RANDALL — Morgan Wallen, who was not invited to attend the County Music Awards in November despite having an album nominated for best of the year, is invited back to Country Thunder Wisconsin in July 2022.
Wallen cancelled all 2021 summer appearances, including his scheduled performance last July at Country Thunder near Twin Lakes following backlash that arose early in the year when a video surfaced of Wallen using a racial slur. Eric Church replaced Wallen in the Country Thunder Wisconsin lineup.
Promoters announced Monday via email that Wallen would be a headliner at Country Thunder Wisconsin, when the venue returns July 21-24, 2022, as well as other Country Thunder music festival locations. The day Wallen will perform was not included.
No further details were available Monday from Country Thunder, which typically announces a significant portion of the lineup prior to the holiday gift buying season.
Wallen's album "Dangerous: The Double Album" has received a nomination for album of the year. Sales of the record skyrocketed in early 2021. In March, Billboard reported the album topped the Billboard 200 for the first 10 weeks after its release — making it the first album to do so since 1987. Wallen is on track in 2021 to sell more albums than any artist in any genre.
Wallen publicly apologized in February for the incident involving the racial slur and announced in April the cancellation of his summer performances.
“I made some mistakes, I’m figuring those out, and I apologized because I was truly sorry and have been making amends,” Wallen’s letter to fans reads.
Wallen, 28, said he used the time off “to survey the man” he became after moving to Nashville at age 22.
“Not only has this time revealed to me the ways in which I want to improve, but it’s also reminded me that I am still very proud of who I am and the man I am becoming,” Wallen wrote.
Precedent setting move
But, consequences continue. It is the first time in the history of CMA that an artist has not been invited as a result of "conduct," country music news outlets report.
The album has also been submitted for consideration in eight Grammy Award categories. Grammy nominations are scheduled to be announced on Nov. 23.
Wallen returned to the stage for a benefit concert Sept. 8 and performed before a sold-out crowd at Marathon Music Works in Nashville, Tenn. The acoustic concert raised money in support of those impacted by flooding in Humphreys, Tenn.
He is set to perform Oct. 30 at Bristol Motor Speedway, a venue also being promoted by Country Thunder.
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Eric Church at Country Thunder 2021
Eric Church Country Thunder
Eric Church at Country Thunder 2021
Hardy performs at Country Thunder 2021
Matt Thomas of Parmalee at Country Thunder 2021
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