The Midwest will be the epicenter of the country music universe in 2023 with a lineup of concerts coming to our area that continues to grow.

Already announced for Summer 2023 is the George Strait stadium tour that will stop in Milwaukee on June 3, Thomas Rhett is playing Chicago on July 28, Taylor Swift (who you may or may not consider country) is playing a couple of shows in Chicago at Soldier Field, and we've got a show at BMO with Old Dominion in February.

We also have Shania Twain coming to the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater in Tinley Park, and more concerts are being announced every week.

After taking the CMA Awards by storm this past Wednesday night (11/9) winning both New Artist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year, Lainey Wilson announced she will be coming to Illinois to perform next June.

In the announcement today of the Tailgate N' Tallboys lineup for the Bloomington, Illinois show, also joining Lainey is Kane Brown (and likely his wife to perform their new song live), Jelly Roll, and a random rock band from the 90s, Nickelback.

More performers for the Tailgate N' Tallboys Bloomington June 14 through 17 are still to be announced.

The Clinton, Iowa edition of Tailgate N' Tallboys also has an incredible lineup from June 8 through 10 where Tim McGraw, Jake Owen and Lainey Wilson are scheduled to perform.

The Best Country Singer From Every State

Some states, like Oklahoma and Texas, are loaded with famous country singers. Others, like Nevada and Maine, are still looking for a real breakthrough artist. See the best and most successful country music artist from all 50 states, starting with Hank Williams and Alabama.

Check Out the Best-Selling Album From the Year You Graduated High School

Do you remember the top album from the year you graduated high school? Stacker analyzed Billboard data to determine just that, looking at the best-selling album from every year going all the way back to 1956. Sales data is included only from 1992 onward when Nielsen's SoundScan began gathering computerized figures.

Going in chronological order from 1956 to 2020, we present the best-selling album from the year you graduated high school.

More From Rockford's New Country Q98.5