Sam Hunt gave fans at the 2018 CMA Music Festival a huge surprise on Saturday night (June 9). The country star made an unannounced appearance during the festival's Nissan Stadium shows, beginning his performance casually from the middle of the crowd.

Footage on Instagram shows Hunt coyly chilling in a seat in the stands at Nissan Stadium. Fans didn't appear to recognize him until he started singing his newest single, "Downtown's Dead" -- but once they did, the crowd freaked out. Readers can see some of Hunt's performance above and below; he made his way through the crowd to a small side stage to round out the song.

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Also performing at Nissan Stadium on Saturday night were Kelsea Ballerini, Keith Urban, Chris Stapleton and more. The annual four-day event runs through Sunday (June 10). In August, ABC will air a TV special featuring footage from the Nissan Stadium shows; Thomas Rhett and Ballerini are returning to co-host the show for a second year.

"Downtown's Dead," which is Hunt's latest single, is the first new music he's released since he dropped "Body Like a Back Road" in 2017. The new song is an ode to his shift from the party lifestyle of the early days of his career to a more settled life with his wife, Hannah Lee Fowler. The couple got married in 2017.

Hunt says he's still a little way out from a whole new album, but he is set to release another new track, "Nothing Lasts Forever" in the near future. He recently performed the song live during a show.

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