This is a list of notable events in country music that took place, or will take place, in 2023.

Events
January 6 – Marty Stuart invites Henry Cho and Gary Mule Deer to become the newest members of the Grand Ole Opry, the first time comedians have been invited in almost 50 years following Jerry Clower in 1973. Cho is the first Asian person to become a member of the Opry.
January 23 – Gabby Barrett's "Pick Me Up", Lainey Wilson's "Heart Like a Truck" and Carly Pearce's "What He Didn't Do", all reach #4, #8 and #10 respectively at US Country Radio (as measured by Mediabase). This marks the first time since 2020 that three solo women have charted in the top ten simultaneously.
February 11 – Kane Brown and his wife Katelyn Brown top the Country Airplay chart with "Thank God", making it the second duet by a married couple to top that chart following Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's "It's Your Love" in 1997.
March 15 – Miranda Lambert announces that she is leaving Sony Music Nashville after 19 years.
March 20 – Several artists hold Love Rising, a charity concert at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, to raise awareness and funds for the LGBTQIA+ community of Tennessee.
March 23 – Record label Arista Nashville closes after 34 years in operation.
March 27 – The Band Perry officially announce that they are going on hiatus.
March 31 – 4 Runner reunites for the second time and releases their first studio album in 20 years.
April 11 – Granger Smith announces that he will be leaving country music in order to focus on ministry at his local church outside of Austin, Texas.
April 23 – Morgan Wallen cancels show at  Vaught–Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi just minutes before taking the stage due to vocal problems. The cancellation caused outrage in some fans including lawsuits being filed even though tickets were refunded. Rumors quickly spread stating that he was drunk and had to go to the hospital to get his stomach pumped, however those rumors were debunked. Morgan has since postponed the following weeks shows to be on vocal rest.
April 28 – While performing on stage at Stagecoach Festival, Alan Jackson appears via video link to invite Jon Pardi to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry.
May 11 – Jimmie Allen, his management company and record producer Ash Bowers have a lawsuit filed against them by an unnamed former manager who alleged that Allen repeatedly verbally and sexually assaulted her and that she was fired for disclosing this abuse. As a result, Allen's record label suspended him immediately and he was dropped from a planned performance slot at the 50th CMA Music Festival. Allen was subsequently dropped from the label after a second accuser came forward.
May 15 – Reba McEntire is announced as Blake Shelton's replacement for the 24th season of The Voice, set to premiere in the fall of 2023.
June 8–11 – CMA Music Festival celebrates its milestone 50th anniversary in Nashville, revolving around the nightly concerts at Nissan Stadium.
June 28 – Rosanne Cash and John Leventhal launch their own label, RumbleStrip Records.
July 1 – Tracy Chapman becomes the first black woman to have a chart-topping country song as a sole writer when Luke Combs' cover of her 1988 hit "Fast Car" reached number one on the Country Airplay chart. It also becomes the first country cover of a pop hit to top the chart since Blake Shelton's cover of Michael Bublé's 2005 single "Home" did so in July 2008.
 July 8 – Following the retirement of drummer Brian Prout and mandolinist Gene Johnson from Diamond Rio, they are respectively replaced by Micah Schweinsberg and Carson McKee. This is the first lineup change to Diamond Rio in 25 years, and it results in McKee becoming the band's first female member.
 July 15 – Miranda Lambert causes controversy during her performance of "Tin Man" at her Velvet Rodeo residency in Las Vegas, by scolding a group of fans taking selfies as she was starting the song. The incident divided fans on social media.
 July 18 – Jason Aldean receives significant media attention for the lyrical content of his single "Try That in a Small Town", with many listeners criticizing the song for its lyrical content and the imagery used in the music video. In response, CMT withdrew the video from their channel.
July 22 – Bill Anderson is honored as the Grand Ole Opry's longest-serving member in the show's history. Anderson's membership has not lapsed in 62 years since his initial induction in 1961.
July 31 – For the first time in history, country songs hold the top three positions on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart: Aldean's "Try That in a Small Town", Morgan Wallen's "Last Night", and Combs' "Fast Car". "Try That in a Small Town" becomes the 21st song to reach number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Country Songs charts.
 August 27 – Ty Herndon marries his husband, Alex Schwartz.

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 2023:

Singles released by American and Australian artists

Singles released by Canadian artists

Top new album releases

Other top albums

Announced 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Album
! Artist
! Record label
! Release date
! Reference
|-
| The Devil I Know
| Ashley McBryde
| Warner Nashville
| rowspan=3 | September 8
| 
|-
| Greatest Hits
| Josh Turner
| MCA Nashville
| 
|-
| Rustin' in the Rain
| Tyler Childers
| Hickman Holler/RCA
| 
|-
| Brothers Osborne
| Brothers Osborne
| EMI Nashville
| rowspan=3| September 15
|
|-
| Bigger Houses
| Dan + Shay
| Warner Nashville
|
|-
| Right Round Here
| Dean Brody
| Starseed
|
|-
| Do It Anyway
| Jade Eagleson
| Starseed
| September 29
| 
|-
| Carolyn's Boy
| Darius Rucker
| Capitol Nashville
| rowspan=2| October 6
| 
|-
| Memory Lane 
| Old Dominion
| Columbia Nashville
| 
|-
|Ain't My Last Rodeo
| Riley Green
| BMLG
| October 13
| 
|-
| A Tribute to The Judds| Various artists
| BMG
| rowspan=2|October 27
|
|-
| Edge of Forever| Jessi Colter
| Appalachia
| 
|-
| Highway Desperado| Jason Aldean
| BBR Music Group
| November 3
| 
|-
| Higher| Chris Stapleton
| Mercury Nashville
| November 10
| 
|}

Hall of Fame inductees

 Country Music Hall of Fame 
(announced on April 3, 2023)
Bob McDill
Patty Loveless
Tanya Tucker

 Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame 
(announced on July 23, 2023)
Jason McCoy
Brian Edwards

 International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame 
(announced on July 19, 2023)
Sam Bush
Wilma Lee Cooper
David Grisman

 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame 
(announced on August 3, 2023)
Casey Beathard
Kix Brooks
Rafe Van Hoy
David Lee Murphy
Keith Urban

Deaths
January 4 – Stan Hitchcock, 86, singer-songwriter and co-founder of CMT
January 5 – Mark Capps, 54, sound engineer, record producer and son of musician Jimmy Capps (shot by SWAT team)
January 8 – Slim Newton, 90, Australian country music singer-songwriter (The Redback on the Toilet Seat'')
January 9 – Dick Flood, 90, singer-songwriter and naturalist
January 12 – Lisa Marie Presley, 54, singer-songwriter and only child of Elvis Presley.
January 26 – Peter McCann, 74, singer-songwriter ("Nobody Falls Like a Fool", "She's Single Again") 
January 30 – Pat Bunch, 83, songwriter ("I'll Still Be Loving You", "Safe in the Arms of Love", "Wild One") 
February 8 – Burt Bacharach, 94, pianist-composer ("The Story of My Life" and "Any Day Now" on the country charts)
February 17 – Kyle Jacobs, 49, songwriter ("More Than a Memory") and husband of Kellie Pickler
 March 4 – Michael Rhodes, 69, session bass guitarist
 March 26 – Ray Pillow, 85, veteran Grand Ole Opry member ("I'll Take the Dog")
 April 23 – Keith Gattis, 52, singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
 April 28 – Claude Gray, 91, American singer-songwriter ("Family Bible)".
 May 1 – Gordon Lightfoot, 84, Canadian singer-songwriter ("If You Could Read My Mind", "Sundown", "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald")
 May 16 – Richard Landis, 77, American record producer, songwriter, and record executive
 May 25 – Joy McKean, 93, singer-songwriter and manager known as the "Queen of Australian country music", notable for penning the hit "Lights on the Hill", and her work with her husband Slim Dusty and daughter Anne Kirkpatrick.
 June 23 – Jesse McReynolds, 93, innovative bluegrass singer and mandolinist and the oldest living member of the Grand Ole Opry.
 June 27 – Bobby Osborne, 91,  American bluegrass singer, co-founder of the Osborne Brothers and a member of the Grand Ole Opry. (Rocky Top).
 July 17 – Jerry Bradley, 83, music executive and producer
August 11 – Shoji Tabuchi, 79, Japanese-American fiddler, cancer.

Major awards

CMT Music Awards 
(presented on April 2, 2023)
Video of the Year: "Thank God" (Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown)
Male Video of the Year: "Son of a Sinner" (Jelly Roll)
Female Video of the Year: "Heart Like a Truck" (Lainey Wilson)
Duo/Group Video of the Year: "Out in the Middle" (Zac Brown Band)
Collaborative Video of the Year: "Wait in the Truck" (Hardy featuring Lainey Wilson)
Male Breakthrough Video of the Year: "Son of a Sinner" (Jelly Roll)
Female Breakthrough Video of the Year: "Tennessee Orange" (Megan Moroney)
CMT Performance of the Year: "'Til You Can't" (Cody Johnson)
CMT Digital-First Performance of the Year: "Son of a Sinner" (Jelly Roll)
Equal Play Award: Shania Twain

References 

Country
Country music by year
Culture-related timelines by year