2000 in country music

This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 2000.

Events

 * March 4 — "Amazed" by Lonestar becomes the first country song to have topped both the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks and the Billboard Hot 100 chart since the Kenny Rogers-Dolly Parton duet, "Islands In The Stream" in October 1983. The country-leaning "Amazed" — which had a brief run in the Hot 100 during the summer of 1999 — had been remixed for Top 40 radio, launching it to its run of pop-radio success.
 * March 7 - George Strait and Alan Jackson release "Murder on Music Row". While the song is not officially released as a single, the song stirs up controversy for its lyrics of how country pop is taking over traditional country music.
 * March 10 — Vince Gill and Christian singer Amy Grant are married.
 * May 13 - Kenny Rogers makes chart history as "Buy Me a Rose" hits #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart, making it not only his first #1 since his 1987 duet with Ronnie Milsap, "Make No Mistake, She's Mine", but also the oldest singer to have a #1 single until 2003 (Rogers was 61 at the time). The song is also the only #1 for Alison Krauss and Billy Dean, who are credited as guest vocalists.
 * October 26 - Garth Brooks announces his retirement from touring during a party to celebrate his certification for sales of 100 million albums, at Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Center.
 * December – RFD-TV, a cable network devoted to rural Americans culture, is launched. In addition to agriculture- and farming-centric shows, a large programming block is devoted to classic country music television shows.

Births

 * January 27 — Bailey Zimmerman, up-and-coming singer of the 2020s ("Fall in Love", "Rock and a Hard Place")
 * March 5 — Gabby Barrett, rose to fame as third-place contestant in sixteenth season of American Idol, singer-songwriter of the 2020s ("I Hope", "The Good Ones")
 * October 6 — Jackson Dean, up-and-coming country singer of the 2020s ("Don't Come Lookin'")

Deaths

 * March 7 — Pee Wee King, 86, singer-songwriter (heart attack)
 * March 14 — Tommy Collins, 69, singer and songwriter who helped create the Bakersfield Sound
 * March 19 — Speck Rhodes, 84, comedian and musician best known for his work on The Porter Wagoner Show.
 * April 21 — Neal Matthews, Jr., 70, member of The Jordanaires (heart attack)
 * November 5 — Jimmie Davis, 101, the "Singing Governor", two-term governor of Louisiana from 1944 to 1948 and again from 1960 to 1964 (natural causes)

Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductees

 * Lance LeRoy
 * Doc Watson

Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

 * Charley Pride (1934-2020)
 * Faron Young (1932–1996)

Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductees

 * Colleen Peterson
 * Leonard Rambeau

Grammy Awards

 * Best Female Country Vocal Performance — "Breathe", Faith Hill
 * Best Male Country Vocal Performance — "Solitary Man", Johnny Cash
 * Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal — "Cherokee Maiden", Asleep at the Wheel
 * Best Country Collaboration with Vocals — "Let's Make Love", Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
 * Best Country Instrumental Performance — "Leaving Cottondale", Alison Brown and Béla Fleck
 * Best Country Song — "I Hope You Dance", Mark D. Sanders and Tia Sillers
 * Best Country Album — Breathe, Faith Hill
 * Best Bluegrass Album — The Grass Is Blue, Dolly Parton

Juno Awards

 * Best Country Male Artist — Paul Brandt
 * Best Country Female Artist — Terri Clark
 * Best Country Group or Duo — The Wilkinsons

Academy of Country Music

 * Entertainer of the Year — Dixie Chicks
 * Song of the Year — "I Hope You Dance", Mark D. Sanders, Tia Sillers
 * Single of the Year — "I Hope You Dance", Lee Ann Womack
 * Album of the Year — How Do You Like Me Now?!, Toby Keith
 * Top Male Vocalist — Toby Keith
 * Top Female Vocalist — Faith Hill
 * Top Vocal Duo — Brooks & Dunn
 * Top Vocal Group — Dixie Chicks
 * Top New Male Vocalist — Keith Urban
 * Top New Female Vocalist — Jamie O'Neal
 * Top New Vocal Duo or Group — Rascal Flatts
 * Video of the Year — "Goodbye Earl", Dixie Chicks (Director: Evan Bernard)
 * Vocal Event of the Year — "I Hope You Dance", Lee Ann Womack and Sons Of The Desert

ARIA Awards
(presented in Sydney on October 24, 2000)
 * Best Country Album - Big River (Troy Cassar-Daley)

Canadian Country Music Association

 * Chevy Fans' Choice Award — The Wilkinsons
 * Male Artist of the Year — Paul Brandt
 * Female Artist of the Year — Michelle Wright
 * Group or Duo of the Year — The Wilkinsons
 * SOCAN Song of the Year — "Daddy Won't Sell the Farm", Steve Fox, Robin Branda
 * Single of the Year — "Jimmy's Got a Girlfriend", The Wilkinsons
 * Album of the Year — Here and Now, The Wilkinsons
 * Top Selling Album — Fly, Dixie Chicks
 * Video of the Year — "That's the Truth", Paul Brandt
 * FACTOR Rising Star Award — Tara Lyn Hart
 * Vocal/Instrumental Collaboration of the Year — "Get Me Through December", Natalie MacMaster and Alison Krauss

Country Music Association

 * Entertainer of the Year — Dixie Chicks
 * Song of the Year — "I Hope You Dance", Mark D. Sanders, Tia Sillers
 * Single of the Year — "I Hope You Dance," Lee Ann Womack
 * Album of the Year — Fly, Dixie Chicks
 * Male Vocalist of the Year — Tim McGraw
 * Female Vocalist of the Year — Faith Hill
 * Vocal Duo of the Year — Montgomery Gentry
 * Vocal Group of the Year — Dixie Chicks
 * Horizon Award — Brad Paisley
 * Music Video of the Year — "Goodbye Earl", Dixie Chicks (Director: Evan Bernard)
 * Vocal Event of the Year — "Murder on Music Row", George Strait and Alan Jackson
 * Musician of the Year — Hargus "Pig" Robbins

Other links

 * Country Music Association
 * Inductees of the Country Music Hall of Fame