From ATV mechanic to rocking the iHeartCountry Festival stage!

Chase Matthew followed up Parker McCollum's blazing opening set at the 2026 iHeartCountry Festival at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, showing he could hold his own.

The country rocker began the set with his current hit single, "Holdin' It Down." As he finished the song, he revealed to his fans how much being in Texas meant to him.

"I always wanted to play Austin, so thank you!" the country star admitted before going into his second song, "Love You Again."

Before playing his final song of the night, Matthew opened up to the crowd about how much being a part of the evening meant to him.

"I'm from a small town outside Nashville and I love it out there, I am proud of where I came from," Matthew told the cheering crowd. "Maybe you came from a place not a whole lot of people know of, so thank you for choosing to represent those small-town people who weren't afraid to chase their dreams. We made it all the way to the iHeartCountry Festival, this is crazy!"

After, Matthew ended his set with his smash song "Darlin,'" complete with a rock-inspired extended outro.

Before his set backstage, the iHeartCountry Instagram gave fans a first look at Matthew and his band amping themselves up pre-show in a fun clip. And earlier in the day, Matthew performed at Daytime Village with Lauren Alaina with a set that brought the house down.

Luke Bryan, Kane Brown, Parker McCollum, Riley Green, Carly Pearce, Shaboozey, Dylan Scott, Russell Dickerson, Gretchen Wilson, Chase Matthew and Lauren Alaina, plus special guest George Birge, made up the star-studded lineup of the 2026 iHeartCountry Festival. It was all hosted again by iHeartRadio’s Bobby Bones.

The 2026 iHeartCountry Festival is streaming live on Disney+ and Hulu. If you missed the show (or just want to relive the experience), you can replay the festival on Sunday (May 3) only on Hulu.

Check back with iHeartCountry for a photo gallery of red carpet looks, more performance recaps, backstage moments and other unforgettable highlights from this year’s iHeartCountry Festival.

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