Morgan Wallen honored the late Keith Whitley with a tribute performance from his Tennessee home two days before Christmas.
The country superstar and East Tennessee native took to social media on Friday evening (Dec. 23) to share a clip of himself covering one of his favorite classic country hits: Keith Whitley’s “Kentucky Bluebird.”
“Been in the studio so much, this is all the decorating I got done,” Wallen captioned the video. “Here’s part of one of my favorite Keith Whitley songs ‘Kentucky Bluebird’”
In the clip, Wallen is seen sitting beside a small colorfully lit Christmas tree singing the Whitley tune while strumming an acoustic guitar.
“Blown down the highway by two different winds / Lord only knows when I’ll see you again / You’re ’bout as close as the stars up above / You’re my long distance love,” Wallen sings in the video. “Kentucky Bluebird, I heard your song today / But when I try to touch you, you fly away / Blue is a feeling I’m learning so well / Turn on the TV in another hotel.”
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Co-written Don Cook and Wally Wilson, “Kentucky Bluebird” is the title track to Whitley’s first posthumous album, released by RCA Records in September of 1991. The posthumous album consists of “four previously released songs, re-orchestrated demos, and other previously unreleased songs, as well as snippets from live performances that predate his professional music career,” according to Wikipedia.
Morgan Wallen’s Whitley cover comes just a few days after the “You Proof” singer shared an update from the studio as he works on his third studio album with his 2-year-old son, Indigo (Indie) Wilder Wallen, by his side.
At the time, the chart-topping singer/songwriter gave fans a glimpse of what his life has recently looked like in the studio as he continues to work on his yet-to-be announced new album. The snapshots Wallen shared featured the East Tennessee native in the studio recording vocals, listening to mixes, hanging out in the recording booth as well as spending some time with his son Indigo.
“Album 3 Studio Files,” Wallen simply captioned the series of photos.
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While recently co-hosting Country Countdown USA alongside Lon Helton in late October of 2022, Wallen shared an update on his new album, saying that he is currently “in the middle” of working on the new project, but “don’t know exactly [where he is at in the process].”
“I definitely have enough songs. I still got a couple more things I think I probably want to say, want to write. So, hopefully get that done in the next month or two and then you know, I don’t know exactly…” Wallen continued. “I won’t have the whole record done, I just mean get what I need to say done and written in the next month or two and then just grind it out. So, I don’t know exactly… They got me on a timeline, but that don’t mean I’m going to follow it, but to be fair you do got to put them out. That does got to happen.”
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Earlier this year, Wallen also told Helton that he has “already got 12 songs finished, maybe more.”
“I’m just trying to beat what I’ve got. I’m confident in whatever I do next already,” he added at the time. “Overall I feel pretty comfortable. I don’t feel rushed. I’ve got other things, I’ve got the tour, I’ve got my son, so I’m glad that I’ve already spent some time on the next project.”
And while Wallen didn’t specify a release date for his next project, he did tell Helton that his new album “ain’t going to be [released] before spring.”
Although he doesn’t have a release date set in stone yet, Wallen has shared several snippets of unreleased new songs such as “Hope That’s True” “Me + Your Reasons,” “Drink U Back,” and most recently “Whiskey Friends.”
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In addition, the “Thought You Should Know” singer recently released a trio of new songs on One Thing At A Time – Sampler, which features “One Thing At A Time,” “Tennessee Fan,” and “Days That End In Why.”
“I’ve had so many people ask me if I wanted to take some time off; but the truth is – I have been writing and making so much music in my off-time because I feel as inspired as I ever have. It feels like new songs are pouring out of me, and I love that feeling,” Wallen shared at the time of the three song collection’s release.
The three new songs serve as a taste of what’s to come from Wallen in the future.
The new album will serve as the follow-up to his record-breaking sophomore project, Dangerous: The Double Album.
Additionally, Morgan Wallen recently announced his massive 2023 One Night At A Time World Tour.
The tour officially kicks off on Wed., March 15 in Auckland, NZ at the Spark Arena. The U.S. leg of the tour begins on April 14 with back-to-back nights at Milwaukee’s American Family Field. The tour will make its way around North America with stops at 17 stadiums as well as various arenas, amphitheaters, and festivals.
Marking one of the largest tours of 2023 so far and the biggest tour of Wallen’s career, the 58-show trek will visit 26 stadiums, plus arenas, amphitheaters and festivals to fans across four countries and two continents. The trek will feature support from ERNEST and Bailey Zimmerman on all dates. HARDY and Parker McCollum will also appear on select dates.
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After making his stadium debut with a record-breaking show at Globe Life Field in Texas, Wallen will visit several ballparks throughout North America, including New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, Milwaukee’s American Family Field, Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Boston’s Fenway Park and more.
Produced by Live Nation, the North American leg of the trek will wrap up on October 7 at Tacoma Dome in Washington.
“Man, what a year 2022 has been with the Dangerous Tour. I had the time of my life, and I cannot begin to express how grateful I am that my fans connected with the Dangerous album the way they did,” Wallen said. “We are going to run it back next year with the One Night At A Time World Tour. Bigger venues. New countries. Bigger memories. See y’all there.”
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The One Night At A Time World Tour comes after Wallen’s highly successful Dangerous Tour, which included more than 50 sold-out shows. The record-breaking trek broke records at 30 venues across the U.S. during its 8-month-long run, including historic sellouts at 11 venues, while simultaneously breaking attendance records with stops at XFINITY Theatre, AmericanBank Center and Darien Lake Amphitheater.
In an effort to give back to those in need, Wallen will donate $3 of every ticket sold on the U.S. dates to the More Than My Hometown Foundation. Established in 2021, the foundation benefits causes near and dear to the superstar’s heart, including organizations such as Greater Good Music, Children Are People, the Salvation Army, and the National Museum of African American Music.
Wallen’s “You Proof” continues its wildly successful run at country radio as it reclaimed the No.1 spot on Billboard’s Country Airplay for the 9th non-consecutive week. The tune broke the Billboard Country Airplay Chart chart record and is now the longest-leading No. 1 in chart’s history.
Meanwhile, his newest single, “Thought You Should Know,” continues to make its way up the charts.
See A Full List Of Morgan Wallen’s 2023 One Night At A Time World Tour Dates Below.
Morgan Wallen 2023 U.S. Tour Dates
Fri, April 14 Milwaukee, WI American Family Field*# NEW
Sat, April 15 Milwaukee, WI American Family Field*#
Thurs, April 20 Louisville, KY KFC Yum! Center
Sat, April 22 Oxford, MS Vaught-Hemingway Stadium*#
Thurs, April 27 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
Fri, April 28 Moline, IL Vibrant Arena
Sat, April 29 Lincoln, NE Pinnacle Bank Arena
Thurs, May 4 Jacksonville, FL VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
Fri, May 5 West Palm Beach, FL iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
Sat, May 6 Tampa, FL MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
Thurs, May 18 Hershey, PA Hersheypark Stadium
Fri, May 19 East Rutherford, NJ MetLife Stadium*$ NEW
Sat, May 20 East Rutherford, NJ MetLife Stadium*$
Wed, May 24 Austin, TX Moody Center
Fri, May 26 Houston, TX Minute Maid Park*#
Thurs, June 1 Atlanta, GA Truist Park*$ NEW
Fri, June 2 Atlanta, GA Truist Park*$
Sat, June 3 Panama City Beach, FL Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam^
Thurs, June 8 Virginia Beach, VA Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater NEW
Fri, June 9 Virginia Beach, VA Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
Sat, June 10 Myrtle Beach, SC Carolina Country Music Fest^
Wed, June 14 Pittsburgh, PA PNC Park*& NEW
Thurs, June 15 Pittsburgh, PA PNC Park*#
Sat, June 17 Philadelphia, PA Citizens Bank Park*#
Thurs, June 22 Chicago, IL Wrigley Field*# NEW
Fri, June 23 Chicago, IL Wrigley Field*$
Thurs, June 29 Detroit, MI Ford Field*# NEW
Fri, June 30 Detroit, MI Ford Field*#
Thurs, July 6 St. Louis, MO Busch Stadium*$ NEW
Fri, July 7 St. Louis, MO Busch Stadium*$
Fri, July 14 San Diego, CA Petco Park*# NEW
Sat, July 15 San Diego, CA Petco Park*#
Wed, July 19 Phoenix, AZ Chase Field*# NEW
Thurs, July 20 Phoenix, AZ Chase Field*#
Sat, July 22 Los Angeles, CA SoFi Stadium*#
Thurs, Aug 3 Detroit Lakes, MN WE Fest^
Sat, Aug 12 Columbus, OH Ohio Stadium*#
Thurs, Aug 17 Boston, MA Fenway Park*# NEW
Fri, Aug 18 Boston, MA Fenway Park*$
Sat, Sept 2 Washington, DC FedEx Field*$
Sat, Oct 7 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
Morgan Wallen 2023 International Tour Dates
Wed, March 15 Auckland, NZ Spark Arena #
Sun, March 19 Ipswich, QLD CMC Rocks ^
Tues, March 21 Sydney, NSW Qudos Bank Arena #
Fri, March 24 Melbourne, VIC Rod Laver Arena #
Sat, Aug 5 Camrose, AB Big Valley Jamboree^
Thurs, Sept 14 Toronto, ON Budweiser Stage NEW
Fri, Sept 15 Toronto, ON Budweiser Stage NEW
Sat, Sept 16 Toronto, ON Budweiser Stage
Mon, Sept 18 London, ON Budweiser Gardens
Thurs, Sept 21 Ottawa, ON Canadian Tire Centre
Fri, Sept 22 Quebec City, QC Videotron Centre
Sat, Sept 23 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
Thurs, Sept 28 Winnipeg, MB Canada Life Centre
Fri, Sept 29 Saskatoon, SK SaskTel Centre
Sat, Sept 30 Calgary, AB Scotiabank Saddledome
Tues, Oct 3 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena NEW
Wed, Oct 4 Vancouver, BC Rogers Arena
* Stadium Dates
^ Festival Dates
# HARDY, ERNEST, Bailey Zimmerman
$ Parker McCollum, ERNEST, Bailey Zimmerman
& HARDY, Bailey Zimmerman