This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2019.
Events January 4 – Dolly Parton Celebrates her 50th Anniversary as a member of the Grand Ole Opry January 21 – Carrie Underwood gives birth to second son, Jacob Fisher, with husband Mike Fisher. February – Country music duo Walker McGuire disbands. February 10 – At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards, Kacey Musgraves wins all 4 awards she was nominated for, including the all-genre Album of the Year for Golden Hour. March – "Old Town Road," a song combining elements of country rap, hip hop, Southern hip hop and trap and performed by rap newcomer Lil Nas X, debuts on the Hot Country Songs chart at No. 19; the song that charts is a remix, featuring vocals by Billy Ray Cyrus. However, the very next week, the song is removed from the chart, with the magazine disqualifying the song on the grounds that it did not fit the country genre. There is speculation that had the song remained on the chart, it would have reached No. 1 as of the chart dated April 6, 2019. On July 29 it reaches its seventeenth week atop the Billboard Hot 100, the all-time record. Later in the year, hip-hop music producer Blanco Brown records and releases "The Git Up," which is called a "sequel" and "next viral country rap song". The new style of music and its related controversies continue the long-standing discussion of what is country music, one that dates to the 1970s. March 2 – Jesse McReynolds celebrates his 55th Grand Ole Opry anniversary March 6 – Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires and Maren Morris officially announce that they are forming a supergroup known as the Highwomen. With the name paying homage to the Highwaymen (which was composed of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson), the trio revealed that their line-up would allow for various guests to join them, with Chely Wright, Courtney Marie Andrews, Margo Price, Sheryl Crow and Janelle Monáe all hinted as potential collaborators. The group reveal their fourth member will be Natalie Hemby and perform together for the first time at Loretta Lynn's 87th birthday concert by singing "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels". March 27 – Wanda Jackson announces her retirement from performing due to health and safety concerns via a statement on her Facebook page. April 1 – Loretta Lynn celebrates her 87th birthday (which is actually April 14) with an all-star concert held at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. Performers include: Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Martina McBride, Alison Krauss, Lee Ann Womack, Little Big Town, Margo Price, Kacey Musgraves, Brandy Clark, Cam, Jack White, Brandi Carlile, Maren Morris, Amanda Shires, Natalie Hemby, Holly Williams, Miranda Lambert, Pistol Annies, Keith Urban, Randy Houser, Darius Rucker, Tanya Tucker, Crystal Gayle, Peggy Sue, John Carter Cash, Alan Jackson and George Strait. Lynn herself sings live for the first time since 2017, performing her signature song "Coal Miner's Daughter" with the ensemble. April 14 – Hal Ketchum's wife announces via his Facebook page that he will be retiring due to complications from Alzheimer's disease. April 16 – Kelsea Ballerini is inducted as the youngest member of the Grand Ole Opry, with Carrie Underwood officiating the induction. May 14 Randy Travis releases his first memoir, titled Forever and Ever, Amen: A Memoir of Music, Faith, and Braving the Storms of Life. Rodney Atkins' "Caught Up in the Country" charts for a 57th week on Country Airplay, beating by one week the previous record for the longest continuous run on that chart. June 6 – Granger Smith's youngest son, River Kelly, unexpectedly dies at the age of 3 after what he refers to as a "serious accident", later revealed to be caused by drowning in the family pool. River had previously been featured as a cameo in Smith's "Happens Like That" video 2 years prior. June 30 – Music executive and manager Scooter Braun buys Big Machine Label Group, which includes the masters to Taylor Swift's first 6 studio albums. Swift is angry, claiming that she tried to buy the masters herself for years, but Braun sells them to Ithaca Holdings for $300 million in November 2020. As a result, Swift began re-recording 4 of her albums that she originally recorded on the label in November 2020. The first of these, Fearless (Taylor's Version), was released in April 2021. Swift would buy back the masters of all the original albums May 30, 2025. August 19 – Carrie Underwood is announced as host of the CMA Awards, her first year without Brad Paisley as a co-host; Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire will co-host the show. September 9 – Blake Shelton creates a Twitter campaign for Craig Morgan's current single, "The Father, My Son and the Holy Ghost", written in memory of his 19-year-old son, Jerry Greer, who died in July 2016, to be No. 1 on iTunes' all-genre chart. Celebrities ranging from Kelly Clarkson to Ellen DeGeneres to Travis Tritt respond, and the song reaches No. 1 on Sept. 12, 2019. September 15–25 – Country Music, a 16.5 hour documentary series by Ken Burns airs on PBS. The series took eight years to film and research, and features interviews with over 100 artists and key members of the country music community, including several who had died that decade. September 19 – One of Josh Turner's tour buses crashes off a cliff in California, killing one and injuring seven. Turner himself was not on the bus at the time. October 5 – American Idol finalists Gabby Barrett and Cade Foehner are married in Texas. October 9 – Radio host Bob Kingsley, host of Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 (and earlier the longtime host of American Country Countdown), announces that he is taking a leave from the show due to a diagnosis of bladder cancer. Eight days later, Kingsley died from his illness."Bob Kingsley Dies At Age 80," All Access Music Group, October 17, 2019. Accessed 10-17-19. October 9 – Singer-songwriter Sam Williams, son of Hank Williams Jr., and the grandson of Hank Williams, made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry, singing "Can't Fool Your Own Blood". October 13 – Kenny Dixon, the drummer in Kane Brown's band, is killed in a car accident. October 19 – The Lifetime network premieres the television film Patsy & Loretta, which showcases the friendship between Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn. Megan Hilty and Jessie Mueller portray Cline and Lynn, respectively. November 13 2019 CMA Awards celebrates women in country music, opening with an all-star medley that included the likes of Tanya Tucker and Sara Evans, while Maren Morris wins Album of the Year for Girl and Kacey Musgraves wins for Female Vocalist. The night also sparked controversy, as Garth Brooks wins Entertainer of the Year, causing backlash from Carrie Underwood and Eric Church fans, whom many predicted would win the honor. Gretchen Wilson and Carrie Underwood at the CMA Awards. November 22 – Singer Maddie Marlow of duo Maddie & Tae weds Jonah Font. December 8 – The 2019 Kennedy Center Honors award Linda Ronstadt; tribute performers included Trisha Yearwood and Carrie Underwood. December 18 – Radio host Fitz is named as the successor of Bob Kingsley on Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40. December 28 – The final episode of "ACC Rewind," a program featuring re-airings of original (edited) broadcasts of "American Country Countdown" from the 1990s and early 2000s, is aired, and features the 1999 year-end countdown. December 31 – Carrie Underwood announces on Instagram that she is stepping down as host of the CMA Awards.
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 2019:
Singles released by American and Australian artists SongsAirplayCanadaSingleArtistReferences20——"1, 2 Many"Luke Combs featuring Brooks & Dunn311"All to Myself"Dan + Shay281740"Back to Life"Rascal Flatts111"Beautiful Crazy"Luke Combs211"Beer Never Broke My Heart"Luke Combs11329"Burn Out"Midland521"Burning Man"Dierks Bentley featuring Brothers Osborne17815"Buy My Own Drinks"Runaway June202146"Caught Up in the Country"Rodney Atkins featuring The Fisk Jubilee Singers971"Down to the Honkytonk"Jake Owen211"Even Though I'm Leaving"Luke Combs201729"Every Little Honky Tonk Bar"George Strait511"Every Little Thing"Russell Dickerson316"Eyes on You"Chase Rice19——"For My Daughter"Kane Brown815"Girl"Maren Morris511"Girl Like You"Jason Aldean14437"The Git Up"Blanco Brown111"God's Country"Blake Shelton311"Good as You"Kane Brown815"Good Girl"Dustin Lynch611"Good Vibes"Chris Janson141836"Hell Right"Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins212"Here Tonight"Brett Young211"I Don't Know About You"Chris Lane121410"It All Comes Out in the Wash"Miranda Lambert212"Knockin' Boots"Luke Bryan17——"Like a Rodeo"Kane Brown611"Living"Dierks Bentley311"Look What God Gave Her"Thomas Rhett811"Love Ain't"Eli Young Band9214"Love Someone"Brett Eldredge141127"Love Wins"Carrie Underwood718"Love You Too Late"Cole Swindell811"Make It Sweet"Old Dominion426"Millionaire"Chris Stapleton721"Miss Me More"Kelsea Ballerini301810"Never Comin' Down"Keith Urban8514"Night Shift"Jon Pardi1950—"Old Town Road"Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus131120"On My Way to You"Cody Johnson211"One Man Band"Old Dominion1037"One That Got Away"Michael Ray1—37"One Thing Right"Marshmello & Kane Brown7146"The Ones That Didn't Make It Back Home"Justin Moore2123"Prayed for You"Matt Stell173343"Rainbow"Kacey Musgraves1052"Raised on Country"Chris Young411"Rearview Town"Jason Aldean232617"Rednecker"Hardy20——"Refrigerator Door"Luke Combs511"Remember You Young"Thomas Rhett2111"Rumor"Lee Brice17——"Shut Up About Politics"John Rich featuring The Five611"Sixteen"Thomas Rhett713"Some of It"Eric Church10——"Soon You'll Get Better"Taylor Swift featuring Dixie Chicks1131"Southbound"Carrie Underwood424"Take It from Me"Jordan Davis111128"Talk You Out of It"Florida Georgia Line1131"There Was This Girl"Riley Green312"This Is It"Scotty McCreery261750"Thought About You"Tim McGraw1383"Tip of My Tongue"Kenny Chesney741"We Were"Keith Urban7115"What Happens in a Small Town"Brantley Gilbert and Lindsay Ell721"What Makes You Country"Luke Bryan111"Whiskey Glasses"Morgan Wallen
Singles released by Canadian artists SongsAirplayCanadaSingleArtistReferences——12"#REDNEK"Gord Bamford——1"About You"MacKenzie Porter——13"Ain't Gonna Be Lonely Long"Sons of Daughters——15"Bars & Churches"Aaron Goodvin——3"Better on You"Jojo Mason——1"Better When I Do"Aaron Pritchett——5"Black Sheep"Dean Brody——8"Cecilia"Brett Kissel——4"Count the Ways"Jade Eagleson——10"Dear Me"Madeline Merlo——17"Didn't Know Me"Andrew Hyatt——4"Dose of Country"Dean Brody——1"Drop"Dallas Smith——8"Down"Gord Bamford——1"Feels Like That"Reklaws——1"Forever's Gotta Start Somewhere"Chad Brownlee——2"Good Jeans"Tebey——10"Hello Country"Steven Lee Olsen——6"I Do Too"Reklaws——1"Keep It Simple"James Barker Band——1"Lost"Hunter Brothers——17"Northern Lights"Hunter Brothers——1"Rhinestone World"Dallas Smith——6"Save Some of That Whiskey"Jess Moskaluke——16"She Gets Me"Washboard Union——2"Single Man"High Valley29261"Somebody's Daughter"Tenille Townes——2"There's a Drink for That"James Barker Band——19"Water Down the Whiskey"Matt Lang——3"The Way You Roll"Chad Brownlee——1"What A Song Should Do"Tim Hicks——7"What Do I Know"Shawn Austin——3"Whiskey in a Teacup"Dean Brody——8"White Horse"Tenille Townes——9"Wild as Me"Meghan Patrick——1"You Are"Aaron Goodvin——12"You Belong"Shawn Austin
Notes "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Top new album releases The following albums placed on the Top Country Albums charts in 2019: