Country artists have long excelled in establishing a magical connection with their fans in a concert setting, be it at a Lower Broadway honky-tonk or a sold-out football stadium. Once upon a time, those artists reliably sprang from Music Row. But today, with Nashville outsiders Zach Bryan and Post Malone drawing massive crowds alongside stalwarts Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs, the genre’s superstars can emerge from anywhere on the musical map.

Indeed, whatever country music may be in 2025, it’s more exportable than ever—look no further than Bryan and Wallen headlining AEG Presents’ British Summer Time shows in London’s Hyde Park. It’s also scaling eye-popping heights back at home, as evidenced by Bryan selling out 112k tickets in a matter of hours for the first concert to ever be held at the University of Michigan’s football stadium in Ann Arbor.

Meanwhile, Malone will perform his recent, country-flavored material as a Coachella headliner; Lana Del Rey, T-Pain, Creed and The Backstreet Boys sit comfortably among Jelly Roll, Shaboozey and Sturgill Simpson on the Stagecoach lineup; and Beyoncé will take her Grammy-winning country album COWBOY CARTER to stadiums this summer.

HITS spoke with WME Nashville Co-head Becky Gardenhire (Rascal Flatts, Reba McEntire), CAA’s Jeff Krones (Dan + Shay, Warren Zeiders), UTA’s Brett Saliba (Midland, Drake White) and Wasserman Music EVP/Managing Executive Jonathan Levine (Tyler Childers, Mickey Guyton) to survey this ever-evolving country landscape, and to find out who’s on top of their hits list.

What was the first country music concert you attended?

Becky Gardenhire: I grew up in a small town in Ohio, so I saw lots of country concerts at local fairs. Maybe my first was Ricochet at my hometown Henry County Fair. Others would have been Sawyer Brown at Fulton County Fair and Neal McCoy at Country Concert in Fort Loramie.

Jeff Krones: I lived in England until I was 14 years old, so I didn’t really have the opportunity to go to country concerts much while I was growing up. I saw Garth Brooks in 1998, and I’ll never forget the way the crowd interacted with him. Country fans are some of the most passionate I’ve seen, and that’s stuck with me ever since.

Brett Saliba: Hank Williams Jr. at the Alabama State Fair in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1985 or 1986.

Jonathan Levine: Willie Nelson & Family, 1986, Boston Commons.

What was your favorite country concert?

Gardenhire: The shows I remember well are the ones where the artist is about to break out and you can sense it—likely in a small venue. I saw Rascal Flatts in a small venue in Chattanooga as they were starting to blow up, and I saw Tim McGraw at the Fulton County Fair.

Krones: Watching Wyatt Flores play at 1pm at Stagecoach in a packed tent last year made me realize the future is bright. I’m also super-excited to see Kashus Culpepper in the same Stagecoach slot this year.

Saliba: Eric Church at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on the Chief album. I watched my brother drink beer out of his boot.

Levine: Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday at the Hollywood Bowl.

If you could go back in time and see any artist in concert, who would it be and what period of their career?

Gardenhire: Johnny Cash in his prime.

Krones: I was just in a meeting and saw some Tim McGraw route sheets from 30 years ago, handwritten by [CAA agent] Rod Essig. I would’ve loved to have gone to one of those shows.

Saliba: Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings in their heyday.

Levine: Patsy Cline, circa 1960.

What makes country such a great live-music experience?

Gardenhire: Country artists are so authentic in their storytelling and their songs take you to a memory or special moment in your personal life. The whole concert makes you feel connected to your friends and loved ones.

Krones: With country music even a headline show feels like a mini festival. Fans are investing an amazing amount of time and hanging out before and after. I was in Las Vegas for NFR [National Finals Rodeo] to see Cody Johnson with Chad Kudelka, and it was a 360-degree experience—from the folks on the flight to the people in the restaurants beforehand. It’s all so authentic and real.

Saliba: It’s a couple of things: the effort by the artists to connect with their fans and, of course, the songs. Watching people in a sold-out venue scream lyrics back to the artists is an incredible experience.

Levine: Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Favorite item you’ve seen in a rider.

Gardenhire: This was not a country artist, but “underwear”!

Krones: An updated rider.

Saliba: A box of Rapala fishing lures.

Levine: Safe/sober zones at every concert.

What’s the one thing outsiders tend to get wrong about country music?

Gardenhire: When they assume country is a niche genre. The truth is that country boasts a larger audience base than some major sports leagues.

Krones: Country music audiences aren’t based in one part of the world anymore.

Saliba: That country music is just a Southern thing. Country music is global, with massive audiences all over the world.

Levine: That it’s all the same when it has become so diverse.