Garth Brooks, Jelly Roll headlining first-ever Billboard Country Live

Event takes place ahead of CMA Fest

Billboard has announced the line-up for the first ever Billboard Country Live in Concert taking place at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday, June 6th, with Jelly Roll as headliner and Nate Smith to open. The next day, Billboard will host the inaugural Billboard Country Live in Conversation on Wednesday, June 7th, a one-day ticketed conference for fans and industry insiders that kicks off with an intimate Q&A with Garth Brooks and features a number of sessions featuring top country acts discussing the hottest issues in country music today. Country Live in Concert and Country Live in Conversation are presented in partnership with Carnival Cruise Line.

Among the other top artists taking part are Carly Pearce, Bailey Zimmerman, Brian Kelley, Lauren Alaina, Megan Moroney and Lady A’s Hillary Scott.

“We’re thrilled to launch the first year of Billboard Country Live with acts that have something to say and sing about,” states Melinda Newman, Executive Editor of Billboard, West Coast and Nashville. “From Jelly Roll performing in a small setting to discussions with some of the biggest names in country, it’s our privilege to highlight the tremendous talent that thrives in Nashville with premier programming we hope will bring people back for years to come.”

June 7th’s Billboard Country Live in Conversation will also feature a Q&A with Jelly Roll, as well as a Women of Country panel with Scott, Pearce, Lily Rose and Madeline Edwards. Zimmerman and Moroney will be joined on The Future of Country panel by Nate Smith and Priscilla Block. With the CMA Fest kicking off June 8, a panel celebrating the 50th anniversary of CMA Fest will include artists who span the event’s half century including Kelley, Alaina, Terri Clark and Bill Anderson.

Billboard salutes the hottest show on television with a look behind the music of Yellowstone with Dani Rose of Honey County, artist manager Brian Schwartz of 7s management and the show’s music supervisor Andrea von Foerster. The songwriter-in-the round session will present Jessie Jo Dillon, Nicolle Galyon and Chase McGill playing their hit songs and telling the stories behind their creations. Additional names are still to be announced and programming is subject to change.

Tickets for both events are available for purchase on Friday, May 12th at 9 am CDT at live.billboard.com.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com