With the stage set at the Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday, April 20, a crowd of fans buzzed with anticipation awaiting the arrival of country music superstar Morgan Wallen.
Wallen has accumulated 12 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Country Airplay Chart. His hit, “Last Night,” spent a notable 16 non-consecutive weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 Songs Chart.
This marks Wallen’s second appearance at the University of Mississippi after he canceled the second of two scheduled shows in April 2023. Last year’s cancellation — announced via a message on the big screens after many attendees had entered the stadium — was due to Wallen losing his voice, according to Wallen’s team.
Due to last year’s cancellation and Wallen’s April 7 arrest on felony charges for allegedly throwing a chair from the roof of a bar in downtown Nashville, Wallen’s return has been a topic of conversation for students.
New Orleans native Hannah Adams drove six hours on Saturday to see Wallen perform. Adams shared that she attended the canceled Sunday concert last year.
“I’m so, so excited, but I’m trying to manage expectations,” Adams said. “It was so rainy and cold just like tonight. We sat freezing through every single opener for him, and he just didn’t show. … It was very disappointing.”
Sophomore business major and Illinois native Jacob Keating went to the canceled performance last year.
“I was just starting to get into his music, so I wasn’t super mad, but I could tell you there were a lot of people who were super pissed. People were crying. A lot of people didn’t believe it was true. We all thought it was a joke,” Keating said.
Senior integrated marketing communications major and Chicago native Abby Young, described herself as a former superfan of Wallen’s music. She attended the show that was canceled last year and has not forgiven him since he failed to show up.
“Am I going to the concert again this year after what he did last year? I just can’t do that again. He’s not worth it,” Young said.
Accompanying Wallen this year was Ole Miss graduate Lauren Watkins, two-time Billboard Country Airplay Chart-topper Nate Smith and RIAA-certified 5x Platinum “Rock and a Hard Place” singer Bailey Zimmerman.
Wallen’s performance started with a similar message cast across the big screen, this time confirming that Wallen would be going on.
“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FORTUNATELY MORGAN HAS A FULL VOICE AND IS VERY ABLE TO PERFORM TONIGHT…THEREFORE, HE’S READY TO RUN THIS S— BACK AND MAKE THINGS RIGHT…NO REASON TO MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE EXITS FOR THE NEXT TWO HOURS. ME MORGAN AND THE BOYS ARE ABOUT TO ROCK OXFORD’S FACE OFF”
The crowd erupted, people were jumping up and down, screaming and some were even crying — tears of joy. With his first song being a crowd favorite, “Broadway Girls,” Wallen was instantly forgiven by many fans in the audience.
Fans were in for a surprise when Ole Miss Football Head Coach Lane Kiffin accompanied Wallen on his entrance as the night’s special guest.
Transitioning seamlessly into an upbeat “Chasin You” to a heartfelt “Cover Me Up,” Wallen took the audience on a journey through his own life experiences. Unlike his performance last year, Wallen added “7 Summers” and the “‘98 Braves” to the list of songs.
For sophomore business major and Dallas native J.R. Ingersol, this was his first time seeing Wallen perform. Ingersol believes Wallen’s performance on Saturday redeemed him not only as an artist but also as a man.
“I think he did all that he could do tonight, and he did it right,” Ingersol said.
Mobile, Ala., native Jennifer Kern was ecstatic to see Wallen perform. Even if he did not show up, Kern said, she would still love his music.
“He’s young and dumb, just like the rest of us,” Kern said “I’m just glad he did what he did tonight.”
Sophomore business marketing major Emily Otero from Gulfport, Miss., thought Wallen’s song selection and energy gave fans exactly what they missed last year.
“He did sing a so-called unreleased song. I think it got leaked because I heard the song before, but it was called ‘Lies, Lies, Lies.’ I knew the words already, but he played it which was very cool,” Otero said. “He was very lively and definitely made up for last year. He gave it his all to make up for what happened.”
After a roughly two-hour set list boasting a plethora of fan favorites, Wallen left the audience on a high note by closing with “The Way I Talk.” However, much to the audience’s surprise, the singer wasn’t quite ready to end the night.
“My personal favorite song Morgan Wallen sang was “Last Night.” He played it last for his encore. A lot of people started leaving, but I knew it wasn’t over because the lights hadn’t turned on,” Otero said.
