Country star Morgan Wallen back in Oxford after Nashville jailing
Morgan Wallen promised he would be back in Oxford. Now he is scheduled to deliver this Saturday.
Country music fans throughout Mississippi were furious in April of 2023 after the country superstar bailed on a concert in Oxford with nearly 60,000 fans already packed into Vaught Hemingway Stadium at Ole Miss.
Two weeks later, Wallen apologized on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“To everyone in Oxford, I just wanted to reiterate how sorry I am for the way that went down,” Wallen said in the post. “I thought I was going to be good to go, and I just wasn’t. So, we are working on a reschedule date. We are close to having a reschedule date. We just don’t have the exact one yet. As soon as I do, I will let you know.”
Wallen is extended his tour into 2024 with 10 additional stadium shows, including a stop at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford on Saturday night.
A rotating lineup of guests including Bailey Zimmerman, Jelly Roll, Jon Pardi, Lainey Wilson, Nate Smith, Bryan Martin, Lauren Watkins and Ella Langley will join for support.
Morgan Wallen fist bumps a fan from the stage as he performs on day 3 of the Country Thunder music festival on April 9, 2022 in Florence, AZ.
Last year’s incident was not Wallen’s only recent struggle.
Arrested in Nashville
The 11-time Billboard Music Award-winning country music performer was arrested in early April at Chief’s, the sixstory Nashville honkytonk recently opened by his business partner and
longtime confidant Eric Church
Wallen was charged with three counts of reckless endangerment and one count of disorderly conduct.
In a police report, the 30-year-old singer was accused of throwing a chair from the establishment’s rooftop down to the street below while the bar just before 11 p.m.
Metro Nashville police officers were standing in front of the bar and saw the chair hit the ground just feet from where they were standing, the report said.
Officers who viewed security footage saw Wallen “lunging and throwing an object over the roof,” the report said.
Witnesses said Wallen laughed afterward.
In a statement issued to the Tennessean by Wallen’s representatives, Wallen’s lawyer, Worrick Robinson of Worrick Robinson Law, noted, “At 10:53 p.m. CT Sunday evening, Morgan Wallen was arrested in downtown Nashville for reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. He is cooperating fully with authorities.”
Wallen was released around 3:30 a.m. Monday on $15,250 bond. He is due in court on May 3, a date that coincides with one of three planned concert dates at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. The singer is scheduled to perform there May 2-4.
In Oxford
The canceled Oxford concert in April of 2023 was to be the second performance in Oxford, after Wallen performed to a sold-out stadium Saturday night. However, after two opening acts performed Sunday, it was announced Wallen would not be performing because of issues with his voice.
“Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately Morgan has lost his voice and is unable to perform tonight,” a message on a screen at the stadium read. “Therefore, tonight’s show has been canceled. Please make your way safely to the stadium exits. Refunds for tonight’s event will be available at point of purchase beginning tomorrow.”
The entire incident turned into a social media firestorm that took many weeks to calm down.
Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or 601573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1.
MEGAN MENDOZA/THE REPUBLIC