Breaking into the arts is quite possibly the hardest thing to do from a pure logistics perspective. While other careers have a pretty straightforward trajectory, whether it’s college, grad school, trade school, you name it, the art world (and music in particular) has never had one particular path.
Because of this, there have been a countless number of otherwise talented artists who simply never got their big break, thanks to not knowing the right people, not being at the right place at the right time or simply not catching the traction their peers have gotten in the early days of their careers.
Around the country music world, there have been countless stories of artists who struggled in the early stages of their career and ultimately thought about quitting music outright. Famously, the King himself, George Strait, had to be convinced by his wife after years of trying and failing to secure a record deal. On a similar note, Jason Aldean, who has been one of the most successful artists of the 21st century, has also gone on record saying he doubted his music career would ever come to fruition.
Another artist who had similar doubts early in her career was Megan Moroney.
As we sit over three months into 2026, it’s hard to point to a hotter artist, save for Ella Langley and Zach Top, than Moroney. Coming off the heels of a highly successful 2025, which saw her not only grab her second-career #1 hit with “Am I Okay?” in June but also lead the way in CMA Award nominations, along with Langley and Lainey Wilson, with six separate nods, she solidified her as a certified superstar last month upon the release of her junior album, Cloud 9.
After the success of Cloud 9, which debuted at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 and helped Moroney become just the fifth female artist in country music to top the chart in the last 10 years, she sat down with Drew Barrymore on her daytime talk show to discuss the record.
During the interview, she’d reveal that after moving to Nashville around 2020 to pursue a music career, she almost gave it up entirely after a multi-month stretch of writer’s block. In particular, she’d recall sitting alone in her apartment, crying while watching the CMA Awards and thinking she’d never reach that stage.
“I remember it was 2020. I had lived in Nashville for like six months, and I remember watching the CMA Awards alone at my apartment. I remember crying that night, and I was just like, ‘This is never going to happen for me.’ I hadn’t written a good song in like two months, and I’m like, ‘This sucks. Maybe I should just move home.’ And my parents encouraged me to not do that.”
Luckily for the “6 Months Later” singer, she’d end up taking her parents advice and keep cutting teeth in the industry. Just a year later, she’d catch fire with her debut single, “Wonder” in 2021 and followed that up in 2022 with her 4x platinum, #1 hit, “Tennessee Orange.” As we know by now, with an all-genre #1 album under her belt, the rest is history.
Before you go, fire up “Liars & Tigers & Bears.”
Megan Moroney Tour Dates
May 29 | Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
May 30 | Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse
June 2 | Chicago, IL – United Center
June 3 | Chicago, IL – United Center
June 5 | Baltimore, MD – CFG Bank Arena
June 6 | Greensboro, NC – First Horizon Coliseum
June 8 | Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
June 9 | Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
June 12 | Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center
June 13 | St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center
June 16 | Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena
June 18 | Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest
June 19 | Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena
June 20 | Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
July 6 | Boston, MA – TD Garden
July 7 | Boston, MA – TD Garden
July 9 | Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
July 10 | Newark, NJ – Prudential Center
July 11 | Philadelphia, PA – Xfinity Mobile Arena
July 14 | Charlotte, NC – Spectrum Center
July 16 | Orlando, FL – Kia Center
July 17 | Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena
July 18 | Sunrise, FL – Amerant Bank Arena
July 24 | Monticello, IA – Great Jones County Fair
July 25 | Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
July 26 | Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena
July 28 | Denver, CO – Ball Arena
August 1 | Portland, OR – Moda Center
August 2 | Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
August 5 | Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
August 7 | Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
August 8 | Los Angeles, CA – Crypto.com Arena
August 11 | Glendale, AZ – Desert Diamond Arena
August 14 | Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
August 15 | Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
August 16 | Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
August 18 | Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
August 21 | Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
August 22 | Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
September 13 | Oslo, NO – Sentrum Scene
September 15 | Stockholm, SE – Annexet
September 18 | Cologne, DE – Carlswerk Victoria
September 19 | Tilburg, NL – 013 Poppodium
September 21 | Paris, FR – Le Trianon
September 23 | London, UK – Eventim Apollo
September 26 | Manchester, UK – O2 Apollo
September 27 | Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy
October 1 | Belfast, UK – SSE Arena
