Morgan Wallen lights up Allegiant with high-energy show

A couple of songs into Thursday's set, the first of two back-to-back nights playing before a sold-out Allegiant Stadium, country music sensation Morgan Wallen looked out at the crowd with wonder.

“I remember my first time playing in Las Vegas,” Wallen told the packed audience. “I played some barbecue joint — I can’t remember the name of it — for about 13 people. So in about six years or so, this is what it looks like when I come to Las Vegas now. AndI just want to say thank you.”

What a ride it’s been for “that boy from east Tennessee” since those early days in the music business, first accentuated by an appearance on NBC’s “The Voice” in 2014. Now, he’s a global superstar and selling out stadium venues around the world as his two-year “One Night at a Time” tour winds down to its last dozen or so shows.

His star still shines despite several instances of less-than-proper Southern behavior ­— Wallen faces charges in an April incident at fellow country crooner Eric Church’s bar in Nashville, Tenn., and was caught on video in an ugly episode in 2021 where he used a racial slur. The latter got his music banned from some radio stations until he issued public apologies, including one on “Good Morning America.”

But bygones being bygones, it’s Wallen’s music — not his behavior — that is attracting more and more fans. Just this week, Wallen’s feature on “Whiskey Whiskey” by Moneybagg Yo earned a spot on former President Barack Obama’s summer music playlist.

And Thursday, the crowd was into the music and Wallen from the get-go.

Wearing a white Raiders jersey with “Wallen” and the number 7 on the back ­— 7 was Wallen’s jersey number on his high school baseball team — the singer took the Allegiant stage after a loud blast and louder ovation. “What’s going on Las Vegas?” he asked before launching into “Ain’t That Some,” a spirited 2023 song about growing up in rural America.

Most of Wallen’s songs are rooted in either his Tennessee upbringing, whiskey, women or some combination thereof. His songs are catchy and eminently singable as evidenced by the numbers that had the entire stadium singing along.

For much of the night, Wallen would leave his band on the main part of the massive stage to run out, sing and dance on a runway that extended into the floor of the stadium. An enormous video board above the same main stage allowed fans a front-row view from even the highest seats in the stadium’s upper deck.

For a pair of songs, he performed at stage right, decked out with a set of bleachers with a bank of stadium lights behind it. It was there he talked about his appreciation for his high school baseball coach who nearly kicked Wallen off the team as a junior for some “rowdy” behavior but relented. The next year, with Wallen still on the roster, the team won the Tennesseee state championship. Then he launched into “’98 Braves,” a song about how his love for a girl was like his favorite baseball team, the 1998 Atlanta Braves who won 106 regular-season games but didn’t make it to the World Series. The relationship and the Braves “swung for the fences and came up short.”

Later in the his set, Wallen moseyed over to the left side of the stage where a replica of his grandmother’s house stood. She helped raise Wallen and his sisters and cousins, gave him his first cigarette, first beer and a “couple of good (expletive) whoopins.” Clearly enamored with his “Meemaw,” Wallen waxed about how proud she was when she first saw him perform live at the Gray County (Tenn.) Fair. “I can’t imagine what she’d be doing on this Thursday night in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium,” he said, before launching into one of his first hits, “Chasin’ You.”

As much as he talked, though, his music spoke more to the fans. Songs such as “More Than My Hometown,” “Up Down,” “7 Summers,” “You Proof” and “Whiskey Glasses” had the audience rocking in unison. Jelly Roll, one of three opening acts on Thursday night, joined Wallen on stage for a well-received version of “Cowgirls.” A three-song encore, with “Thinkin’ Bout Me,” “Last Night” and “The Way I Talk” brought the house down.

Beyond Wallen’s talents and his music, the show itself was a feast for the eyes. Fireballs, fireworks, laser lights, synchronized lit wristbands and other effects were all part of what was a big-time stadium concert event.

 

Morgan Wallen setlist Aug. 8 at Allegiant Stadium

“Ain’t That Some”

“I Wrote the Book”

“One Thing at a Time”

“Everything I Love”

“You Proof”

“’98 Braves”

“7 Summers”

“Sunrise”

“I Had Some Help” (Post Malone cover)

“Cover Me Up” (Jason Isbell cover)

“Lies Lies Lies”

“Sand in My Boots”

“Up Down”

“Cowgirls” (with Jelly Roll)

“Chasin’ You”

“Heartless”

“Wasted on You”

“This Bar”

“More Than My Hometown”

“Whiskey Glasses”

Encore:

“Thinkin’ Bout Me”

“Last Night”

“The Way I Talk”

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