Kenny Chesney Tour, Lanco’s Debut Album Highlight 2018 in Country Music
As 2017 comes to an end, a new year of country music is already beginning to take shape with high-profile tours and eagerly anticipated albums lined up for 2018.
Summer touring king Kenny Chesney will return to stadiums on April 21st after mainly take last year off. He’ll launch his Trip Around the Sun Tour with a show at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Likewise, Shania Twain is hitting the road for the first time since 2015 as she promotes her comeback Now album – her first studio set in 15 years. Elsewhere, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill are all expected to embark on international tours.
As for new music, some of the most interesting early arrivals include Eric Church’s 61 Days in Church (a massive collection of live recordings culled from his Holdin’ My Own Tour, which will be released in 12 monthly installments beginning in January) and Montgomery Gentry’s Here’s to You. That release will serve as a bittersweet tribute to the veteran duo’s Troy Gentry, who was killed in a September 2017 helicopter crash after the album had been recorded. Here’s to You arrives February 2nd, and Gentry’s musical partner Eddie Montgomery will tour in his honor beginning January 19th in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Other notable new releases include debut albums by Lanco (Hallelujah Nights, January 19th) and Devin Dawson (Dark Horse, January 19th), as well as Scotty McCreery’s first set of new music in five years (Seasons Change, March 16th). Anderson East will release his second album, Encore, on January 12th, Wade Bowen’s Solid Ground comes out February 9th, and Kacey Musgraves plans to unveil a new album called Golden Hour sometime in 2018.