A: That one's taking a chance. And I gave Post Malone a big slot on the main stage. But I don't think I've read one negative comment on our socials about it. Every single person embraced Post with open arms, that he's stepping his foot into country music. That's what's drawing in people like Beyoncé and Lana Del Rey. Everybody's discovered this country music thing is really fun.

Q: There were times when fans were skeptical of "carpetbagger country." But some of the biggest acts at Stagecoach, like Post Malone and Jelly Roll and Ernest, came out of Soundcloud rap. Has that gatekeeping aspect changed?

A: It absolutely has. Kane Brown was a headliner last year and he came out of nontraditional sources. Bailey Zimmerman and Hardy are giants among young country fans. I find my music every which way, obviously by paying attention to TikTok and socials, but also artists are posting about other artists, and there are just so many different sounds and you're able to consume it on so many different platforms.

I think you're going to see a lot of artists hopping on stage with each other. There's so much support of collaboration right now. I think that plays into country music having a moment, because people always want to be No. 1, but nobody's tearing each other down. You're seeing so many women like Lainey Wilson elevating each other — there's room for all women and it's not like there can only be one female star. I think that has a really big impact on what's happening right now.

Country music is a wonderful community and they've had a way of doing things for many years, which has been super successful. Country radio is still very, very important in country music. But there's also Zach Bryan coming out of nowhere doing things his own way. Now there's just no script to follow anymore.

Q: The Luke Combs and Tracy Chapman performance at the Grammys really proved that.

A: What a moment, just stunning.

Q: Stagecoach sold out quickly this year. Morgan Wallen is one of the top artists in streaming and touring. Did getting him booked for a likely instant sellout give you room to take other chances?

A: Well, there's no such thing as a guaranteed sellout. If you happen to know what it is, I'd love to hear it.

I love Morgan, and he's come up at Stagecoach. I've been working with Morgan since 2017. But the approach I take to booking Stagecoach specifically is I want to deliver to every type of country music fan. There are my beloved loyal Stagecoach fans who've been coming since 2007. I want the top-streamed, most-airplay acts selling out stadiums. I want songwriting. I want what I call 'country curious' people to give me a shot. People who are like, 'Well, I don't really like country music, but there's Wiz Khalifa and Diplo and Post Malone and Dillon Francis and Nickelback, what's going on over there?' So I always made sure when I curate the lineup that I deliver enough to every single kind of country music fan. Booking one artist doesn't mean I can take my foot off the gas pedal.

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