Freida Parton

Brooks & Dunn will return to Australia in March 2027 for their first shows here since 2009, bringing Ashley McBryde and rising Australian country artist Mack Geiger with them.

When Johnny Cash released Happiness Is You in 1966, he was already a major country recording artist and a relentless touring performer. Within three years, television would take him into millions of homes and a new run of career-defining songs would follow.

Eric Church will make his first Australian headline appearances in March 2027, bringing Parker McCollum with him for Melbourne and Sydney shows before heading to CMC Rocks Queensland for the festival's 20th birthday.

Brooks & Dunn will make their CMC Rocks QLD debut nearly 20 years after first touring Australia, while Eric Church will perform in Australia for the first time and Ashley McBryde returns for her third appearance.

Andrew Farriss, Melanie Dyer, Allan Caswell, Dan Davidson, Tori Forsyth and The Pigs are among more than 30 artists added to the 2026 Groundwater Country Music Festival programme.

Medium Build will return to Australia in January 2027 for four headline shows supporting his new album, King Of Having Fun.

Sally Field remembered her Steel Magnolias co-star as an artist, humanitarian and friend, before Reba McEntire performed Parton's Appalachian Memories at the 78th Emmy Awards.