On the mainstream side of the country music world, the big news on Thursday, October 30th was that Morgan Wallen released new tour dates under the ironically-titled “Still The Problem Tour.” The tour includes 23 dates, all in stadiums or large arenas, and all but one with doubled up dates in each market, speaking to the massive appeal for this tour. It will be one of the biggest live tours in all of 2026.
On the independent side of the country music world, some are curious about a few of the names listed as openers on the tour, most notably Flatland Cavalry, who will be opening for Morgan Wallen at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday, May 9th. Jason Scott & the High Heat also have opening slots on the tour in Baltimore in July.
As one might expect, alarm bells went of for some Flatland Cavalry fans when they were met with the announcement. Far and away the most liked comment on the announcement on Instagram reads, “Damn. Weird to see artists I thought were cool and have fans of their own choose to tour with Morgan Wallen.”
So should we be happy for Flatland Cavalry receiving this opportunity to open a massive show in a stadium? Or should we be disappointed they accepted it?
First off, this is not the first time Flatland Cavalry has opened a big mainstream stadium show, or even in Indianapolis. They also played Lucas Oil Stadium opening for Luke Combs in 2023. One difference is Luke Combs is very intentional in how he picks his openers, selecting artists he’s listening to like Flatland, Brent Cobb, The Wilder Blue, and others. Morgan Wallen admits he barely even listens to country.
But anyone paying attention to Flatland Cavalry knows they’ve been a favorite of mainstream country tours and festivals for years now, and it seems part of their strategy to not allow themselves to be typecast as a “Texas” or “Red Dirt” band, and instead have embraced these opportunities, not passing judgement on their fellow performers, but looking to make fans out of anyone willing to listen to their music.
In fact, you can go all the way back to 2020 and see this won’t be the first time Flatland Cavalry will share a bill with Morgan Wallen.
And this is not just about “exposure” for Flatland Cavalry. It’s an opportunity to expose mainstream/Morgan Wallen fans to better music, and who knows, might make them converts. For Jason Scott and the High Heat, this is arguably an even bigger opportunity for them since they’ve never received one of these opportunities before. Neither Jason Scott nor Flatland are hardcore traditional country. They have a sound that can appeal to the mainstream, making them important bridge bands over the country music cultural divide.
Is Flatland Cavalry somehow condoning or endorsing Morgan Wallen’s worst offenses by lending their name to this tour? Of course not. All that said, if I were Flatland Cavalry, would I have accepted the Morgan Wallen opportunity, and taken whatever heat that came with it? Probably not. As one commenter said, “Yeah the exposure is nice and they deserve to get that bag, but Flatland and all the other West Texas/Red Dirt acts came up as a result of people looking for real music back when all Nashville was pushing was Tractor Rap and Bro Country.”
It’s time for Flatland Cavalry to rise out of the shadows of others, especially someone like Morgan Wallen. But from the beginning, Cleto Cordero and Flatland Cavalry have wanted to create an open-minded and welcoming environment for everyone through their music. And when they say “open-minded” and “everyone,” this isn’t just lip service. They mean it. Morgan Wallen fans deserve to be exposed to good music too.
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