Angering many of the fans already congregated at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford Mississippi, Sunday April 23, 2023, country music phenom Morgan Wallen abruptly announced that his show would not go on.

The canceled performance was to be the second of two nights on his sold-out One Night at a Time Tour.

At least one ticket holder has reportedly filed suit against the singer for the last minute (the concert had started and the opening acts had performed) no-show.

Wallen released his third album One Thing at a Time, a massive 36-track catalog of new songs in March 2023. As of this writing, One Thing at a Time has been at the top of the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart for the past seven weeks.

While Wallen is one of country music’s biggest new stars, his nascent career has not been without controversy. In 2021 he was famously caught on camera yelling profanities and a racial slur at a drinking buddy. While he apologized at the time, his music was pulled by some radio stations and streaming services over the incident.

Wallen was also arrested previously for public intoxication and disorderly conduct after getting booted from a downtown Nashville bar.

The Sunday night show was on track to be a huge success with a throng of country music lovers already waiting in the stadium on the University of Mississippi campus for Wallen to go on. The tour date was touted as the first concert in the stadium’s history. The shocking cancellation spoiled the debut attraction.

Wallen posted the following statement on his Instagram Stories about the cancellation.

After last night’s show I started losing my voice so I spent the day resting up, talking to my doctor and working through my vocal exercises trying to get better. I really thought I’d be able to take the stage and it kills me to deliver this so close to showtime, but my voice is shot and I am unable to sing. All tickets will be refunded at point of purchase. I am so sorry, I promise you guys I tried everything I could.

Morgan Wallen