Reba, Brooks & Dunn, Dierks, Darius & Brad Rock in the Rain

Fans exited the stadium and filled the interior concourse areas waiting to see of the show would resume. It was an abrupt stop to what had already been an incredible evening. CMA CEO Tammy Genovese welcomed the crowd at the beginning of the event and reminded them that not only were they there to enjoy great music, but they were also supporting a good cause. Thus far, proceeds from CMA Music Fest have pumped 2.2 million into public education programs in Nashville schools. Mayor Karl Dean welcomed the crowd and fans were on their feet as the Color Guard from the Nashville U.S. Marine recruiting station took the stage. Chuck Wicks delivered a stunning version of the 'Star Spangled Banner,' just before Thunderbirds roared over the stadium.

Then it was time to let the honky tonk fun begin. Brooks & Dunn launched into their high octane set with 'You Can't Take the Honky Tonk Out of the Girl' and proceeded to fire up the Music Fest crowd with 'Hillbilly Deluxe' and 'Put a Girl In It.' Kix Brooks took lead vocals on 'Rock My World (Little Country Girl)' and picked up a huge gun that launched t-shirts out into the frenzied crowd. Ronnie Dunn then served up a spirited version of the poignant hit 'Red Dirt Road' that had the crowd singing along. Next they sang 'Cowgirls Don't Cry,' and fans screamed in delight as Reba joined the duo on stage. "Who was that?" Ronnie said with a mischievous smile as Reba exited at the end of the number.

They followed with 'My Maria' and then reached back into their arsenal of hits to 1991 for their very first No. 1, 'Brand New Man.' They concluded their set with a powerful performance of 'Only in America.' Soldiers joined them on stage and the crowd was on its feet as red, white and blue streamers filled the air.

The night was off to a tremendous start and fans went wild as Reba hit the stage next, opening with 'Why Haven't I Heard from You?' "It's always going to be Fan Fair to me," Reba told the crowd, referring to CMA Music Fest's previous moniker, "because we are here for the fans. I hope you're having half as much fun as we are!"

She then launched into "Fear of Being Alone' and followed that with her new hit single, 'Strange,' giving the audience a taste of her new album, due August 18. However, all the excitement was short-lived as Reba's set was interrupted by announcers asking the audience to please exit because bad weather was approaching.

Fans reluctantly made their way inside, many booing at the show's organizers. While some threw in the towel and dashed to their cars in the pouring rain, the majority waited, packing the concession stands, mingling with other fans and some even taking cat naps on the floor. They were awakened, after a whopping three hour delay, by Darius Rucker, who took the stage around 12:30 AM, thanking everyone profusely for sticking around. Darius made it worth the wait with a rousing set that included his hits 'Don't Think I Don't Think About It,' 'It Won't Be Like This for Long' and 'Alright,' concluding with a rowdy cover of Hank Williams Jr.'s 'Family Tradition,' during which he jumped off the stage and ran into the rain-soaked crowd, encouraging fans to sing along.

Following Darius was his Capitol labelmate Dierks Bentley, sporting a plaid shirt, jeans and his signature curly blond mane, made perhaps a little bigger than usual, thanks to the intense humidity. The Arizona native kicked off his set with an old hit, 'Lot of Leaving Left to Do.' Dierks caffeinated the audience with continued uptempo songs, including 'Feel That Fire' and his latest hit, 'Sideways' -- perhaps an ode to the rain that had indeed been coming down horizontally.

Brad Paisley followed his buddy Dierks, starting his set around 1:30 AM for the impressively large crowd that stuck around to see the country superstar.

"Half the time in concerts, I say we'll stay to 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. Heck, if we play just two songs, it will be," Brad joked of his late start.

Brad rallied the crowd with an old hit, 'Ticks,' followed by a soon-to-be hit, 'American Saturday Night' -- the title track to his upcoming album, due June 30. He then thanked the crowd for their continued support through his decade in the business.

"In 1999, I played my first CMA Music Fest ... and none of you knew who I was!" he joked. "Here it is 10 years later, and look how far we've come together."

Brad dedicated his new song, 'Then,' to the fans and then brought the show's finale back up a notch, concluding with 'Mud on the Tires' and 'Alcohol' -- during which Dierks came back on stage to duet with Brad on the novelty hit.

Julianne Hough, Jimmy Wayne and Rascal Flatts were originally on the bill for Thursday's show but couldn't perform, thanks to Mother Nature. It has not yet been announced whether they will be added to another Music Fest show this weekend.