# 2024 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2024.

## Events

* January 2 – John Michael Montgomery announces his retirement from touring, with his final tour dates scheduled for the end of 2025.
* January 3 – Joe Bonsall of the Oak Ridge Boys announces his retirement from touring; Ben James finished the Oaks farewell tour in his place.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* April 24 – Miranda Lambert signs a joint record deal with Republic Records and Big Loud.
* April 26–28 – The 2024 edition of Stagecoach Festival takes place at Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, featuring headline performances from Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, and Morgan Wallen.
* 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.
* 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. 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. 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
* August 23 – Ten years after coming out as gay, Billy Gilman marries his husband Anthony Carbone.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.

## 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

| Songs | Airplay | Canada | Single | Artist |
| 9 | — | — | "16 Carriages" | Beyoncé |
| 8 | 1 | 1 | "23" | Chayce Beckham |
| 5 | — | — | "28" | Zach Bryan |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" | Luke Combs |
| 26 | 3 | 20 | "All I Need Is You" | Chris Janson |
| 8 | — | — | "American Nights" | Zach Bryan |
| 7 | — | — | "Ameriican Requiem" | Beyoncé |
| 3 | 8 | 11 | "Austin" | Dasha |
| 9 | 1 | 2 | "Back Then Right Now" | Tyler Hubbard |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | "A Bar Song (Tipsy)" | Shaboozey |
| 10 | 2 | 3 | "Beautiful as You" | Thomas Rhett |
| 6 | — | — | "Blackbiird" | Beyoncé featuring Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell and Tiera Kennedy |
| 10 | 3 | 3 | "Bulletproof" | Nate Smith |
| 7 | 1 | 4 | "Burn It Down" | Parker McCollum |
| 20 | 2 | 14 | "Cab in a Solo" | Scotty McCreery |
| 42 | 19 | 44 | "Can't Break Up Now" | Old Dominion featuring Megan Moroney |
| 15 | 1 | 1 | "Chevrolet" | Dustin Lynch featuring Jelly Roll |
| 18 | 1 | 1 | "Cowboy Songs" | George Birge |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | "Cowgirls" | Morgan Wallen featuring Ernest |
| 22 | 12 | 17 | "Creek Will Rise" | Conner Smith |
| 9 | — | — | "Daughter" | Beyoncé |
| 15 | 2 | 11 | "Different 'Round Here" | Riley Green featuring Luke Combs |
| 14 | 5 | 7 | "Dirt Cheap" | Cody Johnson |
| 31 | 11 | 29 | "Fearless (The Echo)" | Jackson Dean |
| 20 | 1 | 16 | "Gonna Love You" | Parmalee |
| 11 | 1 | 1 | "Halfway to Hell" | Jelly Roll |
| 19 | 13 | 3 | "Hang Tight Honey" | Lainey Wilson |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | "High Road" | Koe Wetzel and Jessie Murph |
| 6 | — | — | "High Road" | Zach Bryan |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | "I Am Not Okay" | Jelly Roll |
| 13 | 1 | 2 | "I Can Feel It" | Kane Brown |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | "I Had Some Help" | Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen |
| 1 | 26 | 14 | "I Remember Everything" | Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves |
| 32 | 14 | 35 | "I'm Not Pretty" | Megan Moroney |
| 2 | — | — | "II Most Wanted" | Beyoncé featuring Miley Cyrus |
| 7 | 43 | 56 | "In Your Love" | Tyler Childers |
| 3 | 56 | — | "Jolene" | Beyoncé |
| 22 | 3 | 10 | "Let Your Boys Be Country" | Jason Aldean |
| 5 | — | — | "Levii's Jeans" | Beyoncé featuring Post Malone |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | "Lies Lies Lies" | Morgan Wallen |
| 24 | 9 | 40 | "Love You Again" | Chase Matthew |
| 11 | 2 | 4 | "Love You, Miss You, Mean It" | Luke Bryan |
| 14 | 1 | 1 | "Mamaw's House" | Thomas Rhett featuring Morgan Wallen |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | "Man Made a Bar" | Morgan Wallen featuring Eric Church |
| 24 | 12 | 13 | "Messed Up as Me" | Keith Urban |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | "Miles on It" | Marshmello and Kane Brown |
| 16 | 2 | 53 | "Mind on You" | George Birge |
| 26 | 5 | 11 | "One Bad Habit" | Tim McGraw |
| 14 | 1 | 1 | "Outskirts" | Sam Hunt |
| 38 | 18 | 9 | "Out of That Truck" | Carrie Underwood |
| 7 | 1 | 1 | "The Painter" | Cody Johnson |
| 3 | — | — | "Pink Skies" | Zach Bryan |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | "Pour Me a Drink" | Post Malone featuring Blake Shelton |
| 5 | 1 | 17 | "Pretty Little Poison" | Warren Zeiders |
| 11 | 2 | 5 | "Save Me the Trouble" | Dan + Shay |
| 29 | 3 | 22 | "She's Somebody's Daughter" | Drew Baldridge |
| 29 | 15 | 7 | "Sounds Like the Radio" | Zach Top |
| 5 | 56 | — | "Spin You Around (1/24)" | Morgan Wallen |
| 10 | — | — | "Sweet Dreams" | Koe Wetzel |
| 19 | 1 | 4 | "Take Her Home" | Kenny Chesney |
| 1 | 33 | 25 | "Texas Hold 'Em" | Beyoncé |
| 23 | 4 | 25 | "This Is My Dirt" | Justin Moore |
| 6 | 1 | 2 | "Truck Bed" | Hardy |
| 13 | 1 | 2 | "Tucson Too Late" | Jordan Davis |
| 19 | 9 | 35 | "We Don't Fight Anymore" | Carly Pearce featuring Chris Stapleton |
| 16 | 3 | 12 | "We Ride" | Bryan Martin |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | "Where It Ends" | Bailey Zimmerman |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | "Where the Wild Things Are" | Luke Combs |
| 6 | — | — | "Whiskey Whiskey" | Moneybagg Yo featuring Morgan Wallen |
| 5 | 2 | 1 | "White Horse" | Chris Stapleton |
| 8 | 5 | 1 | "Wildflowers and Wild Horses" | Lainey Wilson |
| 7 | 1 | 1 | "You Look Like You Love Me" | Ella Langley featuring Riley Green |
| 26 | 5 | 38 | "Young Love & Saturday Nights" | Chris Young |
| 21 | 2 | 3 | "Your Place" | Ashley Cooke |

### Singles released by Canadian artists

| Songs | Airplay | Canada | Single | Artist |
| – | – | 9 | "Ahead of Our Time" | James Barker Band |
| – | – | 2 | "Ain't Doin' Jack" | Josh Ross |
| – | – | 18 | "Band on Her T-Shirt" | The Washboard Union |
| – | – | 11 | "Bet You Break My Heart" | MacKenzie Porter |
| – | – | 8 | "Bigger Than This Town" | Steven Lee Olsen |
| – | – | 20 | "Blinding Lights (Country Version)" | Tebey |
| – | – | 10 | "Broken Man" | Tyler Joe Miller |
| – | – | 7 | "Do It Anyway" | Jade Eagleson with Jake Worthington |
| – | – | 4 | "Fixer Upper" | Dallas Smith |
| – | – | 16 | "Go Get Er" | Jess Moskaluke |
| – | – | 8 | "Hey Mom I Made It" | Sacha |
| – | – | 5 | "I Grew Up on a Farm" | The Reklaws |
| – | – | 4 | "Let Your Horses Run" | Brett Kissel |
| – | – | 3 | "Moonshines" | Owen Riegling |
| – | – | 7 | "Not Yet" | High Valley |
| – | – | 2 | "Old Dirt Roads" | Owen Riegling |
| – | – | 6 | "One Beer Away" | The Reklaws |
| – | – | 19 | "One More" | Tim Hicks |
| – | – | 12 | "Out Here" | Steven Lee Olsen |
| – | – | 1 | "Right Round Here" | Dean Brody |
| 39 | 21 | 2 | "Single Again" | Josh Ross |
| – | – | 2 | "Telluride" | Jade Eagleson |
| – | – | 6 | "Tim + Faith" | Madeline Merlo |
| – | – | 6 | "Two of Us" | Brett Kissel with Cooper Alan |
| – | – | 2 | "Use Me" | Dallas Smith |
| – | – | 8 | "Whiskey in Colorado" | Tony Stevens |
| – | – | 19 | "Your Mama Would Hate Me" | Dean Brody and James Barker Band |

## Top new album releases

| US | Album | Artist | Record Label | Release Date |
| 1 | Deeper Well | Kacey Musgraves | Interscope/MCA Nashville | March 15 |
| 5 | Born | Kenny Chesney | Blue Chair/Warner Music Nashville | March 22 |
| 1 | Cowboy Carter | Beyoncé | Columbia/Parkwood | March 29 |
| 5 | Cold Beer & Country Music | Zach Top | Leo33 | April 5 |
| 10 | Rebel | Anne Wilson | Capitol CMG/MCA Nashville/Sparrow | April 19 |
| 2 | Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Going | Shaboozey | American Dogwood/Empire | May 31 |
| 2 | Fathers & Sons | Luke Combs | Columbia/River House | June 14 |
| 1 | The Great American Bar Scene | Zach Bryan | Belting Bronco/Warner | July 4 |
| 3 | Am I Okay? | Megan Moroney | Columbia | July 12 |
| 9 | Passage du Desir | Johnny Blue Skies | High Top Mountain | July 12 |
| 5 | 9 Lives | Koe Wetzel | Columbia | July 19 |
| 3 | Twisters: The Album | Various artists | Atlantic | July 19 |
| 9 | Made by These Moments | The Red Clay Strays | HBYCO/RCA | July 26 |
| 1 | F-1 Trillion | Post Malone | Republic/Mercury | August 16 |
| 10 | About a Woman | Thomas Rhett | Valory | August 23 |
| 3 | Whirlwind | Lainey Wilson | BBR | August 23 |
| 6 | Cowboys and Dreamers | George Strait | MCA Nashville | September 6 |
| 8 | Postcards from Texas | Miranda Lambert | Republic/Big Loud | September 13 |
| 10 | High | Keith Urban | Capitol Nashville | September 20 |
| 8 | Highway Prayers | Billy Strings | Reprise | September 27 |
| 1 | Beautifully Broken | Jelly Roll | This Is Hit/Stoney Creek/Republic | October 11 |
| 8 | Don't Mind If I Do | Riley Green | Nashville Harbor | October 18 |
| 1 | Patterns | Kelsea Ballerini | Black River | October 25 |
| 9 | Restless Mind | Sam Barber | Lockeland Springs/Atlantic | November 1 |

### Other top albums

| US | Album | Artist | Record Label | Release Date |
| 42 | Smoky Mountains | Conner Smith | Valory Music Group | January 26 |
| 39 | Chapter & Verse | Gabby Barrett | Warner Nashville | February 2 |
| 35 | What Happens Now? | Dasha | Version III/Warner | February 16 |
| 26 | Be Right Here | Blackberry Smoke | 3 Legged/Thirty Tigers | February 16 |
| 24 | Trail of Flowers | Sierra Ferrell | Rounder/Concord | March 22 |
| 27 | Change the Game | Cody Jinks | Late August | March 22 |
| 47 | Three Twenty Four: The EP | Ole60 | Grey Area/Red Door | March 22 |
| 34 | Young Love & Saturday Nights | Chris Young | RCA Nashville | March 22 |
| 33 | The Hill | Aaron Lewis | Valory | March 29 |
| 41 | Hixtape: Vol. 3: Difftape | Various artists | Big Loud | March 29 |
| 33 | Bad for Me | Chayce Beckham | Wheelhouse | April 5 |
| 34 | Through the Smoke | Nate Smith | RCA Nashville | April 5 |
| 34 | Nashville, Tennessee | Ernest | Big Loud | April 12 |
| 29 | Way Out Here | Riley Green | Nashville Harbor/BMLG | April 12 |
| 35 | Strong | Tyler Hubbard | Hubbard House/EMI Nashville | April 12 |
| 44 | Have a Nice Day | Treaty Oak Revival | TOR | April 12 |
| 25 | Rise & Fall | Scotty McCreery | Triple Tigers | May 10 |
| 50 | The Border | Willie Nelson | Legacy | May 31 |
| 43 | Keepin' the Lights On | Kameron Marlowe | Columbia Nashville | May 31 |
| 31 | Hummingbird | Carly Pearce | Big Machine | June 7 |
| 48 | Noise Complaint | Koe Wetzel | BMI/Columbia/Legacy | June 7 |
| 31 | Mind of a Country Boy (EP) | Luke Bryan | Capitol Nashville/Row Crop | June 14 |
| 18 | Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty | Various artists | Tom Petty Legacy/Big Machine | June 21 |
| 23 | Songwriter | Johnny Cash | Mercury Nashville/UMe | June 28 |
| 11 | Live Vol. 1 | Billy Strings | Reprise | July 12 |
| 17 | Hungover | Ella Langley | Sawgod/Columbia | August 2 |
| 19 | Actin' Up Again | Gavin Adcock | Thrivin Here/Warner Nashville | August 2 |
| 33 | Stampede | Orville Peck | Warner | August 2 |
| 49 | Greatest Hits | Little Big Town | Capitol Nashville | August 9 |
| 19 | Odies but Goodies | Old Dominion | RCA Nashville | September 6 |
| 42 | Tattoos | Brantley Gilbert | Valory | September 13 |
| 11 | Mind of a Country Boy | Luke Bryan | Capitol Nashville/Row Crop | September 27 |
| 12 | California Gold | Nate Smith | RCA Nashville | October 4 |

## Hall of Fame inductees
### Country Music Hall of Fame

(announced on March 18, 2024)
* John Anderson
* James Burton
* Toby Keith

### Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame

(announced on June 26, 2024)
* k.d. lang
* Gilles Godard

### International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame

(announced on July 17, 2024)
* Katy Daley
* Jerry Douglas
* Alan Munde

## Deaths

* January 10 - Audie Blaylock, 61, American bluegrass singer and guitarist.
* January 5 – Larry Collins, 79, American rockabilly guitarist, songwriter ("Delta Dawn") and member of the Collins Kids, natural causes.
* January 13 – Jo-El Sonnier, 77, American singer-songwriter and accordionist ("Tear Stained Letter", "No More One More Time"), heart attack.
* January 23 – Margo Smith, 84, American country singer ("Don't Break the Heart That Loves You", "It Only Hurts for a Little While"), complications from stroke.
* February 5 – Toby Keith, 62, American country singer-songwriter and one of the most successful artists of the 1990s and 2000s ("Red Solo Cup", "How Do You Like Me Now?!", "Should've Been a Cowboy" and a plethora of other hits), stomach cancer.
* February 22 – Roni Stoneman, 85, bluegrass musician, member of the Stoneman Family, and Hee Haw cast member.
* March 20 - Erv Woolsey, 80, Promoter and most notably known as George Strait's career manager. Erv Woolsey 1944 – 2024
* March 20 - Gene Elders, 66, American violinist most notable for George Stait's (Ace In The Whole Band) & Lyle Lovett's (Large Band) Gene Elders passes
* March 31 – Norah Lee Allen, 76, background singer at the Grand Ole Opry and wife of Duane Allen.
* April 2 – Jerry Abbott, 81, American country songwriter and musician.
* April 30 – Duane Eddy, 86, American cross genre guitarist and innovator (“Rebel-'Rouser”, “Forty Miles of Bad Road”), cancer.
* May 6 – Wayland Holyfield, 82, American songwriter ("Arkansas (You Run Deep in Me)", "Rednecks, White Socks and Blue Ribbon Beer", "You're My Best Friend").
* May 13 - Bud Logan, 83, American Country Songwriter and Producer most notably for John Conlee & T.Graham Brown.Country Producer Bud Logan Passes
* June 8 – Mark James, 83, American songwriter ("Suspicious Minds", "Always on My Mind").
* June 27 – Kinky Friedman, 79, American singer-songwriter and humorist, Parkinson's disease.
* July 1 – Rusty Golden, 65, American singer, son of the Oak Ridge Boys' William Lee Golden and member of the Goldens.
* July 9 – Joe Bonsall, 76, longtime member of the Oak Ridge Boys (tenor vocal), complications from ALS.
* July 10 – Dave Loggins, 76, pop and country singer ("Please Come to Boston", "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do").
* July 20 – Sandy Posey, 80, American pop, country and gospel singer, complications from dementia.
* August 16 – Bobby Hicks, 91, American Hall of Fame bluegrass fiddler, complications from a heart attack.
* August 27 - Pete Wade, 89, Legendary guitarist (Nashville A-Team) complications of hip surgery
* September 13 – Tommy Cash, 84, American country musician ("Six White Horses").
* September 16 - Billy Edd Wheeler, 91, Songwriter, Poet and performer who wrote notable hits such as “Jackson (Johnny Cash and June Carter) and “Coward of the County” (Kenny Rogers). Billy Edd Wheeler, Songwriter Who Celebrated Rural Life, Dies at 91
* September 22 – Hugh Prestwood, 82, American songwriter ("Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart"), stroke.
* September 28 – Kris Kristofferson, 88, American country singer-songwriter and actor.
* November 14 – Tommy Alverson, 74, American country singer-songwriter, liver cancer.
* November 22 – Toni Price, 63, American country blues singer, brain aneurysm.
* December 11 - Martha Sharp, 87, American songwriter and music executive most notable for singing Randy Travis.Obituaries in Nashville, TN | The Tennessean