This is a list of notable events in country music that took 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. They were inducted on February 11 and March 10 respectively. 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 organized by Allison Russell 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 a coach for the 24th season of The Voice, which premiered 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 21 – Jeanne Pruett celebrates her 50th Grand Ole Opry Anniversary 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. 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". September 15 – Maren Morris announces her exit from the country music industry. 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. October 7 – Sara Evans becomes a member of the Grand Ole Opry and is inducted by Crystal Gayle. She was invited on August 18 by Bill Anderson, Lady A and Carly Pearce during a 25th anniversary concert at the Ryman Auditorium. October 24 – Jon Pardi becomes the first California native to become a member of the Opry. He was inducted by Garth Brooks. November 1 – Emerson Drive announces that they will embark on their final run of touring in 2024 December 3 – Scotty McCreery is invited by Garth Brooks to become the next Opry member, with his induction set for early 2024. 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. 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.Shah, Simmone (December 6, 2023). "Taylor Swift Makes History as Person of the Year". TIME. Retrieved December 6, 2023. 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:
Singles released by American and Australian artists SongsAirplayCanadaSingleArtistReferences1135—"5 Leaf Clover"Luke Combs1156—"'98 Braves"Morgan Wallen6——"Ain't That Some"1714"Angels (Don't Always Have Wings)"Thomas Rhett10——"Better Than Revenge (Taylor's Version)"Taylor Swift15——"Born with a Beer in My Hand"Morgan Wallen9——"Boys of Faith"Zach Bryan featuring Bon Iver31117"Brown Eyes Baby"Keith Urban811"Bury Me in Georgia"Kane Brown1942"But I Got a Beer in My Hand"Luke Bryan1016"Can't Have Mine (Find You a Girl)"Dylan Scott621"Dancin' in the Country"Tyler Hubbard11——"Dawns"Zach Bryan featuring Maggie Rogers9——"Dear John (Taylor's Version)"Taylor Swift12——"Deep Satin"Zach Bryan13——"Devil Don't Know"Morgan Wallen16227"Down Home"Jimmie Allen22134"Drinkaby"Cole Swindell7——"East Side of Sorrow"Zach Bryan15——"El Dorado"7——"Enchanted (Taylor's Version)"Taylor Swift731"Everything I Love"Morgan Wallen24172"Everything She Ain't"Hailey Whitters111"Fast Car"Luke Combs12——"Fear and Friday's"Zach Bryan19——"Fear and Friday's (Poem)"1938"Girl in Mine"Parmalee1527"God Gave Me a Girl"Russell Dickerson511"Going, Going, Gone"Luke Combs2021"Gold"Dierks Bentley—1838"Good Day for Living"Joe Nichols1858—"Growin' Up and Gettin' Old"Luke Combs1024"Handle on You"Parker McCollum—2024"Hate My Heart"Carrie Underwood721"Heart Like a Truck"Lainey Wilson14——"Heartbroken"Diplo, Jessie Murph and Polo G5——"Hey Driver"Zach Bryan featuring The War and Treaty17——"Holy Roller"Zach Bryan featuring Sierra Ferrell20——"Hope That's True"Morgan Wallen—16—"How It Oughta Be"Shane Profitt1583"Human"Cody Johnson 3——"I Can See You"Taylor Swift960—"I Wrote the Book"Morgan Wallen32172"If You Go Down (I'm Goin' Down Too)"Kelsea Ballerini1334"It Matters to Her"Scotty McCreery111"Last Night"Morgan Wallen261323"Looking for You"Chris Young311"Love You Anyway"Luke Combs741"Memory Lane"Old Dominion311"Need a Favor"Jelly Roll721"Next Thing You Know"Jordan Davis15——"Nine Ball"Zach Bryan25183"No Body"Blake Shelton281"One Thing at a Time"Morgan Wallen10——"Overtime"Zach Bryan18——"Pain, Sweet Pain"14614"Pick Me Up"Gabby Barrett16——"Red"Hardy featuring Morgan Wallen411"Religiously"Bailey Zimmerman140—"Rich Men North of Richmond"Oliver Anthony 211"Rock and a Hard Place"Bailey Zimmerman5——"Sarah's Place"Zach Bryan featuring Noah Kahan611"Save Me"Jelly Roll with Lainey Wilson18——"Smaller Acts"Zach Bryan12028"Something in the Orange"817"Son of a Sinner"Jelly Roll8——"Sparks Fly (Taylor's Version)"Taylor Swift6——"Spotless"Zach Bryan featuring The Lumineers1423"Standing Room Only"Tim McGraw1322"Stars Like Confetti"Dustin Lynch11——"Summertime's Close"Zach Bryan11——"Sunrise"Morgan Wallen18——"Tennessee Numbers"1043"Tennessee Orange"Megan Moroney213"Thank God"Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown1959"That's What Tequila Does"Jason Aldean311"Thinkin' Bout Me"Morgan Wallen111"Thought You Should Know"14——"Ticking"Zach Bryan8——"Tourniquet"1249"Try That in a Small Town"Jason Aldean522"Wait in the Truck"Hardy featuring Lainey Wilson271533"Water Under the Bridge"Sam Hunt711"Watermelon Moonshine"Lainey Wilson281221"We Got History"Mitchell Tenpenny1125"What He Didn't Do"Carly Pearce813"What My World Spins Around"Jordan Davis16——"Whiskey Friends"Morgan Wallen1111"Whiskey on You"Nate Smith123–"Wild as Her"Corey Kent8——"Wild Ones"Jessie Murph with Jelly Roll711"World on Fire"Nate Smith20——"Wreckage"22327"You"Dan + Shay181026"You Didn't"Brett Young832"You, Me, & Whiskey"Justin Moore featuring Priscilla Block1143"Your Heart or Mine"Jon Pardi
Singles released by Canadian artists SongsCanadaSingleArtistReferences–10"Back to Drinkin' Whiskey"Tyler Joe Miller"Back to Drinkin' Whiskey": "Shoulda Known Better": –20"Budweiser"Nate Haller"Budweiser": –3"Chasing Tornadoes"MacKenzie Porter"Chasing Tornadoes": –20"Country Dance"Aaron Goodvin"You Ain't": "Country Dance": –4"Do This Life"High Valley(with Alison Krauss)–10"Girl to Girl"Tenille Arts–12"Good Ol' Days"The Reklaws"Good Ol' Days": "Honky Tonkin' About": –15"Greatest Show on Dirt"Meghan Patrick"Greatest Show on Dirt": –10"Heartbreaker"Jess Moskaluke"Heartbreaker": –1"Honky Tonkin' About"The Reklaws(with Drake Milligan)–14"I Run on Country"The Washboard Union"I Run on Country": –5"The Last Time"Tenille Townes–20"Love Me Like an Outlaw"Kalsey Kulyk"Love Me Like an Outlaw": –3"Meet Your Mama"James Barker Band"Meet Your Mama": "On the Water": –10"Never Met a Beer"Tyler Joe Miller and Matt Lang–4"On a Different Night"Josh Ross"On a Different Night": "Trouble": Canada Country: