Billy Ray Cyrus’ performance at the Liberty Ball on January 20 was so bad that they appeared to turn off the lights and escort him off the stage.
Some fans even worried about his health. What made it so bad? Well, if you missed it, Cyrus was hit with a slew of technical issues, claiming he couldn’t get his guitar turned on at one point.
“Is my guitar still on,” he wondered aloud. “I think they cut me off. Is my guitar, OK? I don’t hear my guitar anymore. Check. Ah, check. Is anybody awake? I don’t hear it? Does anyone hear this?”
He didn’t seem to be getting much interaction from the folks on the stage, until finally someone came out and tinkered with the guitar.
“I bet I got excited and unplugged it,” he said.
He also appeared to be lip syncing, and when he did take the mic and start singing without music … well, he didn’t sound good.
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“Trump needs to pardon Billy Ray Cyrus for that performance because it was a crime,” Brooks Johnson posted on X.
Country music website Whiskey Riff called it a “train wreck,” and wrote that Cyrus eventually appeared to be escorted off the stage after they turned the lights off on him.
Cyrus addressed the performance on Instagram on January 21.
“I wouldn’t have missed the honor of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar and monitors worked or not,” he wrote. “I was there because President Donald J. Trump invited me. I had a ball at the Liberty Ball last night and I’ve learned through all these years when the producer says ‘you’re on,’ you go entertain the folks even if the equipment goes to hell. I was there for the people and we had a blast. That’s called rock n roll!!!”
You can see the performance here.
—Brian Linder, pennlive.com (TNS)
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