‘It was insane!’: Kelsea Ballerini surprises Central High School with free concert tickets

It’s a homecoming for Kelsea Ballerini, and Central High School students are invited!

The country music star surprised students at her former high school Sept. 12 by suddenly joining a virtual call with school leaders and announcing a special gift for the entire school. Each student is getting two free tickets to the country singer’s upcoming concert at Thompson-Boling Arena.

“It was insane!” sophomore Zoie Woodruff told Knox News. “When we finally saw Kelsea pop up on the screen, it was just pure excitement radiating through the room.

“I've been listening to Kelsea since I was tiny. She's always given me that sense of hometown pride. So, seeing her give back to her alma mater and give us two tickets is insane. I'm so excited,” Woodruff added.

The school was buzzing with excitement after learning about the tickets. Sophomore Mallory O'Dell noted kids were singing Ballerini’s songs in the hallways. O'Dell was even hearing from friends at other schools once the word got out.

“My Halls (High School) friends have already been texting me, asking if they can have the extra ticket and that they're jealous,” O’Dell said.

O’Dell added that her parents are even fighting over who will get to accompany her to the Nov. 2 show in Knoxville.

Woodruff said she’s taking her best friend, even if it’s a challenge. “She's not really that big into Kelsea songs, but I'm gonna convince her,” Woodruff said.

Sophomore Barrett Lemons already knows he’s taking his mom. “I think it's great that (Ballerini is) giving us this joy of going to her concert, and so I would like to share that with people I love.”

“It's great that she's giving back to the community that she came from,” he added “It's great having an alumni like that.”

Showing some hometown pride

Throughout her journey to musical success, Ballerini has consistently returned home. She visited her Central teachers earlier this year, and filmed her "Half of My Hometown" music video here, back in 2021.

"Students need to see that when you graduate Central High School, you can be anything that you want to be," Cassidy Taylor, academy coach of Central, told Knox News.

"As Kelsea went out and made her way in the music world, it's really nice for her to come back and show her school and the students that are here, 'Hey, you can do anything that you put your mind to.'"

Central's staff has been working with Kelsea's team for nearly two months getting the surprise organized.

“The Homecoming Show” kicks off a new era of touring arena venues for Ballerini, show organizers said.

“It’s always been incredibly important to me to go back to the place that let me go to chase my dream,” Ballerini wrote in an Instagram post announcing the one-night-only concert.

“Playing Thompson-Boling has been on my bucket list since I was a little kid watching my favorite musicians come through town, and is the perfect place to celebrate such a bookmark year and kick off a new level of touring,” she continued.

Knoxville fall 2023 concerts: Guns N’ Roses, Kelsea Ballerini, Shania Twain, Peppa Pig and more

The country star and Knoxville native will perform at 7 p.m. Nov. 2. Tickets for Kelsea’s fan club were scheduled to go on sale at 10 a.m. Sept. 13. Tickets for the general public will go on sale through Ticketmaster at 10 a.m. Sept. 15.

Ingrid Andress and Georgia Webster will open “The Homecoming Show.”

Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. Twitter @dturner1208.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Kelsea Ballerini gives free concerts tickets to Knoxville students