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2020 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2020.

Events

COVID-19

  • March 16 – The 55th Academy of Country Music Awards, originally scheduled for April 5, was postponed to September 16. A few weeks later, the 2020 CMT Music Awards were pushed back to October 21, from their original date of June 3.
  • March 20 - The Grand Ole Opry announces it will continue hosting performances, but without a live audience attending in the Ryman Auditorium.
  • March 29 – Joe Diffie, a country music superstar who scored many Top Ten hits during the 1990s and early 2000s, dies from complications of COVID-19, two days after announcing he had fallen ill.
  • March 31 – The Country Music Association announces that the 2020 CMA Fest, scheduled for June 4–7, is officially canceled.
  • October 7 – Morgan Wallen is dropped as a musical guest by Saturday Night Live after a video of him attending a party without wearing a face mask surfaces. Jack White eventually is called to be the replacement musical guest.
  • December 12 – Charley Pride dies from complications of COVID-19 one month after receiving the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the CMA Awards, an event that would turn out to be his final public appearance.

Other

  • January 2 – Capitol Records Nashville signs Hot Country Knights, a fictitious band portrayed by Dierks Bentley and members of his road band.
  • January 4 – Radio personality Fitz takes over as permanent host of Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40, succeeding the longtime radio host who died in 2019. Affiliates of Fitz's previous programs – The Fitz Show, The Hit List with Fitz, and Nashville Minute with Fitz – were replaced with programs from KCCS Productions, which produces CT40.
  • January 7 – Rascal Flatts announced that they would be disbanding following a farewell tour after 20 years together. The tour (in addition to several other tours) would later be cancelled due to COVID-19.
  • February 24 - Several country songs, including Luke Bryan's "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)" and Trace Adkins' "Honky Tonk Badonkadonk", went under fire by female listeners after compromising the lyrics as sexist for sexually objectifying women and urging these songs to be pulled from radio airwaves.
  • March 7 – Jimmie Allen's "Make Me Want To" tops the Billboard Country Airplay chart in its 58th week, setting a record for both the slowest ascent to the top and the longest overall run in that chart's history.
  • March 23 – Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd announce the birth of their first child, Hayes Andrew Hurd.
  • May 5 – Travis Denning's "After a Few" charts on Country Airplay for the 60th week, breaking the longevity record set on that chart only two months prior. It would later reach the top on June 13 in its 65th week, also setting a record for the longest climb to Number One since the inception of Nielsen Soundscan in 1990.
  • May 14–15 – Vocalist Hannah Mulholland quits the group Runaway June and is replaced by Natalie Stovall, formerly of Natalie Stovall and the Drive.
  • June – Amid the fallout from the George Floyd protests, two groups change their names. On June 11, Lady Antebellum announces their name will change to Lady A, the group's longstanding nickname. On June 25, the Dixie Chicks become known as The Chicks. Both moves were announced amid criticism that the words "Antebellum" and "Dixie" had connotations of American slavery.
  • June 13 – Hank Williams Jr.'s 27-year-old daughter, Katharine Williams-Dunning, is killed in a car accident in Henry County, Tennessee.
  • June 19 – Carly Pearce and Michael Ray announce their divorce after less than eight months of marriage.
  • July 3 – Kacey Musgraves and husband Ruston Kelly divorce after years of marriage.
  • July 4 – Kenny Chesney's "Here and Now" becomes his 31st number-one single on the Country Airplay chart, making Chesney the artist with the most number one singles on that chart.
  • July 17 – The Chicks release their first studio album in 14 years, Gaslighter.
  • July 29 – Garth Brooks withdraws himself from consideration for the CMA Entertainer of the Year category after seven wins.
  • August 1 – Luke Combs marries Nicole Hocking in Florida, after 4 years of dating.
  • August 16 - Singer Gabby Barrett announces her pregnancy with her first daughter with husband Cade Foeher.
  • August 17 – Taylor Swift marks her return to country music radio in three years with the release of "Betty", off her Folklore album.
  • August 25 - Singer Mickey Guyton announces her pregnancy for her first child with husband Grant Savoy.
  • August 31 - Blanco Brown is involved in a motorcycle accident in which he breaks both arms, both legs, and his pelvis. He undergoes a twelve-hour surgery.
  • September 16 – For the first time in history, the Academy of Country Music declares a tie for the Entertainer of the year award - Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood.
  • October 27 – Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani become engaged after 5 years of dating.
  • November 21 – Jon Pardi marries Summer Duncan in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, after announcing their engagement in October 2019.
  • November 30 – Jake Owen and Erica Hartlein become engaged after 3 years of dating.

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 2020:

Singles released by American and Australian artists

Singles released by Canadian artists

Top new album releases

The following albums placed on the Top Country Albums charts in 2020:

Other top albums

Deaths

Hall of Fame inductees

Bluegrass Hall of Fame

  • J. T. Gray - owner of the Station Inn in Nashville which opened in 1974 and noted as one of the best bluegrass venue in the world
  • Johnson Mountain Boys - a popular group in the 1980s known for their neotraditional style
  • New Grass Revival - progressive band that produced many of the genres most respected musicians

Country Music Hall of Fame

(presented on November 21, 2021)

Major awards

Academy of Country Music Awards

(presented on April 18, 2021)

  • Entertainer of the Year – Luke Bryan
  • Male Artist of the Year – Thomas Rhett
  • Female Artist of the Year – Maren Morris
  • Group of the Year – Old Dominion
  • Duo of the Year – Dan + Shay
  • New Male Artist of the Year – Jimmie Allen
  • New Female Artist of the Year – Gabby Barrett
  • Songwriter of the Year – Hillary Lindsey
  • Single of the Year – "I Hope You're Happy Now" (Carly Pearce and Lee Brice)
  • Song of the Year – "The Bones" (Jimmy Robbins, Maren Morris, Laura Veltz)
  • Album of the Year – Starting Over (Chris Stapleton)
  • Musical Event of the Year – "I Hope You're Happy Now" (Carly Pearce and Lee Brice)
  • Video of the Year – "Worldwide Beautiful" (Kane Brown)

Americana Music Honors & Awards

American Music Awards

(presented on November 22, 2020)

ARIA Awards

(presented on November 25, 2020)

Billboard Music Awards

(presented on October 14, 2020)

CMT Music Awards

(presented on October 21, 2020, in Nashville)

CMT Artists of the Year <br /> (presented June 3, 2020 in Nashville)

Country Music Association Awards

(presented on November 11, 2020)

Grammy Awards

(presented in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021)

International Bluegrass Music Awards

(presented on October 1, 2020)

Juno Awards

(presented on June 6, 2021 in Toronto)

Kennedy Center Honors

Country stars who were honored in 2020

Garth Brooks

References