Billboards supporting Morgan Wallen appeared around Nashville this week ahead of Sunday's ACM Awards.
Nicholas Hunt/Getty ImagesA series of digital billboards showing messages of support for country singer Morgan Wallen appeared throughout downtown Nashville this week. In February, Wallen was seen on video using a racial slur, a scandal that elicited a swift rebuke from the country music community.
“His Fan’s Choice: Entertainer of the Year,” read one of the billboards. “Support that boy from East Tennessee.” The words, over a background of buffalo plaid, are complemented by an outline of Wallen’s signature mullet, the hashtag #GAHT (a Wallen ad-lib that has become popular with his fans), and a reference to Mark 11:25, a biblical verse about forgiveness that reads, in part, “If you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
A representative for Wallen declined to comment, but clarified that the singer was not involved in the purchasing of the billboard ad space in any capacity.
According to Lamar, the advertising company that hosts the billboards, a Morgan Wallen fan approached them about the campaign last month. The company confirmed to Rolling Stone that they have not communicated with Morgan Wallen’s team about the billboards.
Although the billboards did not initially reveal who paid for them, they now include a displayed disclosure that they were funded by fans, according to a rep for Lamar. (“Paid for by Darleen Ingram and 824 Loyal Fans,” the billboards read).
The visible show of support for Wallen in Nashville comes during the week leading up to Sunday’s 56th ACM Awards. Earlier this year, the Academy of Country Music announced that they would “halt” Wallen’s “potential involvement and eligibility” for this year’s awards show.
“We allow our billboard network to be used to display commercial and non-commercial messages, and we have an extensive…policy governing what types of content is permissible,” a representative for Lamar tells Rolling Stone. “In the case of the Morgan Wallen billboards, the content met with Lamar’s Copy Acceptance Policy standards. However, the billboards were initially missing the required disclaimer disclosing the advertiser’s identity, which has since been added.”
After footage of Wallen using a racial slur surfaced earlier this year, the singer had his music removed from the major conglomerate radio stations and streaming services. The Sneedville, Tennessee, native issued a series of apologies, most recently in February, when he told fans to stop defending him. “I fully accept any penalties I’m facing,” Wallen said. “The timing of my return is solely upon me and the work I put in.”
Wallen’s latest project, Dangerous: The Double Album, spent 10 weeks at Number One on the Rolling Stone Top 200 Albums charts upon its release.
Faith No More appear to be hinting at a return to the stage in 2027.
The influential alt-metal band have remained mostly quiet over the past decade following the release of their reunion album ‘Sol Invictus’ in 2015. After its arrival, they played what would become their most recent live performances in 2016 and later called off several touring plans in the years that followed.
Now, however, they seem to be preparing fans for something new. The group recently shared an image of a concert crowd on social media with nothing more than the text “2027” placed across it.
No additional information accompanied the post, but it quickly sparked speculation among fans, many of whom believe a full scale tour announcement could be coming next year.
After wrapping up their 2016 run of shows, the band intended to return to the road in 2020. Those plans were ultimately abandoned because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Further touring plans surfaced in 2021 as venues began reopening, but those dates were also cancelled before they could begin. Frontman Mike Patton later explained that mental health struggles were behind the decision and revealed he had been diagnosed with agoraphobia during the pandemic.
Until recently, a reunion seemed unlikely. Patton spoke about Faith No More’s lengthy break and said that he did not “see it as a sad thing”.
Speaking on the Kyle Meredith With… podcast and reflecting on whether he felt a “sense of closure” after the 2016 tour, the vocalist said: “I didn’t really think so at the time, but, yeah, maybe. I think that we all kind of felt it, but it was unspoken.”
“It’s funny: when you’ve been in a band or a musical situation for a period of time, you always, in the back of your head, you’re kind of thinking, ‘Well, maybe this is it.’ And I don’t mind that feeling,” he added. “I don’t see it as a sad thing. I see it as being present and being able to really appreciate it while it’s happening.”
Faith No More have never formally announced a breakup following the cancellation of their 2021 tour, although other members have suggested in recent years that the chances of touring again were uncertain.
Last year, guitarist Roddy Bottum discussed the band's future and admitted they were in a “really weird spot”. “I can’t really tell you what’s going on. I don’t know myself. I get different information from people… and I’m in the band,” he said.
Drummer Mike Bordin echoed similar thoughts last spring, saying that he and some of the other members were willing to perform again, but claimed Patton was “unwilling to do shows with us”.
In addition to leading Faith No More since 1989 after replacing original singer Chuck Mosley, Patton has also been involved with projects including Mr Bungle, Fantômas, and Tomahawk.
Tomahawk recently unveiled plans for their first tour in 13 years, with a series of US dates scheduled for this summer. The run begins in Nashville next month and will also see Patton and his bandmates reunite with longtime labelmates Melvins for the first time since 2003.
Patton has also recently launched his tour with Avett Brothers and teamed up with Jehnny Beth on the new single ‘Look At Me’.
