2024 in country music

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

• 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 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 takes 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]

The following songs placed within the Top 20 on the Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay, or Canada Country charts in 2024:

(announced on March 18, 2024)^[139]

• John Anderson
• James Burton
• Toby Keith

(announced on June 26, 2024)^[140]

• k.d. lang
• Gilles Godard

(announced on July 17, 2024)^[141]

• Katy Daley
• Jerry Douglas
• Alan Munde

• January – Audie Blaylock, 61, American bluegrass singer and guitarist (death announced on January 12).^[142]
• January 5 – Larry Collins, 79, American rockabilly guitarist, songwriter ("Delta Dawn") and member of the Collins Kids, natural causes.^[143]
• January 13 – Jo-El Sonnier, 77, American singer-songwriter and accordionist ("Tear Stained Letter", "No More One More Time"), heart attack.^[144]
• 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.^[145]
• 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.^[146]
• February 22 – Roni Stoneman, 85, bluegrass musician, member of the Stoneman Family, and Hee Haw cast member.^[147]
• March 31 – Norah Lee Allen, 76, background singer at the Grand Ole Opry and wife of Duane Allen.^[148]
• April 2 – Jerry Abbott, 81, American country songwriter and musician.^[149]
• 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").^[150]
• June 8 – Mark James, 83, American songwriter ("Suspicious Minds", "Always on My Mind").^[151]
• June 27 – Kinky Friedman, 79, American singer-songwriter and humorist, Parkinson's disease.^[152]
• July 1 – Rusty Golden, 65, American singer, son of the Oak Ridge Boys' William Lee Golden and member of the Goldens.^[153]
• July 9 – Joe Bonsall, 76, longtime member of the Oak Ridge Boys (tenor vocal), complications from ALS.^[154]
• July 10 – Dave Loggins, 76, pop and country singer ("Please Come to Boston", "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do").^[155]
• July 20 – Sandy Posey, 80, American pop, country and gospel singer, complications from dementia.^[156]
• August 16 – Bobby Hicks, 91, American Hall of Fame bluegrass fiddler, complications from a heart attack.^[157]
• September 13 – Tommy Cash, 84, American country musician ("Six White Horses").^[158]
• September 22 – Hugh Prestwood, 82, American songwriter ("Hard Rock Bottom of Your Heart"), stroke. ^[159]
• September 28 – Kris Kristofferson, 88, American country singer-songwriter and actor
• November 14 – Tommy Alverson, 74, American country singer-songwriter, liver cancer.^[160]