2024 in country music
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- January 2 – John Michael Montgomery announces his retirement from touring, with his final tour dates scheduled for the end of 2025.[1]
- January 3 – Joe Bonsall of the Oak Ridge Boys announces his retirement from touring; Ben James finished the Oaks farewell tour in his place.[2]
- January 4- Dolly Parton celebrates her 55th Anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
- January 19 – Elle King made headlines after taking to the Grand Ole Opry stage while heavily intoxicated during a Dolly Parton tribute show, in honor of Parton's 78th birthday. She later cancelled several of her own concerts in the wake of the incident. Parton subsequently came to King's defense during an interview with Extra, and King resumed performing in March.[3]
- March 10 – The UK Country Airplay chart, the first ever genre-specific radio chart in the United Kingdom, debuts its inaugural list, with "Creek Will Rise" by Conner Smith claiming the title of first number one single.[4]
- April 8 – Morgan Wallen is arrested for reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct after throwing a chair off the sixth floor of Eric Church's rooftop bar in downtown Nashville. He was charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor and is due to appear in court on May 3 in between performances at Nissan Stadium.[5]
- April 20 – Scotty McCreery is inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry by his childhood hero Josh Turner. McCreery was invited in December 2023, by Garth Brooks.[6]
- April 24 – Miranda Lambert signs a joint record deal with Republic Records and Big Loud.[7]
- April 26–28 – The 2024 edition of Stagecoach Festival took place at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, featuring headline performances from Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, and Morgan Wallen.[8]
- May 3 – T. Graham Brown is inducted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He was invited by Vince Gill earlier in the year during his guest appearance on Brown's Sirius XM radio show.[9]
- May 3 – Randy Travis releases "Where That Came From", his first new recording in over a decade with the help of AI software to recreate his vocals following a series of strokes and health issues that left him unable to sing.[10] It would go on to chart on both the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts, becoming Travis' first solo charting single in nearly two decades since "Angels" in 2005.
- May 21 – Lainey Wilson is surprised by Reba McEntire on the season finale of NBC's The Voice with an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry.[11] She was subsequently inducted by Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks on June 7.
- June 4 – Lukas Nelson announces that his band, Promise of the Real, would be going on hiatus so that the members can pursue their own projects.[12]
- June 15 – George Strait's concert at Kyle Field in Texas becomes the most-attended ticketed show in US history, with 110,905 fans in attendance. The record was previously held by the Grateful Dead, who played for 107,019 people at Raceway Park in 1977.[13]
- June 27 – Raul Malo, lead singer of the Mavericks, announces that he has been diagnosed with colon cancer and that the band will have to reschedule or cancel several shows in 2024 while he undergoes treatment.[14]
- June 30 – Shania Twain performed in the traditional Legend's slot at the 2024 Glastonbury Festival, the first country artist to perform in the slot since Dolly Parton in 2014.[15]
- July 5 – The War and Treaty go public about a racist incident where a cotton plant was placed in their dressing room at the Coca-Cola Sips and Sounds Music Festival in Austin, Texas. The band stated that this was only in their dressing room and left them angry and upset based on the history of the plant in regards to black American history. They left the festival immediately after their set and spoke to their young son, who encouraged them to speak up.[16]
- August 23 – Ten years after coming out as gay, Billy Gilman marries his husband Anthony Carbone.[17]
- August 27 – Drew Baldridge makes history by becoming the first artist to self-fund a number one song when his single "She's Somebody's Daughter" reached the top of the Country Aircheck chart.[18]
- October 3 – Garth Brooks is sued by his former hairstylist and makeup artist who claimed she was sexually harassed by him. She also claimed that Brooks raped her during a trip the two took to film a Grammy tribute in 2019. Brooks has denied the accusations.[19]
- November 25 – Westwood One, distributor of radio's American Country Countdown, announces that Kix Brooks (of Brooks & Dunn) would be stepping down as host upon the final countdown program of 2024, after 19 years of hosting. Ryan Fox, a morning personality at Cumulus Media-owned KPLX in Dallas, Texas, was announced as Brooks' successor, effective with the January 4, 2025 program.[20]
Top hits of the year
The following songs placed within the Top 20 on the Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay, or Canada Country charts in 2024:
Singles released by American and Australian artists
Singles released by Canadian artists
Top new album releases
| US | Album | Artist | Record label | Release date | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 9 Lives | Koe Wetzel | Columbia | July 19 | [87] |
| 10 | About a Woman | Thomas Rhett | Valory | August 23 | [88] |
| 3 | Am I Okay? | Megan Moroney | Columbia | July 12 | [89] |
| 1 | Beautifully Broken | Jelly Roll | This Is Hit/Stoney Creek/Republic | October 11 | [90] |
| 5 | Born | Kenny Chesney | Blue Chair/Warner Music Nashville | March 22 | [91] |
| 4 | Cold Beer & Country Music | Zach Top | Leo33 | April 5 | [92] |
| 1 | Cowboy Carter | Beyoncé | Columbia/Parkwood | March 29 | [93] |
| 6 | Cowboys and Dreamers | George Strait | MCA Nashville | September 6 | [94] |
| 1 | Deeper Well | Kacey Musgraves | Interscope/MCA Nashville | March 15 | [95] |
| 6 | Don't Mind If I Do | Riley Green | Nashville Harbor | October 18 | [96] |
| 1 | F-1 Trillion | Post Malone | Republic/Mercury | August 16 | [97] |
| 2 | Fathers & Sons | Luke Combs | Columbia/River House | June 14 | [98] |
| 1 | The Great American Bar Scene | Zach Bryan | Belting Bronco/Warner | July 4 | [99] |
| 10 | High | Keith Urban | Capitol Nashville | September 20 | [100] |
| 8 | Highway Prayers | Billy Strings | Reprise | September 27 | [101] |
| 5 | Hungover | Ella Langley | Sawgod/Columbia | August 2 | [102] |
| 9 | Made by These Moments | The Red Clay Strays | HBYCO/RCA | July 26 | [103] |
| 9 | Passage du Desir | Johnny Blue Skies | High Top Mountain | July 12 | [104] |
| 1 | Patterns | Kelsea Ballerini | Black River | October 25 | [105] |
| 8 | Postcards from Texas | Miranda Lambert | Republic/Big Loud | September 13 | [106] |
| 10 | Rebel | Anne Wilson | Capitol CMG/MCA Nashville/Sparrow | April 19 | [107] |
| 8 | Restless Mind | Sam Barber | Lockeland Springs/Atlantic | November 1 | [108] |
| 3 | Twisters: The Album | Various artists | Atlantic | July 19 | [109] |
| 2 | Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Going | Shaboozey | American Dogwood/Empire | May 31 | [110] |
| 3 | Whirlwind | Lainey Wilson | BBR | August 23 | [111] |
Other top albums
| US | Album | Artist | Record label | Release date | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Actin' Up Again | Gavin Adcock | Thrivin Here/Warner Nashville | August 2 | [112] |
| 33 | Bad for Me | Chayce Beckham | Wheelhouse | April 5 | [113] |
| 26 | Be Right Here | Blackberry Smoke | 3 Legged/Thirty Tigers | February 16 | [114] |
| 50 | The Border | Willie Nelson | Legacy | May 31 | [115] |
| 12 | California Gold | Nate Smith | RCA Nashville | October 4 | [116] |
| 27 | Change the Game | Cody Jinks | Late August | March 22 | [93] |
| 39 | Chapter & Verse | Gabby Barrett | Warner Nashville | February 2 | [117] |
| 49 | Greatest Hits | Little Big Town | Capitol Nashville | August 9 | [118] |
| 44 | Have a Nice Day | Treaty Oak Revival | TOR | April 12 | [119] |
| 33 | The Hill | Aaron Lewis | Valory | March 29 | [93] |
| 41 | Hixtape: Vol. 3: Difftape | Various artists | Big Loud | [93] | |
| 31 | Hummingbird | Carly Pearce | Big Machine | June 7 | [120] |
| 43 | Keepin' the Lights On | Kameron Marlowe | Columbia Nashville | May 31 | [121] |
| 11 | Live Vol. 1 | Billy Strings | Reprise | July 12 | [104] |
| 11 | Mind of a Country Boy | Luke Bryan | Capitol Nashville/Row Crop | September 27 | [122] |
| 31 | Mind of a Country Boy (EP) | June 14 | [123] | ||
| 34 | Nashville, Tennessee | Ernest | Big Loud | April 12 | [119] |
| 48 | Noise Complaint | Koe Wetzel | BMI/Columbia/Legacy | June 7 | [124] |
| 19 | Odies but Goodies | Old Dominion | RCA Nashville | September 6 | [125] |
| 18 | Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty | Various artists | Tom Petty Legacy/Big Machine | June 21 | [126] |
| 25 | Rise & Fall | Scotty McCreery | Triple Tigers | May 10 | [127] |
| 42 | Smoky Mountains | Conner Smith | Valory Music Group | January 26 | [128] |
| 23 | Songwriter | Johnny Cash | Mercury Nashville/UMe | June 28 | [129] |
| 33 | Stampede | Orville Peck | Warner | August 2 | [112] |
| 35 | Strong | Tyler Hubbard | Hubbard House/EMI Nashville | April 12 | [130] |
| 42 | Tattoos | Brantley Gilbert | Valory | September 13 | [131] |
| 47 | Three Twenty Four: The EP | Ole60 | Grey Area/Red Door | March 22 | [93] |
| 34 | Through the Smoke | Nate Smith | RCA Nashville | April 5 | [113] |
| 24 | Trail of Flowers | Sierra Ferrell | Rounder/Concord | March 22 | [93] |
| 29 | Way Out Here | Riley Green | Nashville Harbor/BMLG | April 12 | [132] |
| 35 | What Happens Now? | Dasha | Version III/Warner | February 16 | [93] |
| 34 | Young Love & Saturday Nights | Chris Young | RCA Nashville | March 22 | [133] |
Hall of Fame inductees
Country Music Hall of Fame
(announced on March 18, 2024)[134]
Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame
(announced on June 26, 2024)[135]
- k.d. lang
- Gilles Godard
International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame
(announced on July 17, 2024)[136]
- Katy Daley
- Jerry Douglas
- Alan Munde