# 2019 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2019.

## Events

* January 21 - Carrie Underwood gives birth to second son, Jacob Fisher, with husband Mike Fisher.
* February - Country music duo Walker McGuire disbands.
* February 10 – At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Kacey Musgraves wins all 4 awards she was nominated for, including the all-genre Album of the Year for Golden Hour.
* March – "Old Town Road," a song combining elements of country rap, hip hop, Southern hip hop and trap and performed by rap newcomer Lil Nas X, debuts on the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 19; the song that charts is a remix, featuring vocals by Billy Ray Cyrus. However, the very next week, the song is removed from the chart, with the magazine disqualifying the song on the grounds that it did not fit the country genre. There is speculation that had the song remained on the chart, it would have reached No. 1 as of the chart dated April 6, 2019. On July 29 it reaches its seventeenth week atop the Billboard Hot 100, the all-time record. Later in the year, hip-hop music producer Blanco Brown records and releases "The Git Up," which is called a "sequel" and "next viral country rap song". The new style of music and its related controversies continue the long-standing discussion of what is country music, one that dates to the 1970s.
* March 6 – Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires and Maren Morris officially announce that they are forming a supergroup known as the Highwomen. With the name paying homage to the Highwaymen (which was composed of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson), the trio revealed that their line-up would allow for various guests to join them, with Chely Wright, Courtney Marie Andrews, Margo Price, Sheryl Crow and Janelle Monáe all hinted as potential collaborators. The group reveal their fourth member will be Natalie Hemby and perform together for the first time at Loretta Lynn's 87th birthday concert by singing "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels".
* March 27 – Wanda Jackson announces her retirement from performing due to health and safety concerns via a statement on her Facebook page.
* April 1 – Loretta Lynn celebrates her 87th birthday (which is actually April 14) with an all-star concert held at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. Performers include: Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Alison Krauss, Lee Ann Womack, Little Big Town, Margo Price, Kacey Musgraves, Brandy Clark, Cam, Jack White, Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires, Natalie Hemby, Holly Williams, Miranda Lambert, Pistol Annies, Keith Urban, Randy Houser, Darius Rucker, Tanya Tucker, Crystal Gayle, Peggy Sue, John Carter Cash, Alan Jackson and George Strait. Lynn herself sings live for the first time since 2017, performing her signature song "Coal Miner's Daughter" with the ensemble.
* April 14 – Hal Ketchum's wife announces via his Facebook page that he will be retiring due to complications from Alzheimer's disease.
* April 16 – Kelsea Ballerini is inducted as the youngest member of the Grand Ole Opry, with Carrie Underwood officiating the induction.
* May 14
** Randy Travis releases his first memoir, titled Forever and Ever, Amen: A Memoir of Music, Faith, and Braving the Storms of Life.
** Rodney Atkins' "Caught Up in the Country" charts for a 57th week on Country Airplay, beating by one week the previous record for the longest continuous run on that chart.
* June 6 – Granger Smith's youngest son, River Kelly, unexpectedly dies at the age of 3 after what he refers to as a "serious accident", later revealed to be caused by drowning in the family pool. River had previously been featured as a cameo in Smith's "Happens Like That" video 2 years prior.
* June 30 - Music executive and manager Scooter Braun buys Big Machine Label Group, which includes the masters to Taylor Swift's first 6 studio albums. Swift is angry, claiming that she tried to buy the masters herself for years, but Braun sells them to Ithaca Holdings for $300 million in November 2020. As a result, Swift began re-recording her albums that she originally recorded on the label in November 2020. The first of these, Fearless (Taylor's Version), was released in April 2021.
* August 19 – Carrie Underwood is announced as host of the CMA Awards, her first year without Brad Paisley as a co-host; Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire will co-host the show.
* September 9 - Blake Shelton creates a Twitter campaign for Craig Morgan's current single, "The Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost", written in memory of his 19-year-old son, Jerry Greer, who died in July 2016, to be No. 1 on iTunes' all-genre chart. Celebrities ranging from Kelly Clarkson to Ellen DeGeneres to Travis Tritt respond, and the song reaches No. 1 on Sept. 12, 2019.
* September 15–25 – Country Music, a 16.5 hour documentary series by Ken Burns airs on PBS. The series took eight years to film and research, and features interviews with over 100 artists and key members of the country music community, including several who were interviewed prior to their untimely deaths within the decade.
* September 19 – One of Josh Turner's tour buses crashes off a cliff in California, killing one and injuring seven. Turner himself was not on the bus at the time.
* October 5 - American Idol finalists Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner are married in Texas.
* October 9 – Radio host Bob Kingsley, host of Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 (and earlier the longtime host of American Country Countdown), announces that he is taking a leave from the show due to a diagnosis of bladder cancer. Eight days later, Kingsley died from his illness.
* October 9 – Singer-songwriter Sam Williams, son of Hank Williams Jr., and the grandson of Hank Williams, made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry, singing "Can't Fool Your Own Blood".
* October 13 – Kenny Dixon, the drummer in Kane Brown's band, is killed in a car accident.
* October 19 – The Lifetime network premieres the television film Patsy & Loretta, which showcases the friendship between Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn. Megan Hilty and Jessie Mueller portray Cline and Lynn, respectively.
* November 13 - The 2019 CMA Awards celebrates women in country music, opening with an all-star medley that included the likes of Tanya Tucker and Sara Evans, while Maren Morris wins Album of the Year for Girl and Kacey Musgraves wins for Female Vocalist. The night also sparked controversy, as Garth Brooks wins Entertainer of the Year, causing backlash from Carrie Underwood and Eric Church fans, whom many predicted would win the honor.
* November 22 - Singer Maddie Marlow of duo Maddie & Tae weds Jonah Font.
* December 8 – The 2019 Kennedy Center Honors award Linda Ronstadt; tribute performers included Trisha Yearwood and Carrie Underwood.
* December 18 – Radio host Fitz is named as the successor of Bob Kingsley on Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40.
* December 28 – The final episode of "ACC Rewind," a program featuring re-airings of original (edited) broadcasts of "American Country Countdown" from the 1990s and early 2000s, is aired, and features the 1999 year-end countdown.
* December 31 – Carrie Underwood announces on Instagram that she is stepping down as host of the CMA awards

## 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 2019:

### Singles released by American and Australian artists

| Songs | Airplay | Canada | Single | Artist |
| 20 | — | — | "1, 2 Many" | Luke Combs featuring Brooks & Dunn |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | "All to Myself" | Dan + Shay |
| 28 | 17 | 40 | "Back to Life" | Rascal Flatts |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | "Beautiful Crazy" | Luke Combs |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | "Beer Never Broke My Heart" | Luke Combs |
| 11 | 3 | 29 | "Burn Out" | Midland |
| 5 | 2 | 1 | "Burning Man" | Dierks Bentley featuring Brothers Osborne |
| 17 | 8 | 15 | "Buy My Own Drinks" | Runaway June |
| 20 | 21 | 46 | "Caught Up in the Country" | Rodney Atkins featuring The Fisk Jubilee Singers |
| 9 | 7 | 1 | "Down to the Honkytonk" | Jake Owen |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | "Even Though I'm Leaving" | Luke Combs |
| 20 | 17 | 29 | "Every Little Honky Tonk Bar" | George Strait |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | "Every Little Thing" | Russell Dickerson |
| 3 | 1 | 6 | "Eyes on You" | Chase Rice |
| 19 | — | — | "For My Daughter" | Kane Brown |
| 8 | 1 | 5 | "Girl" | Maren Morris |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | "Girl Like You" | Jason Aldean |
| 1 | 44 | 37 | "The Git Up" | Blanco Brown |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | "God's Country" | Blake Shelton |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | "Good as You" | Kane Brown |
| 8 | 1 | 5 | "Good Girl" | Dustin Lynch |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | "Good Vibes" | Chris Janson |
| 14 | 18 | 36 | "Hell Right" | Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins |
| 2 | 1 | 2 | "Here Tonight" | Brett Young |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | "I Don't Know About You" | Chris Lane |
| 12 | 14 | 10 | "It All Comes Out in the Wash" | Miranda Lambert |
| 2 | 1 | 2 | "Knockin' Boots" | Luke Bryan |
| 17 | — | — | "Like a Rodeo" | Kane Brown |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | "Living" | Dierks Bentley |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | "Look What God Gave Her" | Thomas Rhett |
| 8 | 1 | 1 | "Love Ain't" | Eli Young Band |
| 9 | 2 | 14 | "Love Someone" | Brett Eldredge |
| 14 | 11 | 27 | "Love Wins" | Carrie Underwood |
| 7 | 1 | 8 | "Love You Too Late" | Cole Swindell |
| 8 | 1 | 1 | "Make It Sweet" | Old Dominion |
| 4 | 2 | 6 | "Millionaire" | Chris Stapleton |
| 7 | 2 | 1 | "Miss Me More" | Kelsea Ballerini |
| 30 | 18 | 10 | "Never Comin' Down" | Keith Urban |
| 8 | 5 | 14 | "Night Shift" | Jon Pardi |
| 19 | 50 | — | "Old Town Road" | Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus |
| 13 | 11 | 20 | "On My Way to You" | Cody Johnson |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | "One Man Band" | Old Dominion |
| 10 | 3 | 7 | "One That Got Away" | Michael Ray |
| 1 | — | 37 | "One Thing Right" | Marshmello & Kane Brown |
| 7 | 1 | 46 | "The Ones That Didn't Make It Back Home" | Justin Moore |
| 2 | 1 | 23 | "Prayed for You" | Matt Stell |
| 17 | 33 | 43 | "Rainbow" | Kacey Musgraves |
| 10 | 5 | 2 | "Raised on Country" | Chris Young |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | "Rearview Town" | Jason Aldean |
| 23 | 26 | 17 | "Rednecker" | Hardy |
| 20 | — | — | "Refrigerator Door" | Luke Combs |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | "Remember You Young" | Thomas Rhett |
| 2 | 1 | 11 | "Rumor" | Lee Brice |
| 17 | — | — | "Shut Up About Politics" | John Rich featuring The Five |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | "Sixteen" | Thomas Rhett |
| 7 | 1 | 3 | "Some of It" | Eric Church |
| 10 | — | — | "Soon You'll Get Better" | Taylor Swift featuring Dixie Chicks |
| 11 | 3 | 1 | "Southbound" | Carrie Underwood |
| 4 | 2 | 4 | "Take It from Me" | Jordan Davis |
| 11 | 11 | 28 | "Talk You Out of It" | Florida Georgia Line |
| 11 | 3 | 1 | "There Was This Girl" | Riley Green |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | "This Is It" | Scotty McCreery |
| 26 | 17 | 50 | "Thought About You" | Tim McGraw |
| 13 | 8 | 3 | "Tip of My Tongue" | Kenny Chesney |
| 7 | 4 | 1 | "We Were" | Keith Urban |
| 7 | 1 | 15 | "What Happens in a Small Town" | Brantley Gilbert and Lindsay Ell |
| 7 | 2 | 1 | "What Makes You Country" | Luke Bryan |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | "Whiskey Glasses" | Morgan Wallen |

### Singles released by Canadian artists

| Songs | Airplay | Canada | Single | Artist |
| — | — | 12 | "#REDNEK" | Gord Bamford |
| — | — | 1 | "About You" | MacKenzie Porter |
| — | — | 13 | "Ain't Gonna Be Lonely Long" | Sons of Daughters |
| — | — | 15 | "Bars & Churches" | Aaron Goodvin |
| — | — | 3 | "Better on You" | Jojo Mason |
| — | — | 1 | "Better When I Do" | Aaron Pritchett |
| — | — | 5 | "Black Sheep" | Dean Brody |
| — | — | 8 | "Cecilia" | Brett Kissel |
| — | — | 4 | "Count the Ways" | Jade Eagleson |
| — | — | 10 | "Dear Me" | Madeline Merlo |
| — | — | 17 | "Didn't Know Me" | Andrew Hyatt |
| — | — | 4 | "Dose of Country" | Dean Brody |
| — | — | 1 | "Drop" | Dallas Smith |
| — | — | 8 | "Down" | Gord Bamford |
| — | — | 1 | "Feels Like That" | Reklaws |
| — | — | 1 | "Forever's Gotta Start Somewhere" | Chad Brownlee |
| — | — | 2 | "Good Jeans" | Tebey |
| — | — | 10 | "Hello Country" | Steven Lee Olsen |
| — | — | 6 | "I Do Too" | Reklaws |
| — | — | 1 | "Keep It Simple" | James Barker Band |
| — | — | 1 | "Lost" | Hunter Brothers |
| — | — | 17 | "Northern Lights" | Hunter Brothers |
| — | — | 1 | "Rhinestone World" | Dallas Smith |
| — | — | 6 | "Save Some of That Whiskey" | Jess Moskaluke |
| — | — | 16 | "She Gets Me" | Washboard Union |
| — | — | 2 | "Single Man" | High Valley |
| 29 | 26 | 1 | "Somebody's Daughter" | Tenille Townes |
| — | — | 2 | "There's a Drink for That" | James Barker Band |
| — | — | 19 | "Water Down the Whiskey" | Matt Lang |
| — | — | 3 | "The Way You Roll" | Chad Brownlee |
| — | — | 1 | "What A Song Should Do" | Tim Hicks |
| — | — | 7 | "What Do I Know" | Shawn Austin |
| — | — | 3 | "Whiskey in a Teacup" | Dean Brody |
| — | — | 8 | "White Horse" | Tenille Townes |
| — | — | 9 | "Wild as Me" | Meghan Patrick |
| — | — | 1 | "You Are" | Aaron Goodvin |
| — | — | 12 | "You Belong" | Shawn Austin |