Name: Carolina Country Music Fest
Start: 2023-06-08
End: 2023-06-11
Location: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Carolina Country Music Fest Logo

Carolina Country Music Fest will return in 2023, taking place on Myrtle Beach, South Carolina from 8-11 June 2023. Tickets have recently sold out for the festival, with the event shaping up to be yet another hugely popular occasion. 

Announced to headline the four-day event so far is 

Also already revealed as playing at the festival are 90s legend Travis Tritt and southern-rock superstars 

The McDonalds Thursday Night Kick-Off Concert will be headlined by 

, with Tracy Lawrence as special guest on the night.

In addition, Bret Michaels, Scotty McCreery and ‘Flower Shops’ hitmaker 

To make it even sweeter, some of country's most exciting prodigies, 

, Ian Munsick, Jon Langston and Megan Moroney are also playing the festival.

In the coming weeks, the festival is set to add 40 more of country's biggest acts to its official line-up.

Holler will have all the up-to-date coverage and ticket details for Carolina Country Music Fest 2023 here.

For the full line-up for Carolina Country Music Fest, see below:

General Admission and Super VIP 4-day passes are available now for the festival, with payment plans available for both options. Tickets start at $259.00, with Main Stage VIP passes now sold out.

For more information and to purchase tickets for all country festivals taking place in the US and Canada in 2023, 

For more information and coverage on Carolina Country Music Fest 2023, see below:

Brooks & Dunn Announced to Headline Carolina Country Music Fest 2023

HARDY Unveiled as Thursday Night Headliner for Carolina Country Music Fest 2023

All the latest line-up announcements, date confirmations and ticket details for Carolina Country Music Fest 2023

Festival - Carolina Country Music Fest 1

Carolina Country Music Fest

Hailing from Sneedville, Tennessee, Morgan Cole Wallen has quickly become one of the most decorated artists in modern country. Since appearing on Season 6 of 

, Wallen's rise to country's upper echelons has been meteoric - but one that has not been without its fair share of controversies, which have at times threatened to transform this unprecedented ascent into a tumultuous collision course. 

 during the playoffs in 2014, Wallen released his 

EP, which paved the way for a recording contract with Big Loud Records. Following this, Morgan Wallen's 2018 debut album, 

, spawned hits such as ‘Chasin' You’, ‘Whiskey Glasses’ and the rowdy, party-starting Florida Georgia Line collaboration, ‘Up Down’. 

 helped to solidify Wallen's mercurial blending of lyrical, lovelorn balladry with his playful, down-home charm. 

Wallen's sonic dirt-road was concretised in January 2021 when he released 

. Totalling 30 songs, the project capitalised on the songwriting prowess of Wallen himself, alongside frequent collaborators such as HARDY, Ernest and Ben Burgess. Numerous songs from the album have since gone multi-platinum, such as ‘More Than My Hometown’, ‘Wasted On You’, ‘7 Summers’ and ‘Sand In My Boots’.

In February that year, Wallen was suspended from his label after being filmed using a racial slur. This followed a series of controversies in 2020, which included Wallen being arrested for public intoxication and disorderly conduct, as well as being dropped from 

 after violating social distancing guidelines. 

went on to break a number of records, becoming the longest-running top ten album on the Billboard 200 since the chart began. The project has also spent more time at Number One on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart than any any other album in the chart's history. 

In 2022, Morgan Wallen won the ACM Award for Album of the Year, which built on the success of his 2021 Billboard Music Awards for Top Country Artist and Top Country Album. Wallen is also a past recipient of the CMA New Artist of the Year. 

In October 2022, Wallen wrapped up his country-spanning 

tour, during the course of which the Tennessee hitmaker played to over 800,000 fans. As he closed out his final show, his 2022 single, ‘You Proof’, was confirmed as his seventh Number One at country radio.

On March 3 2023, Morgan Wallen released his new album, 

, featuring hit singles such as ‘Thought You Should Know’, ‘Last Night’ and more. The 36-song project continues to set new streaming records, and is being accompanied by 2023 world tour, which will take Wallen across the US, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. 

Morgan

Morgan Wallen: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

Miranda Lambert grew up singing in Texas before catching Nashville’s attention as a teenager. But she didn’t like the pop direction they tried to push her in, so she learned guitar, began writing her own songs and self-released her self-titled debut album in 2001.

That auspicious start – taking charge of her own destiny – set the stage for what followed. Lambert’s sophomore album, and major label debut, Kerosene arrived in 2005, quickly topping Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and eventually going platinum. 

It would take one more album, 2007’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend for Lambert to earn her first Academy of Country Music Award – for Top New Female Vocalist. 

Lambert has gone on to release a number of additional solo albums, including 2020’s best-selling album Wildcard, which won the Grammy for Best Country Album. She’s also co-formed the supergroup Pistol Annies, with Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley, recorded the campfire collaboration The Marfa Tapes with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall.

She even become the first female artist to open her own bar in downtown Nashville, appropriately called Casa Rosa (or Pink House).

A commercial and critical success, Lambert’s gutsy attitude comes across in her tell-it-like-it-is songwriting, which has garnered Grammys, CMA Awards for Album of the Year, and led to her being named Female Vocalist of the Year at the ACM Awards more times than any other female artist. 

Miranda

Miranda Lambert: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

Michael Wilson Hardy was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi. He studied songwriting at Tennessee State University and jumped right into the country music industry with that education. 

He’s written songs for Florida Georgia Line, Blake Shelton, Morgan Wallen, Thomas Rhett and many others. 

Hardy’s talents caught the eye of producer Joey Moi, who signed him to Big Loud Records in 2018. Hardy released two back-to-back EPs: his debut, This Ole Boy, arrived the year of his record deal and his second EP, Where to Find Me, came out the following year, as did a collaborative mixtape featuring 17 major artists. Hardy tapped Rhett, Keith Urban, Trace Adkins and many others for Hixtape, Vol. 1.

In 2020, he released his debut studio album A Rock. It featured the single “One Beer”, which hit the number one spot on US Country Airplay.

Hardy

Hardy: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

Texas six-piece Whiskey Myers have marked out a sonic patch of turf that feels immediately recognisable as a concoction of Red Dirt and Southern Rock, with a healthy dose of straight-shooting Rock ‘n’ Roll thrown in for good measure.

Yet when you scratch beneath the surface of Whiskey Myers’ most popular tracks, the terrain becomes a lot harder to map. They’re not afraid to stray from the dirt-road tracks and surprise fans with a gospel-infused anthem or a bluesy twist.

Nonetheless, the songs that have gained the most prominence have been the grittier, Skynyrd-inspired anthems, epitomised on blazing tracks such as ‘Rolling Stone’, ‘Die Rockin’’ and ‘Frogman’.

in 2014 with mixed success, but saw their stock rise dramatically when they were chosen to be a part of the hit 

 TV series. Not only did they play on screen, but a number of songs, such as ‘Stone’, have made it onto the show’s hugely popular soundtrack.

This led to their whole catalogue being propelled into the Top Ten of the iTunes Country Chart, and helped to build momentum for a series of emphatic live shows across both the US and the UK.

, in the summer of 2022, a self-produced, guitar-driven and emotionally rich journey through Texas that again found the band testing out exciting new sonic waters.

Whiskey Myers

Whiskey Myers: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

When any starry-eyed country music hopeful packs up their life and moves to Music City, they're often moulded, sculpted and pulled in every which way by label execs in order to build a specific ‘brand’. For Lainey Wilson, her brand is as simple as it is resolute - being her own damn self. 

, she's maintained a distinct determination to stay true to her roots. Many artists sing about their down-home upbringing as a marketing device, but for Lainey, it's always been the truth - all she needed was three chords to accompany it. 

She grew up in a camper trailer in rural Baskin, Louisiana, and stormed onto the scene with her reflective 2021 single, ‘Things A Man Oughta Know’. The track earned Lainey a No. 1, a Platinum certification and the award for ACM Song of the Year. Alongside this, Lainey also picked up the ACM New Female Artist of the Year prize. 

It didn't take long for Nashville to warm to Lainey's honeyed drawl and traditionally-minded yet contemporary sound. Billboard named Lainey as their Top New Country Artist of 2021, while CMT championed her as the 2022 Breakout Artist of the Year. 

If 2021 was Lainey's take-off, then 2022 saw Lainey rocketing into country's galaxy of modern-day stars. Two successful collaborations set the ball rolling. Her Cole Swindell assisted single, ‘Never Say Never’, became Lainey's second No. 1 in April 2022, while her dark, ominous HARDY duet, ‘wait in the truck’, sent ripples across Radnor Lake and quickly became one of the most notable tracks of the year.

This laid the foundation for the October 2022 release of 

The project spawned singles such as ‘Heart Like A Truck’ and ‘Live Off’, both of which embody the unpretentious, small-town way of life that continues to inspire so much of Lainey's music. 

Often, Lainey Wilson's sound of choice is fun, playful and swaggering, while at other times, it's beautifully poignant and heartfelt. But whichever sonic playbook she chooses to draw from, one thing's for sure - it's always going to be unmistakably, unashamedly and unwaveringly 

Lainey

Lainey Wilson: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

When you hear Ernest's mellow, honeyed vocals, it's hard to believe that he started off his musical career as a rapper. On his 2021 smash hit, ‘Flower Shops’, he has his boots planted firmly in classic country terra firma - but to get there, it’s safe to say that Ernest eschewed the traditional pathway in favour of the scenic route.

The stylistic influences that have shaped Ernest’s chart-topping sound are hugely varied, and they emerge like easter eggs hidden amidst the steel guitars and layered drawl. From his moody, EDM collaboration with Diplo, ‘Bottle’s Bout Dead’, to the retro, Hailey Whitters-assisted tribute to Dolly and Kenny, ‘Islands in the Stream’, Ernest regularly showcases his diverse musical palette.

Ernest’s creative dexterity is clearest when examining his illustrious songwriting track record, having penned hits for a range of country stars. These include Florida Georgia Line (‘I Love My Country’), Sam Hunt (‘Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90’s’), Kane Brown (‘One Mississippi’, ‘Memory’), Thomas Rhett (‘Church Boots’, ‘Paradise’), Chris Lane (‘Big, Big Plans’) and Jelly Roll (‘Son Of A Sinner’).

Ernest has been particularly prolific when writing for his good buddy, Morgan Wallen, having helped to create ‘You Proof’, ‘More Than My Hometown’, ‘Dangerous’, ‘Broadway Girls’ and numerous other hits. With HARDY, the hugely popular trio are considered by many to be the tastemakers of today’s country music scene.

, was a romantic, beachside getaway, with the tropical setting reflecting the paradisal relationship that Ernest celebrates on the record. Highlights such as ‘I Think I Love You’, ‘Sugar’ and ‘All We Need’ helped to build a burgeoning following for the Nashville native.

While some suspected that Ernest would double down on this Buffettian, Gulf and Western sound, at the end of 2021 he shifted gears and dropped his biggest hit to date, ‘Flower Shops’. The Morgan Wallen collaboration felt like the kind of song George Jones would record if he was part of today’s generation of artists, and it marked a clear departure from the idyllic shores of 

. ‘Flower Shops’ went Platinum in November 2022.

, built out this troubled, heartbroken persona, spawning fan-favourites such as ‘Comfortable When I’m Crazy’, ‘Feet Wanna Run’ and ‘What It’s Come To’.

In December 2022, Ernest confirmed that he would be releasing two new singles, ‘Miss That Girl’ and ‘Unhang The Moon’.

Ernest

Ernest: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

 EP in June 2022, it became the biggest streaming country debut of all time. Zimmerman also became one of just three country artists to earn over a million streams on each track during street week alone. The other two artists? None other than Luke Combs and Zach Bryan.

It’s sometimes difficult to believe that Bailey Zimmerman is still in his early twenties, and that he’s only been releasing music since 2021. In the space of just over a year, Zimmerman has enjoyed an ascent that has felt so meteoric, that he seems to have already transcended the labels of ‘prodigy’ and ‘prospect’.

‘Fall in Love’, one of the highlights from his 2022 EP, became his first Country Radio No. 1 in December. The single serves as the perfect encapsulation of what makes Zimmerman such a threat. It has the signature rasp and heart-wrenching intensity that pervades much of the project, but - crucially - it is packaged up with a pop-leaning production style that makes it ideal for Country Radio.

The result is a sound that simultaneously straddles both the mainstream and the outer edges of the modern country landscape. Part of Zimmerman’s ability to infiltrate both markets can be traced back to his blue collar roots, having grown up working on a gas pipeline.

In 2023, Zimmerman is joining Morgan Wallen on his blockbuster 

world tour. Zimmerman has previously cited Wallen as a mentor, with the Sneedville native having even co-written ‘Trainwreck’ from the 

When he heads out on the road with Morgan Wallen, Zimmerman will receive a first-hand glimpse into what it takes to become one of the biggest country stars on the planet. Given how emphatic Zimmerman’s emergence has been so far, few would be surprised to see him unveil his own world tour this time next year.

Bailey

Bailey Zimmerman: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

Carolina Country Music Fest 2023: Line-Up, Dates and Tickets

Ross Jones is a London-based Editor from the UK. He's also a producer, broadcaster, DJ and events promoter. You'll find him playing The Chicks' 'Landslide' at any opportunity.

Ross

Editor - Ross Jones

A handy, chronological list guide to the country music festivals taking place across the world in 2023. 

Carolina Country Music Fest

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