Chris Young returns to LP Field; CMA Fest lineup grows

Chris Young missed his coveted performance spot at LP Field last year during CMA Music Festival due to a kitchen accident that nearly cost him his fingers. The country singer required more than 100 stitches and two five-hour surgeries to repair the damage he sustained when a kitchen knife slipped while he was preparing a late-night snack less than 48 hours before he was supposed to be on stage.

This year he'll get the chance to make it up to his fans.

The Country Music Association will reveal another round of performers for CMA Music Festival's nightly concerts at LP Field on Tuesday. When they do, Young's name will be on the list. Other country stars newly added to the lineup include Young's recent touring partner Lee Brice along with Randy Houser and Maddie & Tae.

This time, Young won't be chopping any apples before he goes on stage at the festival, which is June 11-14 in downtown Nashville.

"You can't control something like that," Young said of his "freak accident." "When you can't make a show, it's something that I'm so unused to. So it's really, really fun that I get to come back and do it this year."

And when he does, he said his set will look a little bit different from the last time he played LP Field four years ago. When he cut his hand and couldn't play guitar for several months, Young realized some songs were better served by him putting down his instrument and interacting with the crowd.

"It's like, 'Oh, it makes sense for me to run around the stage more often,' " said the singer, who has recuperated from his injury. "Hopefully I'll get to do a little bit of both at LP Field."

Young is working on his set list now and marvels that at this point in his career he's had enough No. 1 songs that they won't all fit into one set. The Murfreesboro native's hits include "Gettin' You Home," "Voices," "Tomorrow," "Who I Am with You" and his most recent success "Lonely Eyes," a song he recorded written by good friend Johnny Bulford. He plans to play that song at LP Field, and he said Bulford will be in the audience to hear it.

"You want to be able to put on your best," he said. "It's all the people you work with. And for me, it's right down the road from where I grew up, so it's all my friends and family. You want it to be big and you want it to be cool and it doesn't get much bigger than playing LP Field."

Artists already announced to play CMA Music Festival's nightly concerts at LP Field include Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, The Band Perry, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Keith Urban and Florida Georgia Line. The nightly concerts are sold out, but tickets remain to Fan Fair X and many of the festival's daytime events are free. For more information visit http://www.cmaworld.com/cma-music-festival/.