Billy Ray Cyrus is addressing his performance at the Liberty Ball on Jan. 20 after it drew mixed reviews and concern.
The “She’s Not Cryin’” singer was one of several artists to hit the stage at this year’s inauguration events, ushering in President Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Cyrus kicked off his set with the hit song “Old Town Road,” which he played as the song’s music video showed in the background. However, the volume of both his guitar and his microphone seemed inconsistent.
Cyrus mentioned he was having “technical difficulties” as he continued to have issues throughout the performance, prompting him to sing a cappella a few times.
On X, Cyrus’ performance garnered harsh reactions, with some calling it an “epic disaster.” However, a day after he took the stage, Cyrus defended his performance in a post on Instagram, explaining that he had experienced an equipment malfunction.
“I wouldn’t have missed the honor of playing this event whether my microphone, guitar and monitors worked or not,” he captioned the Jan. 21 post. “I was there because President Donald J. Trump invited me.”
He continued, “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. I was there for the people and we had a blast. That’s called rock n roll!!!”
During the Jan. 20 performance, Cyrus ultimately sang “Old Town Road” a cappella after the music video ended and encouraged audience participation. Then, as he appeared to get ready to play his song “Achy Breaky Heart,” he called out an issue with the guitar volume.
“Hey, is my guitar still on? I think they cut me off. Is my guitar on, guys? I don’t hear my guitar anymore,” he said, then asking the crew, “Is anybody awake?”
“In life, when you have technical difficulties, you just got to keep going,” he added, going on to sing the song without instruments.
Following his performance, one fan wrote, “That was a train wreck. Not making fun. From the bottom of all of our hearts, get help Billy Ray Cyrus. We love ya and your music.”
Another penned, “Epic Disaster Billy Ray Cyrus gives up entirely at performing at the Liberty Inaugural Ball for Donald Trump and bizarrely wanders around the stage.”
Others noted that Cyrus was clearly having a problem with the equipment, similar to country singer Carrie Underwood, who experienced technical issues during her performance at Trump’s inauguration.
