Morgan Wallen will headline three shows at Lexington, Kentucky’s Rupp Arena on Dec. 3-5.
The “Sand in My Boots” singer sold more than 36,000 tickets in less than 90 minutes after they went on sale at 10 a.m. ET on Friday morning (Oct. 29), according to the venue; the Dec. 5 show was added due to fan demand. The three shows will feature openers — and Wallen’s Big Loud Records labelmates — HARDY and Ernest.
While Wallen has yet to announce an official tour, he’s got quite a full slate coming up this fall. On Saturday, Wallen will headline Country Thunder Bristol (Tenn.), followed by concerts at Coosa Valley Fairgrounds in Rome, Ga., on Nov. 6 and 7; a Nov. 12 show at The Grounds in Mobile, Ala.; and two concerts in North Little Rock, Ark., at Simmons Bank Arena on Nov. 19-20.
The dates have been added piecemeal as Wallen continues to deal with the fallout of TMZ posting a video of the country star saying a racial slur in February, including not being allowed to perform or attend Nov. 10’s CMA Awards.
Consequences also included his booking agency, WME, dropping the artist. As previously reported by Deadline, even though WME said it dropped WME after the incident earlier this year, some concerts that were booked prior to Wallen’s controversial incident were recently re-booked through WME’s internal system, though no new shows have been booked through WME. The agency also told Deadline that commissions from Wallen’s concerts were being donated to charity. WME confirmed to Billboard that they are not booking new shows for Wallen.
Fans and venues, however, are ready to welcome Wallen back. “Lexington loves country music! The overwhelming response for this show indicates that Lexington is a hot concert market,” said Oak View Group Facilities’ Brian Sipe, general manager of entertainment complex Central Bank Center, which includes Rupp Arena. “With Lexington being a new member of the Oak View Group Facilities family, we are thrilled that country music superstar, Morgan Wallen, is coming here to Rupp Arena for three back-to-back nights! We can’t wait to show why Lexington is one of the top cities for artists to play, and for fans to come see some of the greatest performers in the world.”
Next year, Wallen will headline three of the five Country Thunder festivals, including Country Thunder Arizona (April 7-10), Country Thunder Wisconsin (July 21-24) and Country Thunder Florida in Kissimmee (Oct. 21-23).