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Whiskey Riff
Morgan Wallen Tells Incredible Story About His Mamaw Boots, Who Let Him Have His “First Cigarette” And Beer
By Casey Young,
2024-08-02
Mamaw Boots sounds like my kind of girl.
Last weekend, Morgan Wallen headlined a show at AT&T stadium as part of his One Night At A Time tour, where he of course ran through all of his hits and fan-favorite songs, but he also told a story about his Mamaw Boots that is the best thing I’ve heard in a long time.
If you don’t know, Morgan was born in Sneedville, Tennessee, which is a tiny town in the Appalachian mountains near the Kentucky/Virginia state line with a population of less than 1,300 people.
Morgan moved to Knoxville with his family when he was a little bit older, and he attended high school there, but his roots back in Sneedville remained strong and he even featured his late Mamaw Boots’ front porch on the album cover for his 2023 One Thing At A Time album.
And if you’re not from the Appalachian region or don’t have any ties there, it’s important to note that grandmas from those parts are a different breed… my grandma being one of them, so I’m speaking from very personal experience. They’re opinionated, loving and downright hilarious, and I guess the right term to describe them would be a “pistol,” to put it in Southern terms.
Anywho, Morgan told the massive, sold out crowd that his Mamaw helped raise him, and was the one who gave him his “first cigarette” and beer… and she was the first person “that whipped my a** real good.”
A legend:
“Mamaw Boots, she was just a super important lady to me growing up. She helped raise me, my sisters, my cousins. She let me have my first cigarette, she let me have my first beer, she’s probably the first person that whipped my a** real good.
But I just have so many, I have so many fond memories of her growing up. She just means a whole lot to me and my entire family, so that porch just felt like an appropriate place to do my album cover.
And she only got to come to one show in my life, and it was at the Gray county fair in East Tennessee, and we had about 7,000 people there and that was a huge crowd at the time.”
He went on to say that he has a vivid memory from that show, seeing her out right in front of the stage and recalling the look on her face as she watched him, clearly filled with pride.
Morgan thanked the fans for being there, saying he could only imagine what his Mamaw would think of him selling out the Cowboys stadium:
“It was right when ‘Whiskey Glasses’ was my big single. And I remember, I made sure to put her out front, right where I could see her, right in front of the stage. And I just remember seeing how proud she was.
And I just always have that photo, that image, in my head.And I can only imagine what she would look like now if she could see Cowboys stadium filled pu, sold out on a Friday night, here in Arlington, Texas.
So I appreciate you giving me that thought, and I appreciate you letting me sing about my family, my faith and things that mean so much to me.”
For all the negative press Morgan gets, it’s really endearing to see this side of him and I only wish I could’ve had a beer with Mamaw boots, honestly. She sounds like a riot in every positive sense, and obviously left a lasting impression on Morgan.
And at his concert last night in Kansas City at Arrowhead stadium, Morgan brought out Lainey Wilson, who opened for him, during Morgan’s headlining set as the two performed a duet of Morgan’s latest single, “Lies Lies Lies.”
In introducing Lainey, Morgan called her “a true badass,” and she proved it as she joined him on his song:
And Lainey wasn’t the only guest to join Morgan on stage at Arrowhead. During his encore, he surprised the crowd with an appearance from Brooks & Dunn as they performed a surprise duet of “Neon Moon.”
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