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.[1] They were inducted on February 11 and March 10 respectively.
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.[3]
March 20 – Several artists hold Love Rising, a charity concert organized by Allison Russell at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, to raise awareness and funds for the LGBTQIA+ community of Tennessee.[5]
March 23 – Record label Arista Nashville closes after 34 years in operation.[6]
March 27 – The Band Perry officially announce that they are going on hiatus.[7]
March 31 – 4 Runner reunites for the second time and releases their first studio album in 20 years.[8]
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.[9]
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.[10]
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.[12][13] Allen was subsequently dropped from the label after a second accuser came forward.
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.[17]
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.[18]
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.[19]
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.[20]
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.[21]
August 27 – Ty Herndon marries his husband, Alex Schwartz.[23]
September 9 – Luke Combs becomes the first artist to simultaneously occupy the top two positions on the Country Airplay chart as a solo act with no accompanying acts when his singles "Love You Anyway" and "Fast Car" occupy the number one and two positions, respectively. In doing so, he also becomes the second act overall to accomplish such a feat after Luke Bryan achieved the same in May 2014 with his single "Play It Again" and his appearance on Florida Georgia Line's "This Is How We Roll".[24]
September 15 – Maren Morris announces her exit from the country music industry.[25]
October 3 – Ronnie Milsap performs his final Nashville show at the Bridgestone Arena joined by more than thirty guest artists. Though he is retiring from performing, he will continue to record.[26]
October 24 – Jon Pardi becomes the first California native to become a member of the Opry. He was inducted by Garth Brooks.
December 3 – Scotty McCreery is invited by Garth Brooks to become the next Opry member, with his induction set for early 2024.[28]
December 5 – Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" hits number one for the first time on the Billboard Hot 100. At 78, the feat makes Lee the oldest artist to have a number one single in the chart's history, and the artist with the longest gap between number ones, following 1960's "I Want to Be Wanted", along with breaking several other major chart records.[29]
December 6 – Taylor Swift is named Time magazine's Person of the Year, becoming the first such subject honored specifically for achievement in the arts. The magazine cited her 2023–2024 Eras Tour, which was set to become the highest-grossing concert tour of all time, and its significant cultural and economic impact.[30] It is Swift's second Person of the Year distinction, after having been named as part of "The Silence Breakers" in 2017.
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:
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