Jessica Simpson made a surprise appearance in Nashville today for the CMA Music Festival kickoff! The Festival, which was known for years as “Fan Fair”, is a traditional pilgrimage for thousands of country music fans. Today’s kickoff “block party” in downtown Nashville is still rocking, and will continue through this weekend- with celebrity bull riding, more live music than you could possibly see, and a huge barbeque competition.

Tourists are EVERYWHERE here- the “fan fairies” to we natives. It’s the perfect place to see your favorite stars, get pictures with them and have them sign, well, WHATEVER! It’s also a HIGH visibility launch pad for anyone with a new CD dropping.

Jessica has just that- her first country offering, with the single “Come On Over. It was released to country radio last week and debuted at no. 41 on Billboard’s country singles charts, which makes Simpson the highest charting debut solo artist in the HISTORY of Billboard’s country singles charts. Nice job, Jess. Her new CD drops in September.

After her surprise pop-in on the double-decker stage, Jessica says she’s “kinda nervous about being a country singer, but that country is a part of me I’ve been waiting to let out!” Papa Joe was lurking close by, as usual. No sign of Tony Romo yet, although he spent PLENTY of time here when he was dating Carrie Underwood. Carrie and Papa Joe’s presences may keep Jess’s Cowboytoy away.

Tony and Papa Joe are NOT getting along, according to many reports. The latest outrage? A source tells US Magazine that Joe asked Romo, 28, to drop his agent so he could take over his NFL career and $67.5 million contract! He even offered to broker a deal to sell his engagement and wedding to a magazine should Romo and Jessica, 27, get engaged. “‘If you guys have a marriage, I can do the same that I did with Ashlee,’” a source quotes Joe as saying.

WTF?! Tony’s nobody’s fool. He’s told Papa to back off and keep his nosey ass out of his career! Last time I checked, Papa Joe had exactly zero experience as a sports agent. Not that the facts need to get in Joe’s way of a potential celebrity sack! He’s milked Pete and Ash for about all he can at the moment, and Pete Wentz is NEVER gonna play for the Dallas Cowboys. Papa’s not real into chasing guyliner and hair appliance endorsements.

Jess better have a serious sit down with her increasingly insufferable dad- Nick Lachey couldn’t bear him, and Tony doesn’t HAVE to. In fact, if I were Jess, I’d make sure Tony WASN’T here! Carrie’s single again and getting hotter all the time. Romo might do a quarterback sneak over to her pad to escape Joe’s suffocating paws! Trust me, he knows the way.