Monday’s (January 20) Presidential Inauguration brought a long list of A-list performers to Washington DC. At the same time, multiple performances were plagued with technical difficulties. Carrie Underwood was forced to sing an acapella version of “America the Beautiful” when her backing track wouldn’t play during the inauguration. The same thing seemingly happened to Billy Ray Cyrus during his set at the Liberty Ball. However, his acapella renditions of his hit song “Achy Breaky Heart” and the Lil Nas X collaboration “Old Town Road” didn’t go over as well.
Videos by American Songwriter
Cyrus first performed his part of “Old Town Road” along with a video of Lil Nas X. The song ended with a monotone recitation of the lyrics from Cyrus while he asked the audience to sing along with him. Then, his guitar and backing track failed to work when he attempted to perform “Achy Breaky Heart.” With no accompaniment, Cyrus roamed the stage, microphone in hand while snapping his fingers to keep time while speaking the words of the 1992 hit.
Billy Ray Cyrus bizarre and technical difficulty filled performance at Donald Trump's Inauguration is the perfect representation of how inept and sad the next 4 years will be. pic.twitter.com/py1zzF9FXh
— Dusty Smith (@cultofdusty1) January 21, 2025
Cyrus’ inauguration performance garnered several reactions online. Yesterday (January 21), he spoke to People about the performance and the difficulties he faced.
Billy Ray Cyrus on His Inauguration Performance
“I wouldn’t have missed the honor of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar, and monitor worked or not,” Billy Ray Cyrus told the publication. “I was there because President Donald J. Trump invited me,” he added.
“I had a ball at the Liberty Ball last night and I’ve learned through all these years, when the producer says, ‘You’re on,’ you go entertain the folks even if the equipment goes to hell,” he explained. “I was there for the people and we had a blast. That’s called rock n roll!”
Fans React to Cyrus’ Performance
While Billy Ray Cyrus would call his performance “rock n roll” others called it a “crime” and an “epic disaster.”
Twitter was alive with tweets about his difficulty-laden performance. However, some stood out from the pack. “Trump needs to pardon Billy Ray Cyrus for that performance because it was a crime,” one viewer tweeted.
“Epic disaster Billy Ray Cyrus gives up entirely at performing at the Liberty Inaugural Ball of Donald Trump and bizarrely wanders around the stage,” another tweeted about his set.
Featured Image by Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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