CMC Rocks 2027: Brooks & Dunn, Eric Church & Ashley McBryde Head Down Under

This blog post is all about the CMC Rocks 2027 lineup, artists I’m excited to see and an interview with Lanie Gardner.

CMC Rocks is turning 20, and if the newly announced 2027 lineup is anything to go by, they aren’t exactly planning a quiet birthday party.

The CMC Rocks 2027 lineup has officially been announced, with Brooks & Dunn, Eric Church and Ashley McBryde heading up three huge days of country music at Willowbank Raceway in Ipswich, Queensland, from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 March 2027.

Alongside three seriously big headliners, the lineup brings together some of the biggest names in American country music right now, a whole host of artists I’ve been listening to lately, and plenty of Australian country talent too.

I’ve already started mentally planning which stages I need to be at, and there are quite a few artists I’m making a beeline for.

Let’s fully unpack the CMC Rocks 2027 lineup together, and see what American country artist Lanie Gardner had to say ahead of her Australian debut when I got to chat with her earlier this week.

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The CMC Rocks 2027 Lineup

The 2027 CMC Rocks lineup announced headliners Brooks & Dunn, Eric Church, and Ashley McBryde and we kind of lost our minds a little.

The Eric Church is finally making his way down under (it’s about time!), Brooks & Dunn are making a return after almost 20 years (!!) and the legend that is Ashley McBryde is also on the bill.

Other artists on the weekend lineup include:

Kameron Marlowe, Parker McCollum, Turnpike Troubadours, Blake Whiten, 49 Winchester, Randall King, Lanie Gardner, Zach John King, Kassi Ashton and Lane Pittman, among many others.

There will also be plenty happening away from the main stage, including the Songwriters Show, which brings artists together for those Nashville-style in-the-round sessions where you get to hear the stories behind the songs as well as the songs themselves.

And with CMC celebrating its 20th anniversary, there is obviously a pretty big sense of occasion around the whole weekend.

Are you excited? Because I’m excited.

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The Return of Brooks & Dunn

Let’s start with the obvious one.

Brooks & Dunn are headlining CMC Rocks 2027, marking their return to Australia for the first time in almost 20 years.

The country duo have been responsible for some of the biggest songs in the genre across more than three decades, so seeing them on the CMC stage for the festival’s 20th anniversary feels particularly fitting.

Their connection to the festival makes it even more special.

CMC Rocks founder Rob Potts was behind one of their early Australian tours almost two decades ago, so having Brooks & Dunn return as part of the 20-year celebration feels like a bit of a full-circle moment.

Eric Church is Finally Coming to Australia

Eric Church is another huge addition to the lineup, and this is a pretty big deal for Australian country fans because he is making his Australian headline debut in March 2027.

Even better, he isn’t just playing CMC Rocks.

Eric Church will also play headline shows in Melbourne and Sydney, with Parker McCollum joining him as special guest. So if you’re in Sydney like me, we are getting a pretty spectacular double bill before Eric heads up to Queensland for CMC Rocks.

Lanie Gardner actually told me during our interview that Eric is one of the artists she is most excited to see at CMC.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him perform. And he’s from my neck of the woods,” she told me, adding that it will be cool to see another Carolina person on the lineup.

And then there’s Parker McCollum, who Lanie was particularly excited about seeing live too.

Honestly, same.

My Personal Favourite Headliner: Ashley McBryde

Ashley McBryde is the third headliner, and I am just a little bit excited about this one.

This is me trying to play it cool by the way. I’m actually really excited about Ashley McBryde.

I’ve been listening to Ashley for a while, but there is one song in particular that I am absolutely desperate to hear live: Rattlesnake Preacher.

It was one of the soundtracks to my recent American road trip, and there was something about listening to that song while driving around Arizona with the windows down that did something to my soul.

If Rattlesnake Preacher makes the CMC setlist, you’ll see me rocking out at the front of the crowd singing every word.

There’s something about hearing those big, gritty country songs live with a festival crowd that just hits differently, and Ashley is exactly the kind of artist I want to see on a huge outdoor stage.

She’s also headlining the wider country festival circuit in 2027, including C2C in the UK, so it is going to be a very busy year for her.

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Artists I Personally Can’t Wait to See Perform

Now that we’ve chatted about the headliners, let’s talk about the artists further down the lineup that I’m particularly excited to see live.

Kassi Ashton

The moment the song Bitches came through my speakers for the first time while listening to a country playlist, I literally stopped in my tracks and needed to know immediately who the artist was.

One, because the song was catchy and pretty funny, but two, because the voice was so distinct and had grit to it. The kind of voice I love to listen to.

I’ve since been down a Kassi Ashton rabbit hole (Called Crazy is another song on my Favourites playlist), listening to more of her work and wondering if she’d ever come to Australia so I could hear her live.

The CMC Rocks Gods must have been listening, because she’s arriving down under in March 2027.

There’s something about Kassi Ashton’s sound that feels made for a festival like CMC Rocks. She has that big, expressive country voice and a slightly darker, more alternative edge that makes her stand out among the more traditional country sounds on the bill.

If I’m not at the headliner stage, there’s a very good chance I’m trying to find Kassi Ashton.

Blake Whiten

Another artist I’m particularly excited to see is Blake Whiten.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Blake lately, so his addition to the CMC lineup couldn’t have come at a better time.

This is one of my favourite things about festival lineups. You inevitably end up discovering artists because they’re on the bill, but sometimes the opposite happens and you get to see someone you’ve already been listening to suddenly appear on a huge festival stage.

You’ll find me belting out Carolina, Boots by the Wrong Bed and Hard to Break by the front of the stage when Blake’s playing.

Lanie Gardner

One of the artists I’m especially excited to see at CMC Rocks is Lanie Gardner, and I actually had the chance to chat with her ahead of her Australian visit.

This will be Lanie’s first time in Australia, and when I asked what she was most excited to see while she’s here, her answer was very Australian.

“I’m excited to see a kangaroo,” she told me. Naturally, a koala was added to the excitement list too.

But the music is obviously the main event, and Lanie has a few artists she is particularly keen to see at CMC Rocks, just like the rest of us.

“Parker McCollum, I’ve been really looking forward to seeing him perform,” she said. She also picked out Eric Church, explaining that she has never seen him perform before and that, as someone from Carolina herself, it will be exciting to see another Carolina artist on the CMC stage.

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A Chat with Lanie Gardner

I also asked Lanie what she’s looking forward to performing herself, and there’s a very good chance we might hear something a little different from her usual set.

She told me she has a song called Cry that she wrote when she was around 17 years old and is hoping they can fit it into the CMC set.

“I really love blues and soul and I’m kind of planning to get into that more in our next project that we work on,” she explained.

Lanie told me that she wants to take some of her R&B influences and bring them together with country, describing what she wants to explore next as “a splash of the two”.

“There’s a lane there, and I’m excited to explore it,” she said.

Considering her musical background and inspiration stretches from Appalachian bluegrass and storytelling to R&B, pop, rock and Fleetwood Mac, blending R&B with country makes sense.

She’s also been touring with Luke Bryan recently, who she described as “a big goofball” but also one of the best and most supportive artists she’s met in Nashville.

I’m very excited for Lanie’s Australia debut and to hear songs from her latest album, Faded Polaroids live.

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Australian Country Music Artists on the Bill

One of the things I really love about this lineup is that it isn’t just stacked with international names.

There’s a huge Australian presence across the lineup too, which is exactly what you want from a festival like CMC Rocks.

Lane Pittman is one name I’m particularly looking forward to seeing, alongside Zac & George, who I’ve seen twice before, and Rachael Fahim.

There’s also Tori Darke, Jack Biilmann, Bianca Joulianou, Dear Tommie, Sons of Atticus, Loren Ryan and plenty more representing Australian country music across the weekend.

I love that CMC Rocks gives us the massive international headliners, but is also a showcase of where Australian country music is right now.

Some of these artists will be familiar names, while others might become your new favourite discovery of the weekend.

Turnpike Troubadours, 49 Winchester and More

There’s also plenty here for anyone who likes their country a little less polished and a little more rootsy.

Turnpike Troubadours are another major name on the bill, alongside 49 Winchester, Kameron Marlowe, Randall King, Colby Acuff and Tyler Nance.

Then you’ve got artists like Lily Meola, Liam St. John, Kruse Brothers and Willie Pake adding even more variety across the lineup.

It really does feel like CMC has gone for breadth this year rather than simply stacking the top of the poster.

From iconic headliners to emerging artists, Australian favourites and plenty of names I’m already adding to my Spotify playlists.

What Else is Happening at CMC Rocks 2027?

CMC Rocks has always been about more than just standing in front of the main stage for three days.

The Songwriters Show is returning, bringing that classic Nashville in-the-round format to the festival. Four artists sit together, swap songs and stories and talk about the moments behind the music.

As someone who’s pretty fond of The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, and who loves hearing the story behind a song almost as much as the song itself, this is one of the festival additions I want to make time for.

There are also the familiar festival hosts, with Storme Warren, Mike Carr and D.J. Grizzly Adams helping keep things moving across the weekend.

And then there is the whole CMC experience: the camping, the country outfits, the cowboy boots, the food, the dancing and thousands of people all turning up with the same soundtrack for the weekend.

Happy 20th Birthday, CMC Rocks

It’s slightly crazy to think that CMC Rocks has been around for 20 years.

Considering I’m turning 30 next year too, and in the same month, might I add, so it will be a pretty huge month of celebrating.

What started back in 2008 in Thredbo has moved through the Hunter Valley and Townsville before eventually finding its home at Willowbank in Queensland.

Two decades later, it has become one of the biggest country music festivals in the Southern Hemisphere.

And I think that history makes the CMC Rocks 2027 lineup feel particularly special.

You’ve got Brooks & Dunn returning to Australia after almost two decades, Eric Church finally making his Australian headline debut, and Ashley McBryde topping the bill.

With a whole load of artists I’m already excited to see, plus a seriously strong Australian contingent, it’s going to be one hell of a weekend for country music fans.

And somewhere in the middle of all that, I’ll hopefully be hearing Rattlesnake Preacher, screaming along to Kassi Ashton, discovering even more new artists and attempting to catch as many sets as humanly possible.

CMC Rocks 2027 is shaping up to be a pretty big one.

CMC Rocks 2027 takes place from Friday 19 to Sunday 21 March 2027 at Willowbank Raceway in Ipswich, Queensland.

Tickets are on sale now.