Back in 1987, Billy Joel threw one of the most memorable onstage fits in Eighties rock history when he flipped over his keyboard during a concert in Moscow, Russia. On Friday night in Denver, country star Morgan Wallen took a page out of Joel’s book and turned over his upright piano onstage.
While Joel’s display of defiance was reportedly due to his displeasure with a film crew lighting his audience, Wallen’s piano uprising seems to have stemmed from some good, old-fashioned technical difficulties.
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The Sneedville, Tennessee, native was in the homestretch of his headlining show at Empower Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver and kicked off the encore with “Sand in My Boots,” his sing-along piano ballad about a lost romance at the beach, from 2021’s Dangerous: The Double Album. But when Wallen apparently couldn’t hear the instrument as he played, he called an audible and finished the song a cappella. Judging by fan video, the audience loved it and later erupted when Wallen proceeded to take out his frustrations on the piano by pushing it over. Wallen then wrapped up the show with “Last Night” and “Whiskey Glasses.”
One of the signature moments of Wallen’s stadium concerts is his walk-out, often accompanied by a local hero. In Denver on Friday night, he strode to the spotlight with Broncos quarterback legend John Elway. Wallen returns to the Mile Hile City on Saturday night for the second of his two-night stand at the stadium.
Wallen’s tour rolls on next weekend in Pittsburgh with two headlining dates at Acrisure Stadium. Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, and Zach John King open Night One, while Ella Langley steps in for B&D on Night 2.
