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Bailey Zimmerman surprised the iHeartCountry Festival crowd with an epic special guest to sub for powerhouse singer-songwriter Luke Combs on stage on Saturday night (May 3).
Zimmerman took the stage at the 2025 iHeartCountry Festival presented by Capital One, which returned to Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The “Holy Smokes” hitmaker said he still couldn’t believe he has a collaboration out with Combs. The pair released “Backup Plan” on Friday (May 2). In Combs’ absence, Zimmerman surprised the Texas crowd with another award-winning artist in the iHeartCountry Festival lineup: Nate Smith.
Zimmerman, decked in an iHeart-inspired look, rocked out with the “World On Fire” superstar during the high-energy moment on stage. He also treated the festival goers to “Religiously,” “Where It Ends” and “Rock and A Hard Place” during his set.
Other artists who joined the 2025 iHeartCountry Festival lineup include Brooks & Dunn, Thomas Rhett, Rascal Flatts, Cole Swindell, Sam Hunt, Megan Moroney and special guest Dasha, who performed her viral TikTok anthem, “Austin,” in the Texas city of the same name. Festival goers also caught performances on the free Daytime Village stage before the man show, including Smith, Moroney, Matt Stell, Tucker Wetmore and Dasha in the lineup. iHeartCountry Festival viewers and listeners tuned into the show via Hulu, the Official Streaming Destination, and across 122 iHeartCountry stations nationwide and the free iHeartRadio app. It was all hosted by iHeartRadio’s Bobby Bones.