Hayley Williams Mocks Morgan Wallen, Covers Her Grandad, And Brings Out Snõõper Singer At Nashville Homecoming Show

Hayley Williams is not a fan of her fellow Nashville resident Morgan Wallen. The Paramore singer first publicly alluded to this last summer in an interview with Stereogum honky tonk correspondent Rachel Brown, during which she revealed that Wallen's This Bar & Tennessee Kitchen was her least favorite country musician-owned establishment in the city. That helped narrow down who Williams might be referring to on the title track to her recent solo album Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party, where she sings "I'll be the biggest star at this racist country singer's bar" (Jason Aldean and Kid Rock are also strong contenders). Williams was asked about that lyric a few months later during an interview on the New York Times' Popcast: "It could be [about] a couple people, but I'm always talking about Morgan Wallen," she said. "I don't give a shit. Find me at Whole Foods, bitch. I don't care."

Now that Williams is on her first-ever solo tour — with Brown's own band Water From Your Eyes opening — she's ramping up the jabs at Wallen, who became the subject of controversy after a video went viral of him using a racist slur in 2021. "I hate Morgan Wallen," she reiterated during her Boston show earlier this month. A few days later in New York, she brought out Jason Isbell to sing his song "Cover Me Up" together, a song that became a viral hit for Wallen after he released his own cover of it (Isbell denounced Wallen's racism and pledged to donate his royalties from the cover to the NAACP).

Now, Williams is finally playing two nights at the Ryman in Nashville, and Wallen still isn't safe on their shared home turf: "Watch out for fucking flying chairs, you never know who you're gonna hit," Williams joked last night, referring to Wallen's 2024 arrest after he threw a chair from the roof of yet another country musician-owned honky tonk in Nashville, Eric Church's Chief’s Bar. Williams even had an ad for her tour on the marquee in front of Wallen's spot yesterday.

Along with putting out her own Ego Death, last year Williams helped her grandad Rusty Williams release his long-shelved LP Grand Man; for its deluxe edition, the younger Williams recorded a rendition of "Friends Of Lovers." She also played that song live for the first time at the Ryman last night, hinting that Rusty might've been in the audience to witness it.

Finally, Williams wrapped up her first Ryman show — she's playing there again tonight — by bringing out Snõõper's Blair Tramel for "Parachute." (Previous "Parachute" guests have included American Football's Mike Kinsella, Tierra Whack, City And Colour's Dallas Green, Upchuck's KT, Annie DiRusso, and more, while Brown joined her for "Discovery Channel" in Chicago.)

Also, does anybody know what this means?

Meanwhile, Morgan Wallen appears on “I Can't Love You Anymore," the brand new single from young country star Ella Langley, who has supported him on tour. The duo debuted the song live in Tuscaloosa last weekend, and Langley's hit "Choosin' Texas" has now officially reached crossover appeal, getting a recent cover from Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman. "Choosin' Texas" is currently America's #1 song for the seventh week. We'll find out tomorrow if Stereogum's #1 song of the week — Olivia Rodrigo's "drop dead" — can unseat it. Revisit some of Williams' barbs at Wallen below.