with new single “Psycho Logical.”