Lainey Wilson to headline 2026 Country Thunder Arizona

Lainey Wilson, the reigning Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year, is headlining the 2026 Country Thunder Music Festival in Florence next April.

The venerable CMA Duo of the Year Brooks & Dunn is also on the lineup, alongside a pair of rising newcomers whose music leans more 1990s than 2020s.

But one of the most interesting aspects about the April 9-12, 2026, festival is the number of female artists in the lineup. Wilson, who just snagged her second consecutive CMA entertainer award, headlines Friday night and will get some sisterhood love throughout the weekend with bass-playing phenom Logan Layman; mainstream country maverick Lauren Watkins; "California Cowgirl" Annie Bosko; and a pair of artists who went TikTok famous — Lanie Gardner, whose cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" gained tens of millions of views on TikTok; and Dasha aka Anna Dasha Novotny, whose song "Austin" went viral on TikTok in March 2024.

Wilson, who is making her second Country Thunder Arizona appearance here since she headlined in 2024, also won Female Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for "Whirlwind" at last week's CMAs, which she also hosted. By the time she comes to Arizona next spring, she might be sporting additional hardware. She's up for a trio of Grammys, including Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance for her single "Somewhere Over Laredo."

Brooks & Dunn hasn't played the Arizona festival since 2005, although they were on the lineup for the 2020 festival that was canceled due to the pandemic. Their last show in Tucson was in 2009 as part of "The Last Rodeo Tour," the pair's final outing before "retiring" in 2010; they reunited in 2015.

At last week's CMAs, the pair earned their 16th Duo of the Year award and became the most awarded artists in CMA history.

Rising newcomer Gavin Adcock opens the festival April 9 and fellow newcomer Zach Top, who just won the 2025 CMA Best New Artist, headlines April 11. Both artists are part of a wave of new country singers whose music harkens back to the twangy, pop-influenced 1990s country.

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Also among the lineup's handful of newcomers is 19-year-old Arkansas native Waylon Wyatt, whose 2024 fame on TikTok led to a record deal and his debut EP released last summer; and Jay Webb and Austin Snell, two artists who bring a stark reality to their country music that exposes scars and heartache with brute honesty and a who-gives-a-damn attitude.

Jackson Dean, whose track "Heavens to Betsy" reached No. 1 this month on the Mediabase/Country Aircheck chart, will also perform.

There are two bands in the lineup — Texas-based The Wilder Blue with its impeccable five-part harmonies and the 1990s chart-topping pop-country band Lonestar — and the classic country duo of Billy Dean and Collin Raye.

An interesting head-scratcher to the lineup: "Five More Minutes" singer Scotty McCreery is an opening act on a lineup full of hardly-heard-of newcomers. McCreery's latest single, "Bottle Rockets" featuring Hootie & The Blowfish, topped the Billboard country charts in late September. It was his eighth No. 1 since his 2017 single "Five More Minutes" topped the charts in early 2018. His other No. 1s include "Damn Strait," "You Time" and "This is It."

Four-day festival passes start at $360 through countrythunder.com/az, where you can find the complete lineup and other details.