Tag: Sam Barber

Spotify Electrifies CMA Fest 2025: Here’s All You Need To Know

May 21, 2025

When CMA Fest springs to life in Nashville each year, Spotify House is always one of the top destinations—and 2025 will be no different. For the sixth year, Spotify House returns with three days of nonstop country music.

June 5-7, Spotify House will be located at the iconic Ole Red—the Blake Shelton-inspired bar, restaurant, and live music venue that’s renowned for its handpicked country music talent. Fans will have a place to connect with artists they love, discover new favorites, and dive deeper into the music that moves them.

We’re also celebrating a decade of Hot Country with a fresh new look and plenty of surprises, including exclusive early access to Spotify House for top listeners of our flagship country playlist.

Hot Country on Spotify, in real life

With a star-studded lineup of artists ranging from stadium headliners to the next big acts, we’re bringing the full range of country music to life, just like your favorite Hot Country playlist.

In addition, we’ll be partnering with Meta throughout the event to bring an exclusive Reels experience to Spotify House. Director Tommy Brockert will be capturing Reels that you can find on featured artists’ Instagram and Facebook accounts.

Discover who’s next in country at the Fresh Finds Rooftop presented by Mountain Dew

For the fourth year, Spotify is excited to announce the return of the Fresh Finds Rooftop, presented by Mountain Dew. Each day from 5-7 pm, fans can hangout at the rooftop with Mountain Dew and discover a stacked lineup showcasing six up-and-coming artists poised to be the next big thing in country music.

THURSDAY JUNE 5

Dylan Davidson, Gabriella Rose, Lanie Gardner, Dalton Davis, Julie Williams, Scott Wolverton

FRIDAY JUNE 6

CeCe, Elizabeth Nichols, Shane Profitt, Angie K, Noeline Hoffman, The Kentucky Gentlemen

SATURDAY JUNE 7

Brendan Walter, Makayla Renee, Solon Holt, Blake Whiten, Chandler Walters, Emily Ann Roberts
To get a taste of what to expect during CMA Fest, you can find all of these artists (and more!) on our Fresh Finds Country playlist.

To get a taste of what to expect during CMA Fest, you can find all of these artists (and more!) on our Fresh Finds Country playlist.

Committed to country music since day one

Nashville has been a home base for Spotify for nearly a decade, and since 2018, Spotify House has been our cornerstone event. We’ve been all in on country since the early days of streaming, and our aforementioned Hot Country playlist has kept the genre front and center for country fans everywhere. With nearly 8 million saves and counting, we’re connecting fans with the incredible music crafted by talented songwriters, singers, and musicians.

We’ll have more to announce as we get closer to CMA Fest, so be sure to check back here for the latest updates.

While you count down the days until CMA Fest, check out highlights from past festivals and catch up on all the artists slated to perform with our Spotify House at CMA Fest 2025 playlist:

Spotify House Celebrates Five Years at CMA Fest 2024 With a Full Slate of Live Performances

June 3, 2024

Spotify House is returning to CMA Fest for a fifth year, bringing back our marquee country music showcase June 6-8. Once again, we’re taking over Nashville’s beloved Ole Red venue, welcoming fans to enjoy three unforgettable days of nonstop country music and special surprises.

Since 2018, we’ve brought our country playlists to life through Spotify House, creating the best destination to hear the different sounds and styles of country at CMA Fest. The 2024 Mainstage lineup will include many of today’s top country stars and standout rising artists, including Ashley McBryde, Avery Anna, BRELAND, Brett Young, Brian Kelley, Cole Swindell, Corey Kent, Danielle Bradbery, Dustin Lynch, Dylan Gossett, Ella Langley, Graham Barham, Jon Pardi, Jordan Davis, Koe Wetzel, Lady A, Lauren Watkins, Lily Rose, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Mackenzie Carpenter, Mason Ramsey, Matt Schuster, Michael Warren, Mickey Guyton, Midland, Mitchell Tenpenny, Old Dominion, Owen Riegling, Parker McCollum, Riley Green, Russell Dickerson, Sam Barber, Tucker Wetmore, and Tyler Hubbard, with more to be added!

Spotify House will also welcome Lily Rose and Cassie DiLaura to serve as hosts for all three days.

“It’s hard to believe that we are about to celebrate our fifth year bringing Spotify House to CMA Fest in June,” said Jackie Augustus, Lead, Country & Folk, Artist Partnerships at Spotify. “Since we first started hosting this event in 2018, Spotify House has become a beloved part of our year-round support and dedication to all things country music. We feel so privileged to have been able to present the many incredible artists who have graced our stages, and we are excited to once again bring our playlists to life and showcase some of the best and brightest in country music today.”

Over the last five years, country’s popularity on Spotify has grown immensely, with a nearly 110% increase in U.S. streams during that time. But that’s not all:

Spotify’s Hot Country playlist has seen over an 80% increase in streams in the last five years.
In the last five years, over 193,700,000 user-generated “country” music playlists have been created on Spotify.
July is the top-streamed country music month on Spotify over the last five years.
Spotify’s Hot Country playlist is ranked in Top 10 most-listened-to playlists on Spotify, globally.
In 2023, Spotify paid out more to country music artists than any other year previous. Spotify continues to set that record amount year over year.

We’ve put a spotlight on country’s most dynamic new faces over the past five years at Spotify House, and this year’s lineup will keep the tradition going with a new wave of artists who have ignited the country scene in 2024:

Rising country singer-songwriter Wyatt Flores will step on the mainstage for the first time after debuting at Fresh Finds Rooftop last year.
Country/hip-hop/R&B artist Shaboozey, whose guest appearances on Beyonce’s COWBOY CARTER catapulted his breakout anthem, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” to the top of the country charts.
Soulful country singer-songwriter Tanner Adell, whose featured vocals on the COWBOY CARTER track “BLACKBIIRD” have firmly established her as one of Nashville’s most in-demand young singers.
Dasha, who has emerged as one of country’s hottest new stars following the massive success of her viral hit “Austin.”

We’re also partnering with Meta throughout the event to bring an exclusive Instagram Reels experience to Spotify House. Director The Tommy B will be capturing content that you can find on featured artists’ Instagram and Facebook accounts.

Spotify House will be open to the public each day from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Entry will be on a first-come, first-served basis. And fans can click here to find the full schedule.

Spotlighting the Artists To Watch in 2024

January 10, 2024

It’s a new year, and that means it’s time to predict which artists will make their mark in 2024. Continuing our annual Artists To Watch campaign, we’ve expanded the list to feature even more artists across many more genres.

Along with streaming data, we tapped our North American music team and editors of our playlist brands—Viva Latino (Latin), Pop Rising (pop), Hot Country (country), juniper (folk), New Noise (rock), Lorem (indie), R&B Rising (R&B), Most Necessary (hip-hop), and mint (dance)—to help select the 90 rising talents featured below. You can also find all of our picks rounded up in one convenient spot with our brand-new Artists To Watch playlist.

You’ll find Musica Mexicana crooner Chino Pacas among Viva Latino’s picks, and introspective hitmaker Teddy Swims included in Pop Rising’s selections. Country and folk singer-songwriters MacKenzie Carpenter and Chance Peña made Hot Country and juniper’s cuts, respectively, while all-women rock band The Beaches and moody indie songstress Chappell Roan were tapped by New Noise and Lorem. Meanwhile, South African vocalist Tyla, Texas rapper That Mexican OT, and Greek electronic producer Argy were recognized by R&B Rising, Most Necessary, and mint, respectively.