On Saturday (Oct. 25), ESPN's College GameDay will take place in Nashville, being held at Vanderbilt University's FirstBank Stadium for the first time since 2008, and there will be a strong country presence when College GameDay visits Music City.
Country artists Kenny Chesney and Dierks Bentley are both set to perform at Vanderbilt's Wyatt Lawn, as College GameDay features a top 15 SEC face-off between the Missouri Tigers and Vanderbilt's Commodores.
Nashville native and comedian Nate Bargatze will serve as the celebrity guest picker. Bargatze previously appeared on College GameDay in 2023 at the LSU vs. Alabama game, held in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
This marks just the latest high-profile appearance from Chesney in Nashville, as the country singer was recently inducted as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame on Oct. 19, alongside fellow 2025 inductees, producer Tony Brown and the late singer-songwriter June Carter Cash. Among those celebrating Chesney that evening were performers Megan Moroney, Kelsea Ballerini and Eric Church. Chesney just announced his new slate of 2026 summer shows at Sphere in Las Vegas, and next month will release the book Heart Life Music.
Earlier this year, Vanderbilt University graduate Bentley released his new album Broken Branches and was out on the road this year headlining his Broken Branches tour, featuring openers Zach Top and The Band Loula. His Broken Branches album featured collaborations with Stephen Wilson Jr. ("Cold Beer Can") and Miranda Lambert ("Never You"), while the album's title track was a collaboration with John Anderson and Riley Green.
