Lainey Wilson, more on CBS’ NYE show, ‘fueling the fire’ to ‘fall in love with country’

Many TV viewers tuning into the CBS New Year’s Eve “Big Bash” on December 31 might not be ready for the display of influence Nashville’s music stars are set to have on American pop culture, based on current hit songs and streaming trends.

The “Big Bash” will air from 8 to 10 p.m. ET/PT and from 10:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. ET/PT on CBS, with streaming available on Paramount+. Live viewing is for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, while Paramount+ Essential subscribers can watch on-demand the day after.

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The celebration includes performances from Downtown Nashville at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, featuring artists like Kane Brown, Jelly Roll, Shaboozey, Keith Urban, and the critically acclaimed Brittney Spencer, leading up to the midnight music-note drop.

Artists at the 2024 New Year’s Eve celebration reveal through their performances that country music traditions endure despite changes.

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Conversations with artists like Tyler Hubbard (formerly of Florida Georgia Line), 2023’s Country Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson, and Zach Top, nominated for CMA awards, underline the timeless appeal fueling Nashville’s cultural influence.

“We’re accomplishing everything that we told our fans and the music industry that we could achieve and because of that, we’re seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” Wilson told a Tennessean reporter while breaking from rehearsals at Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge honky-tonk on Lower Broadway.

Lainey Wilson ‘fueling the fire’ behind country’s pop cultural surge

Wilson hosted the festivities last year alongside rockers Elle King and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Nashville’s country music scene has evolved, now emphasizing both its mainstream popularity and the widespread acceptance of country artists’ capabilities across America.

Wilson has won 14 awards from the Academy of Country Music and the CMA since 2021, alongside seven No. 1 country hits. Her ballads like the Jelly Roll duet “Save Me” and the solo “Watermelon Moonshine” have also found success on all-genre top-40 radio, showcasing her crossover appeal.

“We’re excited and proud to be on the platforms we’re on, but if they’re anything like me, we’re also thinking about what we can improve on because I’m my worst critic,” Wilson said. “With every song and performance, we’re sharing all of ourselves to set the groundwork to fuel the fire behind a culture that people can also live.”

‘Passing the torch’ of loving country music

Washington State native Zach Top will spend part of 2025 touring with Country Music Hall of Famer and “Chattahoochee” vocalist Alan Jackson, one of his greatest inspirations. He’s also a skilled bluegrass picker and a singer-songwriter co-signed by everyone from Wilson to Dierks Bentley and any of your favorite traditional-style country performers crafting hits in Music City.

Top acknowledges the surprise of his success amidst the current trend of rappers like Jelly Roll and Post Malone, and R&B-influenced artists like Kane Brown and Shaboozey, dominating country music discussions. He points out that country music’s “cyclical” evolution has historically enabled traditional artists like George Strait and Randy Travis to thrive even when pop-country figures like Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton were mainstream, akin to artists like the Pointer Sisters and Lionel Richie in the ’80s.

“Whenever the doors get blown off country music, eventually things settle down and fiddles and steel guitars slowly return traditions to the genre,” Top told a Tennessean reporter on the rooftop of Eric Church’s Chief’s honky-tonk on Lower Broadway.

Eventually, though, the pace quickens. Top’s 2024 album, “Cold Beer and Country Music,” was so well received that two of its singles, “Sounds Like The Radio” and “I Never Lie,” led him to be nominated for the CMA’s 2024 Best New Artist award. His growing appeal has also landed him forthcoming touring dates with Alan Jackson.

Top touts country’s latest hitmakers being well-schooled since childhood about how the genre’s stars primarily achieved renown with well-regarded material catalogs, as keying the genre’s potential for more significant pop cultural dominance.

“We already know how to pass the torch to more people to get them to fall in love with country music,” he said.

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Tyler Hubbard, five years post-Florida Georgia Line and the hit “Cruise,” is now a solo artist with two albums in 14 months, including platinum singles “5 Foot 9” and “Dancin’ In The Country.”

Amidst rehearsals for New Year’s Eve performances at Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa and The Ryman, he notes the exciting growth in country music’s global appeal. On December 31, he’ll join a lineup featuring Kane Brown, Jelly Roll, Post Malone, Chris Stapleton, and icons like Luke Bryan and Eric Church, showcasing the genre’s expansive influence.

“The momentum the fans are giving our industry is awesomely fun,” he said. “Country’s growth has allowed the genre to appeal to more artists and fans than ever worldwide — and they’re all passionate about the music and the potential of the good feeling surrounding country music.”

Hubbard is proud to be included in that number and even prouder of the total accomplishments of their work.

“Nashville is the new New York City,” he said. “But it’s the uniqueness of how the world is responding to the city — and country music’s — energy and how it can memorably impact every part of someone’s life that’s important. In the two decades I’ve been here, Nashville and country music have changed and grown into something that is, more than anything, an excitingly cool experience.”

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