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Florida's new country music extravaganza, Country Bay Music Festival, will transform the sun-soaked idyll of Miami into a rowdy, raucous sea of cowboy hats and flannel on November 11-12.

The inaugural edition of Country Bay Music Festival will feature a stacked line-up of some of the genre's biggest names, including 

 star, Lainey Wilson, and ‘Die A Happy Man’ hitmaker, Thomas Rhett. 

Both artists recently made the trip across The Pond to perform at C2C Festival 2023, and they even took the stage together in Glasgow for a special joint performance. Attendees at Country Bay Music Festival 2023 will be hoping they might recreate this on-stage magic in November.

Thomas Rhett C2C Festival 2023 6

The ‘Die A Happy Man’ hitmaker performed an array of hits from across his sprawling discography, and brought out One Direction star Niall Horan as a special guest.

Thomas Rhett Lights Up London's O2 Arena at 2023 C2C Festival

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 Country Bay Music Festival 2023.

Also set to perform at the first ever Country Bay Music Festival is Hailey Whitters, who will no doubt play her earworm of a single, ‘Everything She Ain't’, 

Joining Whitters at the Miami festival will be Chris Young, Lee Brice, Chris Lane, Elle King, LOCASH, Blanco Brown and more.

Country Bay Music Festival 2023 is due to take place at Miami Marine Stadium, and will serve as a celebration of the beachside, island-inspired brand of country that has been popularised by the likes of Jimmy Buffett, Kenny Chesney and Jake Owen in recent years.

For the full Country Bay Music Festival 2023 line-up, see below:

Festival passes to Country Bay Music Festival 2023 are available now, and can be purchased below:

For more information on tickets and for other country festivals set for 2023 - head here.

Up-to-date line-up rumours, date announcements and ticket information for Country Bay Music Festival 2023.

Thomas Rhett C2C Festival 2023 5

Country Bay Music Festival 2023

Rhett played music in both junior high and high school. He later chose to study communications at Lipscomb University in Nashville, but the draw of Music City was too much. He eventually dropped out to pursue music full-time. 

Thanks to his songwriting prowess, Rhett landed a publishing deal with Big Machine Label Group. In the early stages of his professional career, he co-wrote singles for Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line and Lee Brice, among others.  

arrived in 2013, and two years later he followed it up with 

 His sophomore release was nominated for Album of the Year at the ACM Awards. The single 'Die a Happy Man' from the album would go on to win Single of the Year at the ACMS and Song of the Year at the CMAs. 

. The latter marks the first of a double album release.

In 2020, the ACMs named Rhett Entertainer of the Year, and one year later he earned the title Male Artist of the Year. 

Home of all the latest news, information and coverage of Thomas Rhett on Holler

Thomas

Thomas Rhett may stem from country music royalty (he's the son of Rhett Akins, after all), but yet he's still marked his own path. 

Thomas Rhett: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

It seemed, at first, that country singer Sam Hunt was destined for football. He played at Middle Tennessee State University for a year, before transferring to the University of Alabama at Birmingham. 

But it was what happened after practice that formed his future: Hunt learned how to play the guitar. Even though he would go on to try out for the Kansas City Chiefs, he ultimately wanted to pursue a career in music. 

His songs eventually caught the ear of MCA Nashville, which signed him in 2014. Later that year, he released the EP 

and followed it closely with the debut studio album 

Hunt's first single hit big on country radio. 'Leave the Night On' topped the Country Airplay chart and marked the first of four songs to reach that spot. The achievement meant he became the first male country star to have four songs from their debut studio album reach No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart. 

Hunt also won New Artist of the Year at the Americana Music Awards in 2015, and was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammys in 2016. His sophomore album

Home of all the latest news, information and coverage of Sam Hunt on Holler

At first, Hunt started out by writing for artists such as Kenny Chesney and Reba McEntire, in between independently releasing his own music.  

Sam Hunt: News, Songs & Reviews | Holler

Over the last few decades, we have learned that country music really is countrywide... or more accurately worldwide. While an overwhelming majority of today's country crop comes by way of the southern region of the U.S., Hailey Whitters has brought a unique flair of midwestern charm to country music since making her first waves in the format in 2020.

Iowa-born and Nashville-based, the rising tunesmith first gained notoriety through her golden pen, notching songwriting credits for the likes of Little Big Town, Marina McBride, Alan Jackson and more. After a decade of grinding it out around town, her breakthrough moment finally came in 2020 with the release of her sophomore album, 

, which found its way onto more than a dozen year-end best of lists. The deluxe edition, 

, saw Whitters commissioning some of her frequent collaborators and friends on five new tracks, including Brent Cobb, Jordan Davis, Trisha Yearwood and Little Big Town, who appeared on the CMT Music Award-winning song 'Fillin' My Cup.'

Following a momentous 2020, the subsequent year took Whitters out on the road with acts like Luke Combs and Midland, as well as saw her notch her first Grammy nomination for Song of the Year for Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile's 'Beautiful Noise,' written by Whitters with Carlile, Keys, Ruby Amanfu, Brandy Clark, Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Linda Perry.

Building off her success thus far, Whitters brought everything to a head in March of 2022 as she released her third album, 

, which features her debut single to country radio, 'Everything She Ain't,' as well as the moody heartbreak departed anthem of 'The Neon' and her ode to the guys who taught her some lessons about love and life on 'Boys Back Home.'

Though still in the beginning stages of what will surely be a lengthy career in the left of country Americana space, Whitters has spent the last few years truly honing in on her craft and her sound, all while growing a dedicated fan base and quite a killer catalog along the way.

Home of all the latest news, information and coverage of Hailey Whitters on Holler

Hailey 

Hailey Whitters has brought a unique flair of midwestern charm to country music since making her first waves in the format in 2020.

Hailey Whitters: 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’.  

, 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

Country Bay Music Festival 2023: 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.

Country Bay Music Festival 2023

The ‘Die A Happy Man’ hitmaker performed an array of hits from across his sprawling discography, and brought out One Direction star Niall Horan as a special guest.

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