The Phenomenon of Morgan Wallen

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Born and raised in Sneedville, Tennessee, country singer Morgan Wallen has been on a trajectory of stardom that many would have never imagined.

[00:00:10] [SPEAKER_02]: Join us at the table as we discuss the Phenomenon of Cousin Morgan.

[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_01]: Welcome to the Steel Magnolias Podcast. We are two sisters here to have uplifting conversations about life in the South.

[00:00:24] [SPEAKER_00]: The South is full of beautiful diversity in landscape, people groups and culture. And we want to showcase each part. We've got plenty of room at our table. So pull up your chair.

[00:00:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Welcome back to the table. I'm Laura Beth. And I'm Lainie. And did I just shock somebody in our intro? I said cousin.

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_02]: He's our cousin! You think somebody was like maybe she just means like cuz. Like.

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER_00]: Our bud. No, he's our cousin. We are very distant in our family tree but our father and his grandfather were first cousins. And I think only six months apart ish.

[00:01:09] [SPEAKER_00]: So they grew up and played a lot together. Yes. Our dad was born in Sneedville as well. Exactly. Yes.

[00:01:15] [SPEAKER_02]: Very, very, very small town that I'll talk about in just here in a second. But yeah, we can chat a little bit more about some of our most recent experience at the Neelan Stadium show that Morgan did in Knoxville, Tennessee just about a week ago from when this is coming out.

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_00]: He did two shows there and they were epic.

[00:01:38] [SPEAKER_02]: And so he's blowing up and that was the first time that we had ever seen his show. He's been touring for years now but we had not seen him live and wow.

[00:01:50] [SPEAKER_00]: This live show was yeah, it does have a major wow factor.

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_02]: So we'll talk about details of the Neelan show in a bit but I just was thinking like maybe we should just talk about what is the phenomenon of people going crazy over him.

[00:02:05] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. He's just like barely 30 years old, like 31 I think. Yeah.

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_00]: So he hasn't even had that much of a time to have a career yet and he's not just a performer either. He's writing, writing, writing like crazy.

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. Billboard Magazine that y'all know that have all the charts that they keep track of for every genre and the overall, they named him the top country artist for 2021, 22 and 23.

[00:02:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_02]: And maybe he'll get it again for 24. I don't know. But yeah, I just thought okay, there's something going on here.

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_02]: There's some life that people are drawing from this guy that we need to chat about and yeah.

[00:02:54] [SPEAKER_00]: So I certainly think that many of the lyrics get under your skin like I just find myself walking around the house and singing.

[00:03:03] [SPEAKER_00]: So catchy.

[00:03:04] [SPEAKER_00]: These songs.

[00:03:05] [SPEAKER_02]: So catchy. I hear them in my head with Lainey singing them because I've seen.

[00:03:10] [SPEAKER_02]: Because she's heard me singing them.

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_02]: I've heard.

[00:03:12] [SPEAKER_00]: And I sing them in my best country accent.

[00:03:15] [SPEAKER_02]: Like exaggerated though.

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_00]: But exaggerated. Yeah.

[00:03:20] [SPEAKER_02]: But sounds a lot like Morgan.

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, because his accent's more exaggerated than mine.

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_02]: So it's and it's but it's a true accent because like you said he grew up in Sneedville, Tennessee, which our dad was born in.

[00:03:32] [SPEAKER_02]: It's a holler.

[00:03:32] [SPEAKER_02]: As you'll have heard things called.

[00:03:34] [SPEAKER_02]: It's a population of 1300, which is about the population it was in the 90s when Morgan was born.

[00:03:42] [SPEAKER_02]: So it's small and has stayed small unlike some of the places that the listeners listening live that they just have seen growth.

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_02]: This is a small town that has stayed a small town.

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_00]: It is.

[00:03:55] [SPEAKER_00]: And his parents later moved to Knoxville.

[00:03:57] [SPEAKER_00]: So high school for him was Knoxville.

[00:03:59] [SPEAKER_02]: And he talks a lot about his days at Gibbs High School in Knoxville.

[00:04:04] [SPEAKER_02]: He was on the baseball team.

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_00]: He thought that was the trajectory of his life was being a baseball player.

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_02]: So he competed on NBC's The Voice in 2014.

[00:04:17] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's the show with the three judges, you know, they listen to a singer with their backs turned to them.

[00:04:23] [SPEAKER_02]: They press a button if they're interested in kind of coaching that person and keeping them on.

[00:04:29] [SPEAKER_02]: So his coach was.

[00:04:30] [SPEAKER_02]: I think us sure us sure.

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:04:32] [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[00:04:33] [SPEAKER_00]: And and I think Blake Shelton called him the one that got away.

[00:04:37] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:04:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Can you imagine like if you had that opportunity to kind of be who found him and now you're saying what's happening and you didn't snag him up.

[00:04:48] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm guessing there's a lot of wood it could have showed us around this guy, you know, he came out with the mullet and cut off sleeves and had a very country look that almost probably was like a put, you know, put off to Hollywood people,

[00:05:05] [SPEAKER_00]: especially.

[00:05:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, but he stayed true to himself, but he did get eliminated during the playoffs for The Voice.

[00:05:14] [SPEAKER_02]: So a year later in August of 2015, he released standalone, which was his first EP and the debut album.

[00:05:25] [SPEAKER_02]: If I if I know me.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

[00:05:27] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[00:05:28] [SPEAKER_00]: So that and that's the one that had whiskey glasses on it.

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_02]: So that came like three years later after his single.

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_02]: So that first album came out in 2018.

[00:05:37] [SPEAKER_02]: And yeah, whiskey glasses and then he did like a huge collaboration with Florida Georgia line for a song called Up Down.

[00:05:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, that was the first one I really knew.

[00:05:47] [SPEAKER_02]: So it cracked the hot 100 and reached number 49.

[00:05:51] [SPEAKER_02]: And I'm talking hot 100 like that's a multi genre list.

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Hard for country artists to compete.

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, Florida Georgia line, some of those bands aren't true to country.

[00:06:05] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, that's just something you're going to hear people say, Oh, that's not country.

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:06:10] [SPEAKER_00]: And I do like the more true country me too.

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Me too.

[00:06:13] [SPEAKER_00]: That's why I love Chris Stapleton.

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_00]: But Morgan's kind of got both.

[00:06:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Some people would say Chris Stapleton is not.

[00:06:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, maybe I like country rock or something.

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_00]: That's what he is.

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, because he's got a little Southern rock to it.

[00:06:25] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_02]: So that was the first album and then the second album was called dangerous and it had 30 songs on it.

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_02]: So no wonder it had a lot of hits massive album.

[00:06:40] [SPEAKER_02]: And in addition to going six time platinum for dangerous seven songs from dangerous have received new platinum awards such as more than my

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_00]: hometown, my personal favorite.

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_02]: That's gone five time platinum.

[00:06:59] [SPEAKER_02]: Somebody's problem.

[00:07:01] [SPEAKER_02]: That's an interesting one with the lyrics.

[00:07:03] [SPEAKER_00]: I like his creative writing style play on words.

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[00:07:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Like he took the phrase that's not my problem kind of like how people say that like that's not my problem.

[00:07:14] [SPEAKER_00]: But he's talking about this is about to be my problem.

[00:07:17] [SPEAKER_00]: It's about to be.

[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:07:20] [SPEAKER_02]: That one went three times platinum in March 2022.

[00:07:23] [SPEAKER_02]: The album established the all time record for longest duration in the number one spot 97 weeks on billboards country albums chart.

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_02]: Wow.

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_02]: Then this one's a wild statistic to the album spent 86 weeks in the top 10 of the billboard 200 chart all genres competing with major artists.

[00:07:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Adele Taylor Swift like major pop stars were in our in the billboard 200.

[00:07:51] [SPEAKER_02]: So he broke a record with that for the most weeks in the top 10 by a single artist go Morgan.

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_00]: That's incredible crazy incredible.

[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's two albums under his belt and then in 2023 he released one thing at a time.

[00:08:08] [SPEAKER_02]: This album cover was crazy special for us to see when he first revealed it on socials.

[00:08:16] [SPEAKER_02]: It's our amp boots is poor.

[00:08:19] [SPEAKER_02]: She's standing on.

[00:08:20] [SPEAKER_02]: I was like there's no way.

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_02]: Is that boots?

[00:08:24] [SPEAKER_02]: He talks about memo boots.

[00:08:26] [SPEAKER_02]: So his memo boots is our his great grandmother.

[00:08:30] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, is our great aunt.

[00:08:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[00:08:33] [SPEAKER_02]: And we loved her dearly.

[00:08:35] [SPEAKER_02]: She's since gone on to be with the Lord.

[00:08:38] [SPEAKER_00]: But yeah, he's standing on her porch, which is a whole nother story because how does word get out on where that porch is located?

[00:08:49] [SPEAKER_02]: But it has people have found out and want part parts and pieces and photos and all the things.

[00:08:55] [SPEAKER_02]: So that album had 36 songs.

[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_02]: I thought 30 was a lot.

[00:09:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Now we're 36 opened a top top countries albums as well as the all genre billboard 200 with the largest streaming week ever for a country album.

[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_02]: And that was in 2023.

[00:09:16] [SPEAKER_02]: One thing at a time had the most weeks at number one among all albums since Adele's 21 logged 24 non consecutive weeks atop the tally in 2011 to 12.

[00:09:27] [SPEAKER_02]: That was a good album.

[00:09:28] [SPEAKER_02]: I still remember when I first heard that album.

[00:09:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Blew my mind.

[00:09:32] [SPEAKER_02]: Blew my mind.

[00:09:33] [SPEAKER_02]: One thing at a time debuted atop the charts dated March 18 2023 and spent its first 12 weeks at number one through early June again.

[00:09:44] [SPEAKER_00]: Go Morgan.

[00:09:45] [SPEAKER_00]: One thing at a time is the tour that's currently going.

[00:09:49] [SPEAKER_02]: It's coming to a close but to a close.

[00:09:51] [SPEAKER_02]: It's been international.

[00:09:52] [SPEAKER_02]: It's been over in Australia.

[00:09:54] [SPEAKER_02]: It's been around Europe.

[00:09:55] [SPEAKER_02]: It's been all around the U.S.

[00:09:58] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, they got maybe like four stops or something left.

[00:10:01] [SPEAKER_00]: I think they had three makeup shows that were after the Neyland Stadium.

[00:10:06] [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[00:10:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, because of his time of sickness with his voice there for a little bit but yeah.

[00:10:15] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:10:15] [SPEAKER_02]: So wrapped up like thinking about he's gotten into a little trouble from now and then as a lot of country artists have and I'm not making excuses.

[00:10:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Not just country rock and rollers.

[00:10:27] [SPEAKER_02]: As a lot of people in the public eye in general have.

[00:10:31] [SPEAKER_02]: I think the Lord multiple times a year I would say that social media was not around when I was in college and in my 20s because there's actin a fool sorts of moments that I'm just really glad I wasn't a public figure for sure.

[00:10:49] [SPEAKER_00]: And same for I can't imagine me having that kind of notoriety.

[00:10:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, my late 20s.

[00:10:58] [SPEAKER_00]: No, no.

[00:10:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:11:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:11:00] [SPEAKER_00]: So I'm just coming to his defense in that.

[00:11:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:11:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's probably a good thing.

[00:11:06] [SPEAKER_00]: I didn't have all that.

[00:11:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Me too.

[00:11:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Me too.

[00:11:09] [SPEAKER_02]: Because we know we know the family we came from.

[00:11:12] [SPEAKER_02]: We know the situations.

[00:11:13] [SPEAKER_00]: I was born with a bear in my hand.

[00:11:15] [SPEAKER_00]: That's a line from a song.

[00:11:17] [SPEAKER_02]: Is it is that real name of the song I was born with a bear in my hand.

[00:11:23] [SPEAKER_00]: It is.

[00:11:24] [SPEAKER_00]: So do you want to and I'm snickering about that.

[00:11:27] [SPEAKER_00]: That's not funny that that stuff gets passed down into the James but it does.

[00:11:32] [SPEAKER_02]: You want to talk about his like how he's doing some of these performances and even Neelon stadium shows or should we talk about just kind of the why we think.

[00:11:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's start with why.

[00:11:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:11:45] [SPEAKER_00]: I think there's a number of reasons I've pondered this.

[00:11:48] [SPEAKER_02]: Okay, why do you think he's getting so popular?

[00:11:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, even in overhearing his father in a conversation when we went to the Neelon show, his dad was talking about people just love the lyrics resonate with people.

[00:12:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:12:04] [SPEAKER_00]: And I do think it's kind of day to day life.

[00:12:08] [SPEAKER_00]: It's falling in love.

[00:12:09] [SPEAKER_00]: It's you know the importance of your town you come from like just you know your heritage and just the day to day life of fun things of driving the truck and yeah, we all have those things in us.

[00:12:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:12:27] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, we might not all have had the experiences of international travel or hitting it big in business world or things like that but we all have experience falling in love and yeah.

[00:12:43] [SPEAKER_02]: I think one thing that really sets him apart because thematically if you listen to country music that it is about a lot of drinking trucks women, you know, yeah.

[00:12:56] [SPEAKER_02]: You're cheating hard kind of moments.

[00:12:58] [SPEAKER_02]: You're right.

[00:12:59] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

[00:12:59] [SPEAKER_02]: But he is so proud of where he came from.

[00:13:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:13:05] [SPEAKER_02]: And even the example of him talking about his mama boots so openly and putting her porch on the covers of his album.

[00:13:13] [SPEAKER_02]: That is a little different than what I've seen a lot of artists of any genre really harp on.

[00:13:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I would say it's not even just touching it.

[00:13:25] [SPEAKER_00]: It's like he's like this is celebrating.

[00:13:27] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, this is me and all about me.

[00:13:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:13:31] [SPEAKER_02]: And Dolly does a great job of bring highlighting you know where she comes from up in the mountain home.

[00:13:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Same area.

[00:13:40] [SPEAKER_02]: But he's so much younger.

[00:13:41] [SPEAKER_02]: It's almost like he's touching a whole different group of people.

[00:13:45] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm sure they know Dolly very well but you know what I mean?

[00:13:48] [SPEAKER_02]: It's just kind of them freshly hearing somebody talk about family and yeah, small town.

[00:13:56] [SPEAKER_02]: I couldn't love you more than my home.

[00:13:58] [SPEAKER_02]: Hometown.

[00:13:59] [SPEAKER_02]: Thank you.

[00:14:00] [SPEAKER_00]: And that has a small sign on the road.

[00:14:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, like on the album.

[00:14:06] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:14:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Like I don't know if it was on the album or the single I mean.

[00:14:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:14:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Thank you.

[00:14:11] [SPEAKER_02]: It passed.

[00:14:11] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:14:12] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:14:12] [SPEAKER_02]: Him driving by the Sneadville sign.

[00:14:14] [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, I think that and like who doesn't come from places that are small or like not

[00:14:21] [SPEAKER_02]: so well or you know a little less educated or like even if that's a generation away from

[00:14:28] [SPEAKER_02]: you removed it's somewhere somewhere likely in your story.

[00:14:33] [SPEAKER_00]: And I think his age has something to do with it because also and you know of course

[00:14:39] [SPEAKER_00]: he's been at it for a few years now.

[00:14:41] [SPEAKER_00]: So when you're in your 20s and early 30, you're you know kind of it's fun for young girls to

[00:14:49] [SPEAKER_00]: sure see him as this cute country truck driving guy.

[00:14:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:14:54] [SPEAKER_00]: And then if you're in your 50s, he's adorable like your kid or something.

[00:15:00] [SPEAKER_00]: So it's just kind of fun to see him.

[00:15:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, really tapping into such a wide range of age right and guys in girls guys resonate

[00:15:12] [SPEAKER_00]: with those lyrics too.

[00:15:14] [SPEAKER_00]: And he's kind of a fun party sports lover, you know, Fisher.

[00:15:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:15:20] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

[00:15:21] [SPEAKER_02]: Absolutely.

[00:15:22] [SPEAKER_02]: And it hasn't been too long since he lost the mullet.

[00:15:25] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean he stayed true with a look too.

[00:15:28] [SPEAKER_02]: That was very just kind of East Tennessee.

[00:15:32] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, country ish that he wanted to embrace like we were saying and he's just now sort

[00:15:38] [SPEAKER_00]: of cleaned up even his hair but I think even that plays into that people like him

[00:15:45] [SPEAKER_00]: right because even with that you know kind of bad boy.

[00:15:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[00:15:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Look and every or you know mentality of who he is.

[00:15:54] [SPEAKER_00]: That's really exciting for girls and guys think it's funny.

[00:15:58] [SPEAKER_00]: They do whether or not it is.

[00:16:00] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm just saying for sure.

[00:16:01] [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, he has definitely gotten a reputation to party hard but he's doing some great

[00:16:08] [SPEAKER_02]: things too.

[00:16:09] [SPEAKER_02]: He's now organized a foundation under his name where he's giving back funds again

[00:16:16] [SPEAKER_02]: to the East Tennessee Knoxville area that he grew up in specifically in the areas

[00:16:22] [SPEAKER_00]: of music and sports which were his two passions to give funding for schools to be

[00:16:28] [SPEAKER_02]: able to have those programs or enhance their programs that need it really need it.

[00:16:33] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, yeah.

[00:16:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, fields and instruments and all of that kind of thing.

[00:16:37] [SPEAKER_02]: So that's cool.

[00:16:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Go Morgan.

[00:16:39] [SPEAKER_02]: He's trying.

[00:16:40] [SPEAKER_02]: He's trying.

[00:16:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[00:16:42] [SPEAKER_02]: So the one thing at a time tour is like we said the current tour.

[00:16:46] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:16:46] [SPEAKER_00]: So I did hear from a family member that there was a set.

[00:16:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, yes.

[00:16:55] [SPEAKER_00]: That was on this tour for a portion of the show where it is.

[00:17:00] [SPEAKER_00]: I say aunt boots.

[00:17:02] [SPEAKER_00]: He says Mamaw boots is house.

[00:17:04] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes, like the front.

[00:17:06] [SPEAKER_02]: The front of the house.

[00:17:08] [SPEAKER_00]: There's lights on.

[00:17:09] [SPEAKER_00]: There's you can see the door.

[00:17:10] [SPEAKER_00]: There's you know a porch.

[00:17:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[00:17:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Very similar to how it looked.

[00:17:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Looks because it's still there.

[00:17:17] [SPEAKER_00]: And I really wanted to see it.

[00:17:20] [SPEAKER_00]: Me too.

[00:17:21] [SPEAKER_00]: I was like, oh no.

[00:17:23] [SPEAKER_01]: This is been going on.

[00:17:24] [SPEAKER_01]: We're going to miss it.

[00:17:25] [SPEAKER_00]: This is the tour and that probably won't be on the next tour.

[00:17:29] [SPEAKER_00]: That's just for this one.

[00:17:30] [SPEAKER_00]: So I really want to see it.

[00:17:32] [SPEAKER_00]: So anyway, then when we heard he was going to do a show at Neyland Stadium,

[00:17:39] [SPEAKER_02]: which is my alma mater and all things glorious orange come from

[00:17:45] [SPEAKER_02]: Neyland Stadium.

[00:17:46] [SPEAKER_00]: That was the one that we really wanted to go to.

[00:17:49] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, we were like, oh my gosh, this is like the most epic of

[00:17:53] [SPEAKER_02]: hometown visits one could ever imagine.

[00:17:56] [SPEAKER_00]: It really is.

[00:17:57] [SPEAKER_00]: And it kind of was a pinnacle celebration of our roots because

[00:18:03] [SPEAKER_00]: it's the football team that we've cheered for since childhood.

[00:18:07] [SPEAKER_00]: It's literally dad's family line.

[00:18:11] [SPEAKER_02]: That's where I went to college.

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_02]: It was going to be a lot of family members that were going to be

[00:18:17] [SPEAKER_02]: going to the show way more than go to shows in other cities.

[00:18:23] [SPEAKER_00]: So that was, we really, really, really hoped we were going to get to do it.

[00:18:27] [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, the date was September 22nd.

[00:18:30] [SPEAKER_02]: It was a Sunday boom sold out.

[00:18:32] [SPEAKER_02]: They added a Friday like the Friday before and then it,

[00:18:36] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if it fully sold out or if it was just like right there.

[00:18:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I don't either, but they,

[00:18:43] [SPEAKER_02]: they estimated that there was over 156,000 fans across both nights.

[00:18:49] [SPEAKER_02]: So over 80 or 80 ish a night for two nights, which is so spectacular.

[00:18:55] [SPEAKER_00]: And I had mentioned to you before that back in 1984,

[00:19:00] [SPEAKER_00]: one of my good friends, her grandparents took her to see Jackson 5

[00:19:04] [SPEAKER_00]: at Neelan Stadium.

[00:19:05] [SPEAKER_00]: I was so jealous.

[00:19:07] [SPEAKER_00]: I bet.

[00:19:08] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, even Michael Jackson was making his own name by then.

[00:19:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:19:12] [SPEAKER_02]: They were a thing.

[00:19:13] [SPEAKER_02]: And so, well, clearly it was so.

[00:19:16] [SPEAKER_00]: It was so, yeah, it was, that was the biggest show I had ever heard of there.

[00:19:20] [SPEAKER_00]: And Morgan totally blew their numbers.

[00:19:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Their numbers and they had three nights there.

[00:19:27] [SPEAKER_02]: So wow.

[00:19:29] [SPEAKER_02]: I think they did 148,000 or something.

[00:19:32] [SPEAKER_00]: In three shows.

[00:19:33] [SPEAKER_00]: He did more than that in two shows.

[00:19:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Wow.

[00:19:36] [SPEAKER_00]: That's crazy.

[00:19:37] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:19:38] [SPEAKER_02]: So we did, we figured out, okay, I think we can possibly somehow get to the Sunday night show.

[00:19:49] [SPEAKER_02]: So we did and I was so excited because.

[00:19:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:19:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's tell about our experience.

[00:19:59] [SPEAKER_02]: I know Morgan does what he calls these walkouts.

[00:20:04] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

[00:20:04] [SPEAKER_00]: No matter what city he's in, where on, I don't know when, I mean that started on this tour.

[00:20:10] [SPEAKER_02]: It seems like it did, but it's like this.

[00:20:13] [SPEAKER_02]: It's brilliant.

[00:20:14] [SPEAKER_00]: It is so brilliant.

[00:20:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Whoever came up with the idea.

[00:20:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:20:18] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, because pretty much any tour you go to, there's a moment where the artist enters the stage for the first time.

[00:20:27] [SPEAKER_02]: It could be as simple as walking on to the stage, right?

[00:20:30] [SPEAKER_02]: Maybe the band's already started a lick and then here comes the lead singer.

[00:20:34] [SPEAKER_02]: Maybe they make it some entry like from coming up out of the stage or swinging from a pin.

[00:20:42] [SPEAKER_02]: You know what I mean?

[00:20:42] [SPEAKER_02]: There's different ways you can come in.

[00:20:44] [SPEAKER_02]: Pink does these crazy things where she comes in.

[00:20:47] [SPEAKER_02]: But there's moments before all of that that are kind of when the artist is like getting hyped up, you know, like they're.

[00:20:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Literally getting there.

[00:20:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Juicing themselves up, right?

[00:21:00] [SPEAKER_02]: For this entrance.

[00:21:02] [SPEAKER_02]: And so he started getting either like a public figure athlete, some sort of person that had maybe some sort of ties to the city he was touring in to like walk out with him through the backstage area.

[00:21:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[00:21:19] [SPEAKER_02]: So not walk out onto the stage but just backstage, which is also something that everybody's always curious about.

[00:21:25] [SPEAKER_02]: What's going on backstage?

[00:21:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:21:27] [SPEAKER_00]: And so there's a camera man or woman.

[00:21:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:21:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Obviously going backwards.

[00:21:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[00:21:34] [SPEAKER_00]: With the camera filming this whole thing.

[00:21:37] [SPEAKER_00]: So you're literally watching it in real time.

[00:21:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:21:40] [SPEAKER_02]: Lights go down, some music comes up.

[00:21:42] [SPEAKER_00]: And it's usually his song Broadway Girls.

[00:21:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[00:21:46] [SPEAKER_00]: That he's doing these walkouts too.

[00:21:48] [SPEAKER_00]: And so here he comes with whoever you don't know who it's gonna be each time.

[00:21:54] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, I know I saw the one in Las Vegas that he came out with Tom Brady.

[00:22:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Tom Brady, that was that one went viral and Mike Tyson, Mike Tyson.

[00:22:04] [SPEAKER_02]: That was the other person.

[00:22:05] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

[00:22:05] [SPEAKER_00]: So in Kansas City, that one was hugely popular because he was with three of the chiefs players.

[00:22:10] [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

[00:22:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Patrick Mahomes is that how you say it?

[00:22:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Travis Kelsey.

[00:22:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[00:22:16] [SPEAKER_00]: And Chris Jones.

[00:22:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Okay.

[00:22:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:22:18] [SPEAKER_02]: So again.

[00:22:19] [SPEAKER_00]: And Morgan's role into sports, so he has on often a jersey too of the team or that kind

[00:22:26] [SPEAKER_00]: of thing.

[00:22:27] [SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, I think his baseball number in high school was number seven.

[00:22:32] [SPEAKER_00]: And so a lot of times if I think with Kansas City, he had on the number seven, but it

[00:22:38] [SPEAKER_00]: was Kansas City.

[00:22:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Got you.

[00:22:39] [SPEAKER_00]: You see what I'm saying?

[00:22:40] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

[00:22:41] [SPEAKER_02]: I think he has a Tennessee Balls orange jersey that's seven.

[00:22:45] [SPEAKER_02]: That's the seven.

[00:22:45] [SPEAKER_02]: But he ever played for right.

[00:22:47] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, but it looks like it.

[00:22:49] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:22:50] [SPEAKER_02]: So just cool.

[00:22:51] [SPEAKER_02]: Like, oh my gosh, wonder who he's going to come out with.

[00:22:53] [SPEAKER_02]: Right.

[00:22:54] [SPEAKER_02]: So we knew for our show or a show Friday or Sunday, we knew in Knoxville, Tennessee,

[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_02]: there's got to be some sort of moment with Peyton Manning.

[00:23:06] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, we hoped you could.

[00:23:08] [SPEAKER_02]: There was some other ones that people had thrown around.

[00:23:11] [SPEAKER_00]: I had a few ideas.

[00:23:12] [SPEAKER_00]: I wondered if he would come out also Gibbs High School graduates of Kenny Chesney and

[00:23:18] [SPEAKER_00]: Kelsey Ballerini Ballerini.

[00:23:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:23:22] [SPEAKER_00]: I didn't have any reason to think that.

[00:23:24] [SPEAKER_00]: I just thought, well, they all went to Gibbs High School.

[00:23:26] [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe do something like that.

[00:23:28] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:23:29] [SPEAKER_02]: People think of Dolly as all things.

[00:23:32] [SPEAKER_02]: East Tennessee.

[00:23:33] [SPEAKER_02]: That vibe didn't fit though.

[00:23:34] [SPEAKER_02]: It doesn't like a dude moment of just like here come the boys sort of out of

[00:23:39] [SPEAKER_02]: the locker room.

[00:23:40] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:23:40] [SPEAKER_02]: But I mean, hey, if Dolly had showed up on the screen, the crowd would have made me happy.

[00:23:46] [SPEAKER_02]: So Friday night, of course, you know, we didn't want to watch too much of clips.

[00:23:53] [SPEAKER_02]: People posted from the Friday night show.

[00:23:56] [SPEAKER_02]: But I watched the walk out too.

[00:23:58] [SPEAKER_02]: And that was really fun because he came out with the National Champion 2024

[00:24:05] [SPEAKER_02]: champion Tennessee Volunteers baseball team and the coach.

[00:24:10] [SPEAKER_02]: Coach Tony was with them and the trophy and the trophy and the lucky for coat.

[00:24:15] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

[00:24:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Just all the things so cute.

[00:24:18] [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah, they of course, the crowd went wild cheering at a volume I read of 114

[00:24:23] [SPEAKER_02]: decibels.

[00:24:24] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't have a comparison of how loud that is, but I'm sure if news

[00:24:28] [SPEAKER_02]: articleists like mentioning how that's loud, loud the decibels are.

[00:24:32] [SPEAKER_00]: And it's at their home.

[00:24:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[00:24:36] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:24:36] [SPEAKER_00]: So you're going to get a loud crowd for that or loud cheering for that.

[00:24:41] [SPEAKER_02]: And then it our show on Sunday night.

[00:24:45] [SPEAKER_02]: It was one of those moments where I look back and I'm like, it felt slow

[00:24:49] [SPEAKER_02]: motion.

[00:24:50] [SPEAKER_00]: It felt so slow motion that there was a point in time for pretty obvious

[00:24:56] [SPEAKER_00]: reason.

[00:24:56] [SPEAKER_00]: I thought they were showing an old clip of Peyton Manning.

[00:25:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:25:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Because he was in his full uniform pads and all pads, stretching his neck

[00:25:07] [SPEAKER_00]: and loosening himself up before he puts his helmet on.

[00:25:11] [SPEAKER_02]: Orange number 16 Jersey.

[00:25:13] [SPEAKER_02]: Mind you, none of us Tennessee of all bands had fans have seen him in his

[00:25:17] [SPEAKER_02]: journey.

[00:25:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Jersey.

[00:25:19] [SPEAKER_02]: Gosh, I can't talk in 25 years.

[00:25:21] [SPEAKER_02]: So I mean, it was like, what?

[00:25:24] [SPEAKER_02]: What is this an old photo they're starting the walk out with?

[00:25:28] [SPEAKER_02]: It was just a moment.

[00:25:29] [SPEAKER_00]: It was where I was like, is this happening right now?

[00:25:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Is this real time or is this old footage?

[00:25:34] [SPEAKER_02]: And he looks so young.

[00:25:35] [SPEAKER_00]: No, precious.

[00:25:37] [SPEAKER_02]: He still looks so young, I guess.

[00:25:38] [SPEAKER_02]: So we put, yeah, I mean, we, we all of us, we were just like, no way.

[00:25:43] [SPEAKER_02]: There's no way.

[00:25:44] [SPEAKER_02]: And then a little wider, you know, after they've done their high

[00:25:47] [SPEAKER_02]: fives Peyton and Morgan, we've got Brew McCoy of the current Tennessee

[00:25:52] [SPEAKER_02]: football team, our quarterback, Nico, our current coach, coach,

[00:25:58] [SPEAKER_02]: coach Hypole, all of them just like surrounding him, like hyping it up.

[00:26:04] [SPEAKER_02]: Oh my gosh.

[00:26:05] [SPEAKER_02]: It is so exciting.

[00:26:06] [SPEAKER_02]: People were losing their mind.

[00:26:07] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:26:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Losing their mind.

[00:26:08] [SPEAKER_00]: It was so awesome.

[00:26:09] [SPEAKER_00]: It was a glorious moment.

[00:26:11] [SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, I mean, what a great way to get yourself pumped for a show

[00:26:15] [SPEAKER_00]: because I have said before what do people typically do?

[00:26:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Like do you jump on a trampoline for jumping jacks?

[00:26:21] [SPEAKER_00]: A few minutes.

[00:26:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Like what do you do to really feel like that?

[00:26:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I'm ready.

[00:26:26] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:26:27] [SPEAKER_02]: Take it on.

[00:26:28] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, like a five hour energy shot.

[00:26:31] [SPEAKER_02]: Like, yeah, I have no idea.

[00:26:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:26:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Especially, you know, if you're trying to be sober and clean and all that.

[00:26:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:26:40] [SPEAKER_00]: So which he is so.

[00:26:42] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:26:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Go Morgan.

[00:26:45] [SPEAKER_00]: Peyton will get the juices flowing for sure.

[00:26:48] [SPEAKER_02]: It's certainly something that is so epic.

[00:26:51] [SPEAKER_02]: People are going to want him to continue that in future tours for sure.

[00:26:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Well, I'm super proud.

[00:26:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Just because he's a good old East Tennessee guy, but I'm super proud that our.

[00:27:05] [SPEAKER_00]: Our family tree includes a limb of his.

[00:27:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:27:08] [SPEAKER_00]: Him and his family.

[00:27:10] [SPEAKER_00]: I think he comes from good parents and the, I mean, are very involved in

[00:27:15] [SPEAKER_00]: loving very much and yeah.

[00:27:17] [SPEAKER_00]: So yeah, it's sweet to say in a gosh amp boots would be.

[00:27:22] [SPEAKER_02]: Floored.

[00:27:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Floored and just, she did get to see him at the county fair, which was about a

[00:27:28] [SPEAKER_00]: 7000.

[00:27:29] [SPEAKER_00]: People show.

[00:27:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Still big enough to give you a wow factor, especially if you're from

[00:27:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Sneedville, but she was floored because people were wanting to take her picture

[00:27:41] [SPEAKER_00]: too.

[00:27:42] [SPEAKER_00]: That is so precious.

[00:27:43] [SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, that's sweet and confusing all at one time.

[00:27:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Like why my picture?

[00:27:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:27:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:27:51] [SPEAKER_00]: He talked about her enough that she was kind of a sub celebrity because of that.

[00:27:56] [SPEAKER_02]: And she did.

[00:27:57] [SPEAKER_02]: She lived a great full life.

[00:27:59] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, we even got to celebrate her 90th birthday with her and she lived

[00:28:03] [SPEAKER_02]: even a few years beyond that.

[00:28:05] [SPEAKER_02]: So she, she got to see.

[00:28:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:28:08] [SPEAKER_02]: A lot of him from his, you know, little punk kind of days growing up to

[00:28:14] [SPEAKER_02]: a little spanking when she was freely given, but I'm sure even in her wildest

[00:28:21] [SPEAKER_02]: dream, she could have never dreamed of that.

[00:28:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Neland Stadium.

[00:28:25] [SPEAKER_02]: Oh my God.

[00:28:26] [SPEAKER_02]: Sell out concerts.

[00:28:27] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, it was epic.

[00:28:29] [SPEAKER_00]: I've never seen a show where with these bracelets that they have that

[00:28:33] [SPEAKER_00]: light up.

[00:28:34] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[00:28:35] [SPEAKER_00]: That is so amazing.

[00:28:37] [SPEAKER_00]: It adds a lot.

[00:28:38] [SPEAKER_00]: I couldn't believe how much it added.

[00:28:41] [SPEAKER_00]: And then just the, the bickness of this show with pyrotechnics and fireworks,

[00:28:48] [SPEAKER_00]: fireworks, all of that.

[00:28:49] [SPEAKER_00]: Lots of fireworks.

[00:28:50] [SPEAKER_00]: And your husband's in the music industry and has seen so many shows.

[00:28:55] [SPEAKER_00]: And he was talking about like it's for one person to command an audience

[00:29:01] [SPEAKER_00]: in a stadium is no small thing.

[00:29:03] [SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[00:29:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Like no dancers in the back.

[00:29:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:29:06] [SPEAKER_00]: You know, crazy guitarists that they zoom in on for a while.

[00:29:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Like, yeah, Morgan, it's you.

[00:29:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Right.

[00:29:14] [SPEAKER_00]: And he commanded it.

[00:29:15] [SPEAKER_02]: I'll tell you what, I was playing piano for a song brought out Miranda Lambert

[00:29:20] [SPEAKER_02]: to sing with him on a song they wrote, which is actually my favorite.

[00:29:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Thought you should know that he wrote for his mom.

[00:29:26] [SPEAKER_00]: And we got to sit in front of his mom during this while.

[00:29:30] [SPEAKER_02]: That's wild.

[00:29:35] [SPEAKER_02]: That's wild.

[00:29:36] [SPEAKER_02]: Wild for Miranda.

[00:29:37] [SPEAKER_00]: And like, yes, awesome surprise, but also mama walled.

[00:29:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Yes.

[00:29:42] [SPEAKER_00]: That was fun.

[00:29:43] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'll tell you something else he did that I felt like was he,

[00:29:47] [SPEAKER_00]: he was tender in this show.

[00:29:49] [SPEAKER_00]: You could tell he was floored, like looking around.

[00:29:52] [SPEAKER_00]: It looked like his eyes were glazed a little bit with like,

[00:29:55] [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know if it was tears, but just a while.

[00:29:58] [SPEAKER_00]: Oh wow.

[00:29:59] [SPEAKER_00]: In his own heart.

[00:30:00] [SPEAKER_00]: But he said he really missed those shows when it was smaller

[00:30:04] [SPEAKER_00]: and he could see people's faces and eyes.

[00:30:08] [SPEAKER_00]: And so they took him to a different part of the stadium with a small stage

[00:30:14] [SPEAKER_00]: where he could kind of be closer to people.

[00:30:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:30:18] [SPEAKER_00]: He did three or four songs out there.

[00:30:20] [SPEAKER_00]: He did.

[00:30:20] [SPEAKER_02]: And that's several where he brought Miranda out even.

[00:30:23] [SPEAKER_02]: So I mean, they got quite the treat because yeah,

[00:30:26] [SPEAKER_02]: he definitely moved a lot closer to seats at that portion of the side.

[00:30:31] [SPEAKER_02]: That was cool.

[00:30:31] [SPEAKER_02]: That was very cool.

[00:30:33] [SPEAKER_02]: And then yeah, we got to see boots is set and he talked a little bit about her

[00:30:37] [SPEAKER_00]: and just we got to see the show with his little boy who, you know,

[00:30:43] [SPEAKER_00]: like just to say cowboy boots, the wow factor from his eyes.

[00:30:47] [SPEAKER_00]: And yeah, he doesn't really get it.

[00:30:49] [SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure.

[00:30:50] [SPEAKER_02]: But how could you?

[00:30:52] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't think we even got it.

[00:30:54] [SPEAKER_02]: We were just staying there like, wow, this is epic.

[00:30:59] [SPEAKER_02]: This is amazing to see all of this.

[00:31:02] [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, our cut one of our cousins who was at the show was saying, you know,

[00:31:10] [SPEAKER_00]: because she's older and so she was saying it's so weird.

[00:31:13] [SPEAKER_00]: This is like my Elvis, you know, like girls wanting to get close to him

[00:31:17] [SPEAKER_00]: and wanting to, you know, yeah, touch him.

[00:31:21] [SPEAKER_02]: It was like eye contact.

[00:31:23] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:31:23] [SPEAKER_02]: Get a wink.

[00:31:24] [SPEAKER_02]: Exactly.

[00:31:25] [SPEAKER_02]: That's rush up his arm.

[00:31:26] [SPEAKER_00]: So that's wild for her of like, this is just Morgan.

[00:31:29] [SPEAKER_00]: So that's weird that he's like Elvis to some people.

[00:31:33] [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

[00:31:33] [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm sure for Elvis, his family thought, why do they want to touch him?

[00:31:37] [SPEAKER_00]: Look, it's just Elvis.

[00:31:39] [SPEAKER_02]: He puts his legs pants on one leg at a time.

[00:31:42] [SPEAKER_02]: That's right.

[00:31:43] [SPEAKER_02]: Just like the rest of us.

[00:31:44] [SPEAKER_00]: That's right.

[00:31:44] [SPEAKER_02]: But we are super proud, super proud.

[00:31:47] [SPEAKER_02]: And we just wanted to give you all just a little glimmer into a really,

[00:31:51] [SPEAKER_02]: really special moment that we got to experience that we were not expecting,

[00:31:56] [SPEAKER_02]: but it's so, so grateful.

[00:31:58] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah.

[00:31:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Made me really want to celebrate my roots too.

[00:32:02] [SPEAKER_02]: Yes.

[00:32:03] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, we will be back next week with this was probably a surprise episode.

[00:32:09] [SPEAKER_02]: So who knows what next week will be?

[00:32:11] [SPEAKER_02]: Now I'm just kidding.

[00:32:12] [SPEAKER_02]: We know it's going to be an incredible city that we can't wait to tell you more about.

[00:32:16] [SPEAKER_02]: And yeah, until next time.

[00:32:18] [SPEAKER_02]: Peace be with y'all.

[00:32:22] [SPEAKER_02]: You've just listened to an episode of the Steel Magnolia's podcast,

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