Morgan Wallen entertains on opening night of Faster Horses country music festival

Country star Morgan Wallen and his fans share a moment during Wallen's performance Friday at the Faster Horses Festival at Michigan International Speedway in Cambridge Township.
Country star Morgan Wallen and his fans share a moment during Wallen's performance Friday at the Faster Horses Festival at Michigan International Speedway in Cambridge Township.

CAMRBIDGE TWP. — Morgan Wallen, headliner of opening night of the 2022 Faster Horses country music festival, had the sold-out crowd of more than 40,000 in anticipation as he took to the stage 15 minutes late Friday night.

Fans quickly came alive when he began his set with “Up Down” followed by “Somethin' Country.” The crowd was more than eager to show Wallen its desire to see him perform and did so by shouting “Morgan! Morgan!” between each of the first three songs, ending with “Silverado for Sale.”

After that, the show kept a good pace and rewarded fans with a great light show as he seemed to finally connect with the audience while performing a song whose title we can't print in the paper but makes references to his country backside and doing country stuff like going fishing.

Country music star Morgan Wallen is pictured Friday during his performance at the Faster Horses Festival at Michigan International Speedway in Cambridge Twp.
Country music star Morgan Wallen is pictured Friday during his performance at the Faster Horses Festival at Michigan International Speedway in Cambridge Twp.

Wallen told a story about pulling up to a stoplight, looking over into a truck, and seeing a “real pretty girl” and how that was his muse for the song before singing “Somebody's Problem.” He then went on to tell the crowd about one of the first songs he ever wrote and how it was special to him and performed one of his biggest hits, “Chasin' You” followed by one of his most recent chart toppers “Sand In My Boots.”

A different atmosphere came over the crowd as he sang “Flower Shops” — there was a hush, like a reverence as 40,000 fans listened to his song and illuminated tiny lights in the darkness all over the field. A brief guitar instrumental was played by his band before he launched into his next song, “Warning.”

Photos: 2022 Faster Horses Festival Friday

The songs he performed seemed to slow down and speed up at a consistent pace to keep the crowd wanting more, and Wallen did not disappoint as he engaged the audience more as the night progressed.

After he performed “More Than My Hometown” and had the fans screaming along while singing “The Way I Talk,” he thanked the fans for coming out and his bandmates played a brief guitar solo to close out the night five minutes early.

Rather than leave, the crowd stayed waiting for an encore, which began with a red pulsing light beating like a heart as he came back on stage to sing “Heartless” and “Wasted On You” before bringing the house down with his final song of the night, “Whiskey Glasses.”

Fans seemed content as they cleared the field talking about how much they enjoyed the show.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Morgan Wallen entertains on opening night of Faster Horses