Parker McCollum may have penned the song “Hell of a Year,” but lately, Morgan Wallen has lived it. 2024 saw the “Cowgirls” hitmaker score his first CMA Entertainer of the Year win and plead guilty to criminal charges in less than one month’s time. The incident that spawned those charges also landed Wallen in hot water with Nashville’s city government.
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In May, as Wallen prepared to open his new business, This Bar and Tennessee Kitchen, on Broadway Street, Nashville council members resoundingly struck down the country star’s request to install a 20-foot sign outside the building. However, in a stunning reversal, the council recently granted Wallen’s second request.
Nashville Council Approves Sign Advertising Morgan Wallen’s Bar
During a Tuesday (Dec. 17) meeting, Nashville council members voted 30-1—with six abstentions—to approve an aerial encroachment allowing Morgan Wallen’s This Bar to construct and install a 20-foot sign. The Tennessean reports that the approval process happened quickly, with no discussion.
At-Large Council Member Delishia Porterfield cast the sole vote to deny Wallen’s request. Porterfield was vocal about her misgivings when the request first appeared before council back in May. “I don’t want to see a billboard up with the name of a person who’s throwing chairs off of balconies and who is saying racial slurs,” she said, according to The Tennessean.
This was ridiculous to begin with so I’m glad the sign is finally being allowed 👍
— Mike Fritz (@mikiefries) December 18, 2024
That time, the council voted 30-3 to reject the sign. Members received the request a month after police arrested Morgan Wallen for allegedly throwing a chair from the roof of Eric Church’s six-story bar, Chief’s.
Witnesses said the chair narrowly missed two police officers patrolling Broadway Street below. Wallen faced three Class E felony counts of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon and one count of disorderly conduct, a Class C misdemeanor.
Clearing Up His Legal Woes
Last Thursday (Dec. 12) Morgan Wallen appeared in court to answer for his alleged actions on April 7. The “Last Night” singer pleaded “conditionally guilty” to two misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment.
Wallen must spend seven days in a DUI education center, and two years on supervised probation. The country star’s lawyer said the case “will not result in a conviction” as long as his client abides by all provisions of the agreement.
Featured image by Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
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