Despite Morgan Wallen postponing his One Night at a Time Tour due to doctor’s orders for vocal rest, opener Parker McCollum is still finding ways to play shows for his biggest fans.
The 30-year-old, who was billed as direct support for Wallen’s New Jersey shows at MetLife Stadium last Friday and Saturday (May 19 & 20), made his way over the Hudson River for a special headlining show at Manhattan’s picturesque Pier 17 venue inside The Seaport.
Only revealing details a week before show day, fans came in droves to see the budding country crooner along with tour mate and chart-topper in his own right, ERNEST, put on the show they planned prior to Wallen’s announcement.
“We were doing a bunch of shows with Morgan [Wallen] the next couple months, so we’ve been scrambling to fill those dates,” Parker told Celeb Secrets exclusively backstage at the 2023 iHeartCountry Festival in Austin, Texas the week before. “We’re playing in New York at Pier 17 next week and ERNEST is going to come and [play the show] with us. It’s a long way from home and I stick out like a soar thumb.”
ERNEST kicked off the night by performing a variety of original songs before adding a cover of Wallen’s “Heartless” into his set. He made sure to show love to all the OG country fans in the big city crowd before closing things with his smash hit “Sugar.”
As the heavy rain continued to fall over the outdoor venue, there was no sign of any fans leaving before Parker took the stage. And once the lights dimmed, the energy level skyrocketed from the moment he walked onstage to sing his country classic “To Be Loved By You.”
Donning a bright blue jacket that read “USA” across the back, McCollum thanked the crowd for not only coming out to the show on short notice, but also sticking around despite the inclement weather.
McCollum also told the audience all about his trip to the Big Apple, including his time at the Mets game the night before. Receiving mixed reactions as there were both Mets and Yankees fans in the packed crowd, Parker ended his story by admitting that there’s truly nothing like good baseball on a Friday night in New York City.
Making sure to include fan favorites from previous records, Parker performed tracks like “Wait Outside,” “I Can’t Breathe,” and “Rest of My Life” before introducing the audience to newer songs off his latest project Never Enough.
Following a huge sing-a-long for his viral single “Burn It Down,” McCollum spoke about his mother and thanked her for all she’s done before performing “Things I Never Told You,” a song which he wrote about her.
The 2022 ACM New Male Vocalist of the Year proceeded to sing his song “Hell of a Year,” which he dedicated to veterans all around the world. During the bridge of the song, he said to his fans, “one day I will perform at Madison Square Garden… and when I do I will sing this (song) three times.”
McCollum ended his set by thanking his band and performing “Handle on You” and “Pretty Heart” before returning to the stage for an encore performance of “Hurricane.” He even gave a lucky fan in the audience his jacket before walking off and calling it a night.
You can catch Parker on the road in many cities this summer, with a full list of tour dates on his website here. Don’t forget to let us know if you’ve been listening to (and loving) Never Enough by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sliding into our DMs on Instagram at @celebsecrets.
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