All The Highlights From CMC Rocks QLD 2024

Last weekend, every diehard country music fan in Australia was either on the ground at CMC Rocks QLD 2024, or wishing they were. It was one of the festival’s biggest and best editions yet, with headlining sets from Lainey Wilson, Tyler Hubbard and Chris Young, and a wild slate of other heavyweight names.

Backstage at the festival, we caught up with Lainey Wilson and Tyler Hubbard for exclusive interviews. For starters, here’s what Wilson said about all the chaos going on in her corner: “I feel like the last few years have just been a whirlwind. [But] I’m trying to make sure I take a step back, try and zoom out and really pay attention to what’s happening and what’s going on, because you can get caught up and just go on from one thing to the next, from one win to the next, and before you know, that time has kinda passed you by. So I’m makin’ sure I’m present, as much as I possibly can.”

And here’s what Hubbard had to say about his plans for the immediate future: “You never know what life’s going to throw at you, as we’ve all learned over the last few years. But yeah, I love writing songs… in a perfect world, I get to keep writing songs and making albums and playing shows and connecting with the fans, that’s my goal.”

Head here to read our interview with Wilson, and here to read our interview with Hubbard.

Prior to the festival, we chatted with Chris Young, who nearly had to drop off the bill when we got arrested in January. Luckily, all charges were swiftly dropped and he did in fact make the trip. You can read our full chat with Young here, but as a lil’ teaser, here’s what he had to say about his upcoming ninth album: “I’ve created something I think is amazing. I’ve done all the work, it exists, it is what it is, I love it, and I just hope everyone else loves it; there’s no reason to worry over that because it’s done.”

We also caught up with local legend Chase Rice, who said of the current state of country music: “I love the diversity of country music; I love that it’s become such a massive genre. I mean, hell! Look at Beyoncé jumping on it. The thing that I love most about the state of country music, though, is that the artists are starting to get the power. Through TikTok, socials, YouTube. The artists are getting the power, and the labels are losing the power… There’s ways for artists to get out so much music without the need for a major label. That, to me, is the coolest thing.”

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Drake Milligan also made his Australian debut at CMC Rocks QLD 2024, and in a pre-festival chat with Countrytown, he said of his excitement for the performance: “I’ve found that with audiences outside of the States, they really appreciate the more traditional kind of country sound, even more than people in the States do sometimes. I’m just really looking forward to coming down to Australia for the first time.”

Leading up to their own sets at the festival, Casey Barnes dropped his new single Mayday, and Oliver Anthony confirmed his new album is locked and loaded for release later this year. Wilson also copped a royal send-off from none other than Australia’s own country music superstar, Keith Urban.

At the festival itself, Kip Moore teased a massive Australian tour for 2024, and we found out that CMC Rocks QLD will indeed return in 2025 with the schedule set for March 21-23.

Below, we’ve compiled a stack of highlights from the official CMC Rocks Instagram account, immortalising one of the biggest weekends we’ve had as Aussie country devotees.