TUSCALOOSA — Saturday night, the University of Alabama hosted its first concert in over three decades with Morgan Wallen, Ella Langley, Vincent Mason and Zach John King taking to the stage.
The day of the concert looked like a gameday around campus, with lines around the block of students hoping to get their hands on limited-edition merchandise on Friday night.
Hotels and AirBnBs reported having gameday-like bookings as well, and parking closely mirrored what locals would expect for a game.
"When the concert was announced, we sold out literally that day, definitely by lunchtime," Annette Smallwood, director of sales for the Hotel Capstone, told ABC33/40.
The stadium went wild, and social media was flooded with videos when Nick Saban joined Wallen, a Tennessee fan, during his walkout.
Before footage of Wallen being walked out by Saban rocked the stadium, Wallen's opening acts wowed the audience under ever-darkening skys as the rain rolled in at the end of the second act.
Crowds were not deterred at all by the thought of a passing shower, with thousands trickling in hours before the concert's official start time of 6:30 pm began.
Georgia natives Zach John King and Vincent Mason are opening the show. King is from Fayetteville, Georgia, while Mason hails from Roswell, just outside of Atlanta.
Alabama native Ella Langley put on a high-energy performance following a brief rain delay before her set. Langley is from Hope Hull, a rural suburb of Montgomery and went to Auburn University before focusing full-time on her music.
During Wallen's set, openers King and Mason took to the stage wearing UA jerseys for Uptown.
According to a press release by the University, "As with previous tours, a portion of every ticket sold will benefit his Morgan Wallen Foundation (MWF) — which supports programs for youth in the areas of sports and music. Those donations enabled MWF to contribute over $600,000 worth of instruments to schools in need across U.S. touring cities in 2025, including Gulf Shores, Alabama, in addition to a $30,000 donation to the Toronto Blue Jays' Jays Cares RBI program."
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