It’s only the very beginning of 2024, and the year is already shaping up to have plenty of great new music. So many of the reigning hitmakers in country music plan on releasing a new set of tunes in the new year, with some of them already a few singles deep into their next project. We picked ten of our most-anticipated albums of 2024.
1. Keith Urban
As excited as fans are to have a new album from Keith Urban, the New Zealand native is even more excited. Urban finished his album last year, and admits it has been hard to not share the final result with the rest of the world.
“It’s so frustrating sitting on so much,” Urban told Access Hollywood. “It is a whole album of new music that I’m jonesing to get out, but it won’t be until early across mid to next year.”
2. Scotty McCreery
Scotty McCreery has a very country new album coming at some point in 2024. The 30-year-old has already released the debut single “Cab In A Solo,” from his next record, which he says is a good indication of what the rest of the project will sound like.
“I thought ‘Cab In A Solo’ was going to be a great first taste for folks, if they’re looking forward to the album, what the album’s going to be like,” the future Grand Ole Opry member shared at a recent media event. “To be honest, there’s stuff on this record that’s countrier than ‘Cab In A Solo,’ I would say. We dove right in on this sound and the storytelling and songwriting, in a bunch of different directions. I feel like there’s a song on this record for everybody. It’s a good first taste I would say, to be indicative of what the album’s going to be.”
3. Kenny Chesney
Kenny Chesney‘s last album, Here And Now, was released in 2020. Since then, the East Tennessee native has released “Beer With My Friends,” his collaboration with Old Dominion, and his current single, “Take Her Home.”
“Sometimes I get so, so involved in everything and it can take away the creative process,” Chesney told Audacy‘s Katie & Company. “When you’re really busy out on the road and you’re exhausted and you’re trying to make a record, but you’re also trying to run a company and you’re also trying to run this and do this — all of a sudden, you’re brain is just in so many different directions. It’s good to focus on the idea of just creating and that’s what I’ve been doing for a while.”
4. HARDY
We already know when HARDY will release a new album. The singer-songwriter will release HIXTAPE Vol. 3: DIFFTAPE on March 29, a collaborative project with Morgan Wallen and Post Malone, honoring the music of the late Joe Diffie.
“Joe epitomized the ’90s country voice – he was so good about hearing and cutting hits, recording amazing songs,” HARDY told CMT. “On a personal level, I only got to meet Joe once, but he was extremely nice to me, and this was in my first year of being an artist when I was an absolute nobody. He was so, so kind to me, and that memory I have of him is truly special to me, too.”
5. Gabby Barrett
We also know when Gabby Barrett will release new music, and fortunately it won’t be long. The American Idol alum will release Chapter & Verse on February 2, a deeply personal project that includes her current single, “Glory Days.” Chapter & Verse follows her freshman Goldmine record, out in 2020.
“Getting to know about myself and what I want to talk about with this next album, was fun to figure out and really dial down,” Barrett shared at recent media event. “I feel like there’s more consistency with this coming album than the first one, and definitely leans more in the country roots. So all that to say, it’s been really fun getting to create this body of work. And I really did have a specific vision for it, and just what life has looked like for me the past couple of years. So it’s fun to explain that to everybody.”
6. Reba McEntire
This one is a bit speculative, but it seems likely that it could happen. Reba McEntire released her Not That Fancy album in 2023, acoustic versions of some of her biggest hits, but her last record of original material was Stronger Than the Truth, released in 2019. Not only that, but she hinted last year that there could be a live album in the works.
“Today marks the 34th anniversary of my Live album!” McEntire tweeted in August. “We had so much fun recording this performance at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, CA back in ’89. Who thinks it’s time for another live album?”
Today marks the 34th anniversary of my Live album! We had so much fun recording this performance at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, CA back in '89. Who thinks it's time for another live album?
Listen here: https://t.co/zDus11PW5G pic.twitter.com/gB54gOp8SM
— Reba McEntire (@reba) August 30, 2023
7. Cody Johnson
Cody Johnson already released Leather, 12 songs including his current Top 15 single, “The Painter,” but a second part is due later this year — this one which will likely include his long-awaited duet with Carrie Underwood.
“The issue is, when you’re dealing with an artist of that caliber; you have to be very respectful of their time,” Johnson told Everything Nash and other outlets at a recent media event. “You have to be respectful of their tour when they’re releasing an album when they’re releasing a single.”
“Carrie was so gracious to work with,” he boasted. “I respect her so much as a vocalist and an artist. I think a lot of newer artists would have got that [collaborations]. and said, ‘Look, I have a duet with Carrie Underwood! Look, look, look!’
8. Kane Brown
Kane Brown is enjoying a Top 10 hit with “I Can Feel It,” the debut single from his next, very country new album.
“I’m really excited,” Brown told Pure Country. “We usually have a huge variety. I usually have pop stuff on there, but so far, this album has just been pop country, and then we have some really traditional country songs. George Strait actually had one on hold that didn’t get cut, so I took it.”
9. Carly Pearce
If “Country Music Made Me Do It” and her current Top 25 “We Don’t Fight Anymore” collaboration with Chris Stapleton are any indication, Carly Pearce is going to have one heck of an album. The Kentucky native hasn’t shared a title or release date, but she does say fans already have a good idea of what the next project will sound like.
“I’ve been busy in the studio recording new music, and want to share a taste of that with you too,” Pearce posted on social media. “’Country Music Made Me Do It’ is the essence of this next chapter for me. I wrote this song as an autobiographical anthem, but I can’t wait to hear the ways YOUR story has been influenced by country music.”
10. Lainey Wilson
Lainey Wilson just released “Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” which is likely her last single from her 2022 Bell Bottom Country album. The reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year recently revealed she is working on a new project, with a lot of the songs inspired by her relationship with her boyfriend, Devlin “Duck” Hodges.
“I’m in a happy, healthy relationship, so you’ll hear some of those [songs],” Wilson said during a recent media event. “It ain’t gonna be all floofy, all butterflies in my stomach, I’m dancing around in a sundress. That ain’t happening. But it is gonna be more of an empowerment, like I got a good man who loves me, supports me. That’s definitely gonna show that side of me, that I don’t even know if some people knew existed, but it does.”
