Best Moments From Billboard Country Live: Intimate Conversations With Garth Brooks, Jelly Roll & More

On Wednesday (June 7), Billboard hosted a day of intimate conversations and panels with country legends and rising stars like Garth Brooks, Jelly Roll and more. Titled Billboard Country Live in Conversation, the one-day ticketed conference for fans and industry insiders took over Marathon Music Works in Nashville.

The sessions — which touched on the hottest issues in country music and also included Carly Pearce, Bailey Zimmerman, Brian Kelley, Lauren Alaina, Megan Moroney and Lady A’s Hillary Scott — were part of Billboard’s two-day gathering.

The night prior, on June 6, country music executives and artists celebrated Billboard‘s recently published 2023 Country Power Players list. Ernest presented cover star Jelly Roll with the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award, Hardy presented the Rookie of the Year award to Bailey Zimmerman, Terri Clark presented her friend Ashley McBryde with the Groundbreaker Award and lastly, Melinda Newman, Billboard’s executive editor, West Coast and Nashville, presented the Executive of the Year Award to Rusty Gaston of Sony Music Publishing Nashville.

Following the honors, Jelly Roll delivered a rocking headlining set (also at Marathon Music Works), for which Nate Smith was the opening act.

As Newman previously said, “We’re thrilled to launch the first year of Billboard Country Live with acts that have something to say and sing about. From Jelly Roll performing in a small setting to discussions with some of the biggest names in country including Garth Brooks, it’s our privilege to highlight the tremendous talent that thrives in Nashville with premier programming we hope will bring people back for years to come.”

Below are the best moments Billboard Country Live in Conversation, from Brooks’ energetic and honest opening conversation to Jelly’s intimate and humor-filled finale.

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Chris Stapleton’s Outdoor New York Concert Canceled Due to Canadian Wildfire Smoke

Chris Stapleton has canceled his scheduled outdoor concert in Syracuse, New York, due to ongoing air-quality issues caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires. The upstate cancellation follows a series of called-off events throughout New York City on Wednesday night (June 7), including Broadway performances and sports games.

“Due to the ongoing air conditions in the greater Syracuse area, tomorrow night’s show at @StJosephsAmp will be rescheduled,” Stapleton’s Twitter account posted late Wednesday about his St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview show scheduled for Thursday night. “All previously purchased tickets for the original date will be honored for the new date. We expect to have an update by mid-day June 9th.”

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In NYC, Broadway’s Hamilton called off its Wednesday show, as did the Camelot revival on Broadway. “The hazardous air quality in New York City has made it impossible for a number of our artists to perform this evening,” the Hamilton account tweeted. “Shows will resume as scheduled tomorrow.” New York’s Public Theater canceled the first two Hamlet performances set to kick off its Shakespeare in the Park series on Thursday and Friday.

Wednesday’s New York Yankees game vs. the Chicago White Sox was also canceled, along with the WNBA game between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx.

According to IQAir.com on Wednesday, New York City currently has the worst air quality in the world due to more than 400 wildfires burning across Canada and smoke blanketing much of the eastern U.S. The National Weather Service reports that “hazardous air quality levels will persist across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic through Thursday before shifting westward into Ohio Valley on Friday.”

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What’s Your Favorite Prince Hot 100 No. 1 Hit? Vote!

Happy birthday, Prince! Today (June 7) would have been the late icon’s 64th birthday.

In honor of the superstar, we’re looking back on some of his biggest hits. Over the course of his illustrious career, Prince had an impressive 47 hits on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. Of those 47, he had 19 top 10 hits and five chart toppers.

Among his No. 1 classic’s include his first, “When Doves Cry,” which led the tally for five weeks in 1984. He also reached the summit with 1984’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” 1986’s “Kiss,” 1989’s “Batdance (From Batman)” and 1991’s “Cream.”

Of his chart toppers, we at Billboard want to know which is at the top of your list. Let us know by voting below.

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Artist Q+A with Jelly Roll | Billboard Country Live

Jelly Roll sat down with Billboard’s Melinda Newman for the Artist Q+A at the 2023 Billboard Country Live.

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Rusty Gaston Talks About Being Named Executive Of the Year & More | Billboard Country Live

Rusty Gaston talks about being named Billboard’s Country Executive of the Year, the successful year his artists Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson have had, and more on the red carpet of 2023 Billboard Country Live.

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Ashely McBryde Talks About What It Means to Be A Groundbreaking Artist & More | Billboard Country Live

Ashley McBryde talks about what it means to be a groundbreaker, writing music with Billboard cover star Jelly Roll and more on the red carpet of 2023 Billboard Country Live.

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