January:
- Zac Brown and wife Kelly Yazdi announce they are divorcing amicably after four months of marriage. It will turn out to not be so amicable.
- Blake Shelton catches some heat for his pre-recorded Nashville New Year’s Eve performance.
- 90s country star John Michael Montgomery announces he’s retiring.
- While the Oak Ridge Boys announced they were calling it a career back in September, Joe Bonsall announces he’d be retiring before the band does, citing health reasons.
- Luke Bryan wraps up his Las Vegas residency by bringing his favorite blackjack dealers on stage to thank them.
- Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd announce they’ve reached a divorce settlement.
- The mini-feud between Zach Bryan and Walker Hayes begins when Zach moans about “that Applebees song” making the top of the country charts while Tyler Childers struggles to get country radio airplay.
- Jelly Roll addresses Congress about this country’s fentanyl epidemic.
- 80s country star Jo-El Sonnier passes.
- LeAnn Rimes reveals she’s had surgery to address pre-cancerous cells.
- Kane Brown does his part, helping Nashvillians get from work to home in the middle of a Music City blizzard
- The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band announce their final tour.
- The Grand Ole Opry announces their second annual Dolly Parton birthday concert. This will be big news in the coming weeks, thanks to Elle King.
- The Super Bowl LVIII pre-game performers are announced; Reba McEntire will have the honor of performing this year’s National Anthem.
- Elle King gets trashed, swears on stage and screws up her performance at the Grand Ole Opry’s Dolly Parton birthday bash.
- Billy Currington & Kip Moore, Megan Moroney and Brooks & Dunn all announce 2024 tours.
- Chris Young gets arrested for a physical confrontation with Tennessee ABC agents. Security footage would lead to the charges being dropped.
- Morgan Wallen and Eric Church announce they’ve bought “Field And Stream.”
- Laying low after her drunken debacle during Dolly Parton’s Opry birthday bash, Elle King starts cancelling performances.
- A record label releases early Morgan Wallen tracks, against Morgan’s wishes.
- Based on security footage, enough doubt exists in the arrest of Chris Young that the charges are dismissed.
- Bunnie XO announces she’d be putting out a tell-all autobiography.
- Nate Smith and early 2000s pop star Avril Lavigne are seen having dinner and hanging out, sparking dating rumors.
February:
- Jennifer Nettles announces her next acting gig; starring opposite Kevin Bacon in an action/horror series, “The Bondsman,” to air on Amazon Prime.
- Lana Del Rey reveals that she’s working on a country album.
- Darius Rucker is arrested on a minor drug charge. In the coming days it would be revealed the initial incident was actually a year before, but Rucker was arrested after testing of the the drugs found on him was concluded. In September, he would be sentenced to nearly a year of probation.
- Jason Aldean announces a proposed third location (Pittsburgh) of his “Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar,” following locations in Nashville and Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
- Lainey Wilson testifies in Washington DC on the need for legislation to protect artists and performers from artificial intelligence.
- Luke Bryan announces “Mind Of A Country Boy” tour.
- Luke Combs and Tracy Chapman provide the most-talked about performance of the GRAMMYs with their duet on “Fast Car.”
- Toby Keith passes away after battling stomach cancer for over two years.
- Lauren Alaina and boyfriend Cam Arnold get hitched.
- The first rumors start surfacing that Beyoncé might be working on a country album.
- Jelly Roll is announced as a guest mentor on “American Idol.”
- Dolly Parton finally breaks her silence on the Elle King debacle, telling the world that she’s not mad at her, so no one else should be, either. Elle would later say that she wrote apology letters to Dolly and the Grand Ole Opry, and Dolly immediately forgave her.
- Reba McEntire trolled Super Bowl bettors who were gambling on how long her National Anthem performance would last by tagging a few extra seconds on the end.
- Darius Rucker announces he’s publishing his memoir.
- Morgan Wallen announces he would be opening up his own bar in Nashville. This would not happen without a few bumps in the road.
- Gabby Barrett welcomes Baby #3.
- Cassadee Pope announces she’s leaving country music to go back to her alternative/pop roots.
- Big & Rich announce a 20th Anniversary tour.
- Beyoncé makes a huge splash, debuting at the top of the Hot Country Songs chart with “Texas Hold ‘Em.”
- T. Graham Brown is finally invited to join the Grand Ole Opry.
- A week after his passing, Toby Keith has the biggest sales week of his career.
- Jelly Roll announces his 2024 tour plans.
- After six years of singles and EP’s, Travis Denning announces his debut album would finally be coming out May 24.
- More than 20 years after her debut, Cyndi Thomson announces she’s returning to country music.
- Kelsea Ballerini announced as the host for the upcoming CMT Awards.