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After another unforgettable three-day celebration at Australia's biggest international country music festival, CMC Rocks, organizers have announced that the 2024 installment will take place from Friday, March 15 - Sunday, March 17. 

The Queensland event has built a reputation for consistently bringing a fantastic array of country music heavyweights Down Under, and that remains true with the 2024 bill as 

, Tyler Hubbard and Chris Young have been tapped as headliners across the three days.

Also on the roster for 2024 will be Chase Rice, Nate Smith, Megan Moroney, Kameron Marlowe, Morgan Wade, Ian Munsick, Jackson Dean, Priscilla Block, Drake Milligan, Tyler Braden and more.

The Australian event also features an interesting pick as viral singer-songwriter Oliver Anthony has been added to the lineup. The West Virginia native exploded into the mainstream in August of 2023 with his blockbuster hit, 

. An overnight sensation, the song gained much of its attention due to its politically charged rhetoric.

Here, we'll have all the up-to-date news on line-up announcements, the latest ticket and festival pass details, and any further exciting info and details for CMC Rocks’ 2024 instalment.

For CMC Rocks 2023, Zac Brown Band, Kip Moore and Morgan Wallen lit up the Willowbank Raceway stage, while attendees were also able to witness show-stopping sets from the likes of Jordan Davis, HARDY, Ernest, Ashley McBryde, Bailey Zimmerman, Corey Kent, Warren Zeiders, Hailey Whitters and more. 

Since its inception in 2008, CMC Rocks has brought country stars such as Brad Paisley, Florida Georgia Line, Kane Brown, Thomas Rhett, Luke Combs, Carly Pearce and Kelsea Ballerini over to Australia for a slew of unforgettable performances. 

Along with booking big-name draws such as these, the Queensland-based event also prides itself on showcasing some of the most exciting talent emerging within the genre, including homegrown artists that have only just started their country music journey. 

The widely celebrated festival stands at the forefront of the nation's rapidly burgeoning country music fanbase, and hopes are high for 2024, which many suspect will be CMC Rocks’ biggest year yet. 

When tickets to CMC Rocks 2024 are released, they'll be available to purchase below:

To support Holler, book your stay for CMC Rocks 2024  below:

Check out other country festivals set for 2024.

The 2023 instalment featured electrifying performances from Morgan Wallen, Zac Brown Band, Kip Moore and more.

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CMC Rocks 2024

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’.  

, 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 

Home of all the latest news, information and coverage of Lainey Wilson on Holler

Lainey

For Lainey Wilson, her brand is as simple as it is resolute - being her own damn self. 

Lainey Wilson: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

Across the landscape of country music, you will find several groups of artists. You'll find people that were born to entertain, people that had to work and claw their way to the spotlight and plenty of hopefuls who just couldn't make it work.

Over the last few years, though, we've also found a few whose musical destinies were forged in fire and etched into stone, which is the perfect summation of Nate Smith.

In the last few years, country music has seen Smith seemingly appear out of thin air as he has shot up charts and onto radios worldwide practically overnight. However, as he would attest, that timeline couldn't be further from the truth.

Growing up in Paradise, California, he was influenced at a young age by country icons like Garth Brooks and rock bands like Nirvana, while also being exposed to massive pop personalities like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. After learning how to play guitar at the age of 13, he quickly found his musical home at his local church where he took on the role of worship leader.

At the ripe age of 23, a green and hopeful Smith made his way to Nashville to chase his neon-tinged dreams, earning a recording deal with Christian label Word Records and a publishing agreement with Centricity Music. However, after not much panned-out, he packed up his musical aspirations and went home.

Then, in 2018, California's deadliest and most destructive wildfire in history decimated his hometown. With everything he owned lost and an inability to cope with the disaster, Smith turned back to music in his time of need. What resulted was a song called 'Wildfire,' which went viral in 2020 and signaled a new birth for Smith.

As Smith was ushered back into the folds of Music City, he earned a publishing deal and a recording contract from Sony Music Nashville and has been on the fast track to country stardom since.

One part backwoods soul, one part rock 'n' roll and another part soul, Smith has continued to release a strong string of delectable country tunes in the form of his eponymously titled, debut album 

, which includes his Gold-certified, No. 1 single 'Whiskey On You.'

If the last few years are any indication of Nate Smith's future in country music, it's clear that from the devastating ashes were born a second chance and a heartwarming story of resilience.

Home of all the latest news, information and coverage of Nate Smith on Holler.

Nate

In today's country music landscape, you'll find a select few whose musical destinies were forged in fire, which is the perfect summation of Nate Smith.

Nate Smith: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

Before Megan Moroney stormed onto the charts with the infectious, endearing ‘Tennessee Orange’, country football anthems were traditionally associated with the muscled-up, beer-chugging bro-country scene. 

Moroney's sweet tale of a forbidden, star-crossed romance between a Tennessee Volunteers fan and a Georgia Bulldogs supporter went viral in 2022, and in doing so, announced the artist to the world. 

Although the song's success was helped by its muse - a certain country megastar, Morgan Wallen - this shouldn't detract from ‘Tennessee Orange’’s standalone status as a certified earworm with wonderfully intricate and witty songwriting construction. 

The Georgia native's musical journey was kickstarted by the 2021 single, ‘Wonder’, which Moroney penned after being booked to open for Chase Rice during her freshman year at University, and being told she needed at least one original song in her set. 

The following year, she released the six-song 

 EP. The EP showcased Moroney's conversational charm and her ability to find lyrics that speak to the younger generation, but that still feel timeless and unquestionably country. 

‘Hair Salon’ quickly became a fan-favourite, and on February 11, Megan Moroney performed the small-town ballad during her Grand Ole Opry debut, alongside ‘Tennessee Orange’. 

Many have tipped the country prodigy to enjoy a stellar year, with Moroney currently readying her debut album, which will feature both ‘Tennessee Orange’ and her playful, tongue-in-cheek February 2023 single, ‘I'm Not Pretty’. 

Underlining her position at the forefront of contemporary country, Spotify named Megan Moroney as one of their 2023 Country Artists to Watch, while CMT included her in their prestigious Next Women of Country 2023 group. Additionally, Holler featured Megan Moroney as one of its 23 New Artists for 2023. 

If you haven't already, it's safe to say ‘Megan Moroney’ is a name you'll be hearing a lot in the years to come. 

Home of all the latest news, information and coverage of Megan Moroney on Holler

Megan

The country prodigy behind the viral, football-inspired hit, ‘Tennessee Orange’

Megan Moroney: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

A little known or acknowledged fact about country music is that when the genre first started gaining attention, it was originally categorized as Country & Western music.

Though the format at large has generally moved further away from the latter half of that moniker, there are a select few artists who still have "western" proudly emblazoned on their craft.

One of the true cowboys leading that charge is none other than Ian Munsick.

Born to a ranching family in the beautiful surroundings of Sheridan, Wyoming, he grew up tending cattle.

Starting at age 9, though, once the sun went down, he and his family band, the Munsick Boys, would play around town. From those first few performances, a fire was sparked inside of Munsick that told him music was his destiny.

During his formative years, Munsick was like a sponge, soaking in everything from bluegrass beloved by his father to the pop masterclass of the Beatles. He quickly began writing his own songs, drawing from a wide array of genres, including pop, rock, country and hip-hop.

He followed his dream all the way to Music City at the age of 18, where he enrolled in Nashville's prestigious Belmont University. His eponymous debut EP arrived in 2017, which included his iHeartRadio Rocky Mountain Song of the Year-winning single 'Horses Are Faster.'

Munsick landed a deal with Warner Music Nashville soon after, yielding his debut album, 

, which produced his second iHeartRadio Rocky Mountain Country Music Award for Song of the Year with standout track 'Long Haul.'

Serving as a picturesque introduction to the luscious locked cowboy that we now know and love, Munsick's debut effort offered up a whimsical blend of spacious, roots-pop that also showed off his distinctive tenor.

 marked the dawn of western pop-laced country, then his 2023 record, 

Bringing classic Western influences to center stage, 

 effectively breathes fresh Rocky Mountain air into country music as Munsick transports listeners to the wide natural expanses of Wyoming, while also tipping his hat to the Native American culture with which he's also been in close proximity to.

Including his stampeding duet with Cody Johnson, 'Long Live Cowgirls,' the record notches 18 tracks that tell tales of romance and ranch life, as well as features hard-working anthems with honkytonk hooks and mountain-time odes that are laced with an ever-present screeching fiddle.

In just a matter of years, Munsick has begun to pioneer a new brand of country that maybe isn’t so new after all. Perhaps a better way to put it is that, with Ian Munsick, western country is being reborn and reimagined.

In a sea full of songs about beer, trucks and doing country stuff, Munsick rises above the rest with the sole mission of “bringing the West to the rest.”

Home of all the latest news, information and coverage of Ian Munsick on Holler.

Ian Munsick: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

Over the last several decades, country music has become more and more of a fluid genre. Sometimes creeping into pop or rock, country music has also been finding its way into the R&B, rap and bluegrass spaces, while other times it sounds like something else entirely.

While the genre can't be put into a box or be told what to be, there are several artists who have committed themselves to maintaining the traditional sounds and styles of the genre's origin.

One of the artists on that path is Drake Milligan.

Steeped in classic country music and the pulsing energy of vintage rock 'n' roll, Milligan was raised to the soundtracks of both genres and cites the Kings of both – George Strait and Elvis Presley – as his musical heroes.

Fittingly enough, the Texas native got his start in entertainment as an Elvis impersonator, first locally then eventually rising to portraying the beloved Memphis singer on the CMT series 

 in 2017. After landing his big break, Milligan packed his bags and headed for Nashville to chase his own neon-tinged dreams.

and ultimately dropping out in 2018, Milligan dug his heels into the Nashville songwriting community and began to hone his own skills and sound, which melds together old school sensibility with a modern day flair.

Landing a recording contract with BBR Music Group, he issued his self-titled debut EP in July of 2021, which included his breakthrough hit single, 'Sounds Like Something I'd Do' – the same song that earned Milligan his first CMT Music Award nomination for Breakthrough Male Video of the Year.

, the budding entertainer made it all the way to the final three on the talent competition and released his debut album, 

Bringing his own unique cocktail of traditional country with a rock ‘n’ roll chaser, Milligan bridges the gap between the classic roots of the genre’s past with the forward-facing edge of its future.

Home of all the latest news, information and coverage of Drake Milligan on Holler.

Drake

Drake Milligan: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

CMC Rocks 2024: Line-Up, Dates & Tickets | Holler

Maxim is a Country Music Journalist and Holler’s News Editor based in London, UK. 

After gaining a Masters with Merit from the University of Oxford, he wrote 

, which will be published on Mud Pie Books. 

During lockdown, Maxim created the Happiness x Music Project and co-founded Mindful Melody magazine in 2020, both of which explored the intersection between music and wellbeing. H

e’s written for publications such as Country Music People and has served as Music Editor of the Cherwell Newspaper and Phaser Magazine, during which time he set up Phaser’s first podcast series. 

Over the past few years, Maxim has interviewed some of his favourite artists, including Kelsea Ballerini, HARDY, Riley Green, Bailey Zimmerman, Midland, Ernest, Molly Tuttle and more. 

Since joining Holler towards the end of 2022, he has expanded the news output and introduced new article formats such as Lyrics & Meaning pieces, Exclusive Q&As and Album Hub Pages. 

Maxim enjoys staying on the pulse of the latest releases, and is a country aficionado and avid listener of anything by Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, George Strait, Florida Georgia Line, Niko Moon, Megan Moroney and Zach Bryan, as well as keenly covering Post Malone’s transition into country music. 

Above all, Maxim considers himself Kenny Chesney’s No. 1 fan.

Maxim

Contrib - Maxim

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A handy, chronological list guide to the country music festivals taking place across the world in 2024 and 2025.

A handy, chronological list guide to the country music 

 taking place across the world in 2024 and 2025.

CMC Rocks 2024

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