Morgan Wallen announces return to touring after racial slur controversy
Nov 16, 2021
Washington [US], November 16 : Country music star Morgan Wallen is heading back to touring following his racial slur controversy.
Wallen took to his Twitter handle to announce 'The Dangerous Tour', which expects him to be on the road in the US for nearly eight months in 2022.
He wrote, "Here we come. Pre-sale for the first half of the tour will be tomorrow 11/16 - Text 865-351-6290 to receive the code *On-sale differs so make sure to check when tickets go on sale in your market."
The tour starts on February 3 in Evansville, Indiana and wraps up on September 24 at LA's Staples Center. Stops in-between include gigs at New York's Madison Square Garden on February 9 and Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on March 17. Wallen's trek will reach 46 cities in all.
Although Live Nation (which currently faces some battles of its own, facing lawsuits in the wake of the Astroworld disaster) is not mentioned in the official tour announcement, it is the promoter for most if not all of the dates on the seven-month-plus swing, reported Variety.
Wallen's friend and frequent co-writer Hardy will join him on nearly all of the shows, with Larry Fleet as an additional opening act on most.
The country star's agency status has been a source of considerable intrigue within the music industry in recent weeks. WME dropped Wallen as a client immediately following the revelation that Wallen had been caught on video saying the N-word in early February of this year.
However, it was revealed this month that WME had booked some shows for the star this fall, at which point the agency claimed that these were concerts that had been on Wallen's schedule previously, before pandemic postponements, that it was obligated to follow through on.
Subsequently, it's been reported that a WME agent, Austin Neal, was booking this 2022 tour for him independently, not under the auspices of WME. There has been speculation Neal might go out on his own and form a new agency to book Wallen and others.
The singer has been warmly welcomed back at country radio after being taken off the airwaves for a few months at most stations in the wake of the N-word scandal. His current single, 'Sand in My Boots', is currently at No. 15 after 19 weeks.
Wallen's 'Dangerous: The Double Album' remains the most successful album of 2021 so far.
Despite the tour announcement, Wallen is still banned from attending the American Music Awards on November 21.
