Nelly performs during 2022 Rose City Music Festival in downtown Tyler on Saturday.

Music fans from different areas of East Texas screamed and jumped with excitement on Saturday night at the downtown Tyler Square for the inaugural Rose City Music Festival.

Cherish Green, from Nacogdoches, started a chant that echoed, “Nelly, Nelly, Nelly” among VIP crowd members.

“I’m in love,” she said in awe as soon as Grammy award-winning artist Nelly hopped off stage after performing numerous hit singles from his discography.

Nelly, a Texas native, saw success as early as 2000 and is known for songs like “Hot in Herre,” “Air Force Ones,” “Just a Dream,” and more. He has also branched out into different music genres besides rap, such as pop and country.

Green was in disbelief after witnessing Nelly’s performance and couldn’t pick a favorite song.

“It’s Nelly, you can’t pick a favorite song… this is the best experience,” she said.

Green also mentioned the excitement toward headliner Koe Wetzel, and she recalled being pleased with the music lineup for the show when it was first released.

“They need to do it more often, more artists like these,” she said.

Along with other fans gathered by the barricade, screaming every word of the song, another Nelly fanatic was in attendance, Ashley Daniels, from Tyler.

Daniels was stoked to see Nelly perform and said the artist was part of her growing up, which made it a must to attend when she found out he was performing in East Texas.

“I came here for Nelly, he was my youth and I enjoyed every minute of it. I grew up on Nelly … It was definitely worth it,” she said.

Green and Daniels, both from different cities in East Texas, were standing next to each other during the show and automatically became ‘besties,’ because of their shared obsession with Nelly, said Green.

They mentioned that festivals that cater to a diverse music taste are needed in East Texas.

“East Texas needs more stuff like this, we’re so small,” Green said. “Music controls the energy in the room.”

Green also commented about Tyler’s very own Fritz Hager III who opened up for Nelly and Koe Wetzel, after local band Untold Story.

“Fritz is adorable, I want to hear him more often. We need to get him up in Hollywood,” she said.

Along with music performances, those who attended the show were able to enjoy food from a variety of restaurants.