Billy Ray Cyrus’ *Liberty Ball* performance on Monday has become the talk of the town, sparking a mix of concern, cringe, and good ol’ entertainment nostalgia.
The country star, now 63, took to the stage to perform classics like “Old Town Road” and “Achy Breaky Heart” as part of President Donald Trump’s inauguration festivities. But, as fate would have it, not all went as planned.
The trouble began when technical difficulties reared their ugly head. Midway through his performance, Cyrus realized his guitar wasn’t working properly. “Check? Is anybody awake?” he quipped to the crowd, cutting the tension with humor.
“Y’all want me to sing more, or you want me to just get the hell off the stage?” The audience, caught between laughter and secondhand embarrassment, looked on as the veteran musician scrambled to improvise.
And improvise he did. When his gear failed to cooperate, Cyrus pivoted like a seasoned pro. He launched into an a cappella rendition of “Achy Breaky Heart”, snapping his fingers and engaging the crowd. “In life, when you have technical difficulties, you just gotta keep going,” he remarked, cheekily channeling Trump’s signature mantra: “You gotta fight.”
But not everyone was buying the “rock ‘n’ roll” charm. Social media lit up with mixed reviews, with one X user calling it “the cringiest few minutes in entertainment history,” while another labeled the moment “a crime.” Harsh words for a man simply trying to roll with the punches on live stage.
Cyrus, however, took it all in stride. In a statement to “People” magazine the following day, he made it clear he wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. “I wouldn’t have missed the honor of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar, and monitors worked or not,” he said. “When the producer says, ‘You’re on,’ you go entertain the folks even if the equipment goes to hell. That’s called rock ‘n’ roll!”
This wasn’t the only glitch to strike Monday’s inauguration festivities. Hours earlier, Carrie Underwood faced a similar issue during her performance of “America the Beautiful.”
When her instrumental track failed to play, the country superstar made a snap decision to go a cappella. The result? A stripped-down, heartfelt rendition that earned thunderous applause from the crowd. Talk about turning lemons into lemonade.
Billy Ray’s night at the “Liberty Ball” might not have gone off without a hitch, but his determination to entertain, even in the face of technical chaos, is a reminder of what live music is all about. As Cyrus himself put it: “That’s called rock ‘n’ roll!”
