There have been so many wonderful memories over the past nine Y100 8 Man Jams. It’s hard to believe this is the 10th one! Some truly amazing moments have happened. A few standout memories for me revolve around the fashion, the artists, and of course the music.

The Y100 8 Man Jam is a great time to dress up and strut your “western chic” outfits. One of the toughest decisions every year for me, is deciding what to wear. I have to pull out my “boot ring” and decide which pair of boots to wear, that won’t kill my feet by the end of the night.

Looking back over the all the artists that have graced the Y100 8 Man Jam stage, it is truly stunning.

There is such a variety of up-and-comers that have made it big, and created new fans along the way: Carly Pearce, Jon Pardi, Priscilla Block, Parker McCollum, Lauren Alaina, Kane Brown, and many, many more.

There are Texas artists that played 8 Man Jam and know how to party: Cody Johnson, Randy Rogers, Aaron Watson, Kevin Fowler, Josh Abbott Band, and Eli Young Band.

There have been quite a few crowd favorites bring their talent to the Y100 8 Man Jam: David Lee Murphy, Josh Turner, Ronnie Dunn, Darius Rucker, and Gary Allan, Big & Rich, just to name a few.

Seeing the women shine at the 8 “Man” Jam always makes me giddy. It shows the true power of the female spirit. Whether it’s Lauren Alaina with her powerhouse vocals, Kylie Morgan acting like we’re all her best friends and sitting on the front of the stage telling the story behind the song before singing it flawlessly, or Ashley McBryde belting out a song.

Being able to witness as lifelong fans are made of new artists is truly special and a big part of what makes the Y100 8 Man Jam a remarkable and memorable show. We kicked it off in a big way and have been raising the bar ever since, including this 10th year, by having the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year and Female Artist of the Year, Lainey Wilson!

Remember the only way in is to win!

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Random memories: (Things I noticed backstage that I didn’t really know how to include.)

One of the moments I remember from year one, is the final set with Darius Rucker, Aaron Lewis, and Sheryl Crow. Hearing them joke back and forth makes the event fun. It was either Darius or Aaron that said, “If this was 1999, this would be a million-dollar show.”

This isn’t just a fun event for fans, it’s a great time for the artists to get together and play off each other also. It’s always incredible to see that dynamic between the different artists you might not realize collaborate. All the moments are special, a few standouts are Big & Rich singing an Irish ditty with Frankie Ballard backstage, Cody Johnson bringing down the house (before a lot of people knew who CoJo was), Kevin Fowler opening his guitar case, it being full of Bud Light, and him throwing them to audience members. The year Kane Brown played 8 Man Jam, everyone was looking forward to seeing him, that same year we had Lauren Alaina. She stole the show from everyone.