Carly Pearce Speaks Out on WE Fest Incident: ‘My Kentucky Came Out Full-Force’
Pearce defended her decision to remove a heckler from her performance over the weekend.
Carly Pearce; Photo by Andrew Wendowski
Carly Pearce is speaking out after having a concertgoer removed from the audience during her WE Fest performance on Friday (Aug. 2).
The “Truck On Fire” singer called in to chat with Ashley Morrison from Tampa’s U.S. 103.5 on Tuesday morning and opened up on the incident that made headlines over the weekend.
“I guess people are learning a new side of me, but the boys do it all the time. It’s no different,” Pearce pointed out of her male country music counterparts.
Doubling down on her decision to have the heckler removed, the Grand Ole Opry member continued, “If somebody’s going to show disrespect at my show, get out. And I think it needs… So many people think that they’re not going to be reprimanded for their actions, whether it’s writing on Reddit and spreading hate or writing on your comments spreading hate, in your DMs spreading hate, or to your face spreading hate.”
She later joked that her “Kentucky came out full-force” during the moment and added, “I’m so tired of being afraid of standing up for myself.”
The incident took place at WE Fest after a man in the crowd reportedly shouted “no one cares” at Carly after she said she was going to tell the crowd a little more about herself. Without skipping a beat, Pearce had security take him out of the show.
“Out! Somebody get him out of here! I do not want him at my show,” she urged from the stage. “Get out of my show. If you’re going to be an a**hole, then you’re going to have to say it to me and get the f*** out of my show.”
She she made her way back to the center of the stage, Pearce added, “I do not have time for di***! See you later!”
The crowd cheered in support of Pearce, who was visibly shaken up from the incident.
Moments later, she stepped up to the mic to address the situation, offering wise words about kindness and respect, both in person and online.
“I don’t care if it’s, to me, I don’t care if it’s to somebody sitting next to you. I don’t care if it’s on the internet. I don’t care if it’s texting, words hurt. That hurt me. That was not nice. And I’m just here to tell you guys, be kind. Do not say mean things to people just to be mean. Don’t think that there aren’t consequences for it,” she said as the audience once again began to cheer.
The buzzed-about moment came just days before the announcement of Pearce’s Hummingbird World Tour, which is set to launch this fall.
The headlining trek, named after her new album, hummingbird, kicks off in Windsor, ON, on October 3, 2024, and spans over 40 dates across Canada and North America, including stops in cities like Cleveland, Las Vegas, Calgary, Milwaukee, Dallas, and Phoenix. In 2025, she will take her raw, heart-pounding collection of tunes overseas for a series of previously announced shows in the EU/UK, including Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, London, Manchester, and Dublin. The tour will conclude with a final performance at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on May 16.
“I promise this will be the best tour we’ve ever brought to you,” the Kentucky native shared.
Artists such as Karley Scott Collins, Matt Lang, Wade Bowen and Carter Faith will be joining Pearce on select dates of the tour.
The GRAMMY winner’s latest single, “truck on fire,” is at country radio now. The blazing track was written by Pearce with Charles Kelley of Lady A and Justin Ebach. The song tells the story of a scorned woman who decides to set her ex’s truck on fire due to his cheating ways. After catching wind that he’s been hooking up with “little miss Jane,” she grabs a gas can, lights a match, and watches as his beloved black Z71 becomes engulfed in flames.
“No one wants to be cheated on, but everyone wants to seek revenge. I wrote this song for every girl who has gone through a similar situation and dreams of wreaking havoc on her ex,” she previously explained. “I got the opportunity to perform the song live while on tour with Tim McGraw and the way the fans have embraced it has blown me away every single time. I couldn’t think of a better song to make my next single.”
Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
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