Couldn’t he have just used his backing tracks and autotune modulators to make it through the show?
After catching a stray from Oliver Anthony recently, Parker McCollum made it clear that when you go to see a show, what you’re seeing is 100% live music – for better or worse.
And last night he proved that to the crowd at his show in State College, Pennsylvania.
Parker just kicked off his What Kinda Man tour this week, but it seems like he’s already dealing with a stomach bug after having to cut his show short.
To his credit, Parker tried to power through the show, but it seems like the crowd noticed that he wasn’t feeling well.
@mikayla_667723 ended the show early after powering through the majority of songs and gave everyone a full refund🙏 #feelbetter @parkermccollum
After a few songs it became clear that he wasn’t going to be able to make it and he decided to end the show early – and told the crowd that he would be refunding their ticket:
“Penn State I apologize sincerely, I’m going to call the show. I’ll give each and every single one of y’all your money back. It is from the deepest part of my heart that I apologize for having to do this. I’ve never done this in all the years I’ve been singing country music. I apologize sincerely. I hope you guys will forgive us. We will come back and make it up. I will give every penny you spent tonight back to you. Thank you so much.”
@alliecheeto thank you for at least playing us half of the show @parkermccollum 🙌🏻 he said he was throwing up 15 mins before the show but wanted to give us what he could… mad respect to him for not canceling the whole show tho🤝🏻 he made it about halfway through the setlist and honestly sounded so good until the last 2 songs he sang🥲 it’s ok Parker, we still love you! feel better🫶🏻 #parkermccollum #pennstate #feelbetter #whatkindamantour2025 #fyp
And after the show, he once again apologized on social media:
“State College, PA…I am sorry about tonight…was getting pretty sick before the show and tried to make it through. Sadly, I couldn’t make it happen. Definitely not how we wanted the show to go, but we are going to make it up to you very soon. Details will be coming soon.”
State College, PA…I am sorry about tonight…was getting pretty sick before the show and tried to make it through. Sadly, I couldn't make it happen. Definitely not how we wanted the show to go, but we are going to make it up to you very soon. Details will be coming soon.
— Parker McCollum (@ParkerMcCollum) January 26, 2025
But hey, that should put to bed any remaining rumors from Oliver Anthony that he’s not performing live.
Fans seemed to be understanding, obviously disappointed about the shortened setlist but realizing that Parker was struggling to make it through even the few songs that he was able to play.
Of course it’s already been a big year for Parker, who earlier this week performed at the inaugural ball for President Donald Trump. While honoring our 47th President of the United States, Parker also paid tribute to another patriot when he broke out a cover of Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” – a song that Toby had actually played himself during Trump’s first inauguration back in 2017.
Parker McCollum sings Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue” at Donald Trump’s Inauguration. @ParkerMcCollum
🎥: @NewsHour pic.twitter.com/lpx6iZgW5Z
— Whiskey Riff (@WhiskeyRiff) January 21, 2025
Unfortunately, Parker’s killer performance has been overshadowed by the controversy surrounding Billy Ray Cyrus and his “trainwreck” of a performance at the Liberty Ball, which was cut short due to tech issues and left those watching concerned for the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer.
After the bizarre performance, Billy Ray’s son and ex-wife have both expressed their concern for the singer and begged him to get help, but Billy Ray claimed that the struggles were only due to technical issues and promptly announced that he would be releasing a new album soon.
