Country star Morgan Wallen's first scheduled appearance as a live performer since being caught on camera early this year using a racial slur doubles as a star-studded benefit concert at Marathon Music Works in Nashville for those impacted by the Aug. 2021 flood in Waverly, Tenn.
Morgan Wallen and Friends is slated for next Wednesday (Sept. 8). It'll be a pair of acoustic songwriter rounds, with Wallen, Dierks Bentley, Hardy and Cole Swindell as the main event. Before that, Lainey Wilson, Josh Thompson, Ernest, Ben Burgess, Jared Mullins and Lathan Warlick will share the stage for a good cause.
"I have been touched and heartbroken by the stories I've heard from the recent flooding and its impact in Middle Tennessee," Wallen wrote on social media. "Wanted to do my part to help. Proud that this is my first official show in such a long time. Hope you guys can make it on such short notice."
The sold-out event will raise funds for the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund. Per the event description, grants from the fund "will be made to nonprofits supporting relief and restoration in areas of Middle Tennessee affected by the severe storms and floods."
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Though Wallen's appeared a few times around town as a live performer since the controversy, including a brief set at Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N' Roll Steakhouse and during Luke Bryan's July concert at Bridgestone Arena, that'll be the first time his name will be on the marquee.
During the morning of August 21, over 17 inches of rainfall caused Trace Creek to overflow, leading to catastrophic flooding in Waverly. The Tennessean reports that almost one in 15 homes were damaged by flooding in Humphreys County, and 20 people were killed by the natural disaster.
