Kelsea Ballerini gushed over the latest leg of her “HEARTFIRST Tour” as she reflected on the “continual wave of celebratory and chaotic energy” that she felt from the crowd each night.
“i’ve been touring in some capacity for the last nine years. from radio tour to being the opening act on more tours than i can count to a handful of headlines of my own. this most recent run of shows has been hands down my favorite i’ve ever played,” Ballerini wrote in a heartfelt caption as she shared a series of photos on Instagram. “the way y’all showed up and brought a continual wave of celebratory and chaotic energy but also a safety to get into big feelings every night was truly magical.”
Ballerini reflected on the “scream-sing” moments of her career-spanning hits with the audiences. She spotlighted fans’ reactions to everything from her 2015 anthem “Love Me Like You Mean It” — from her debut full-length album, The First Time — to one of her most recent fan-favorites, “Penthouse,” from Rolling Up The Welcome Mat (the 6-track EP and accompanying short film telling the story of her recent divorce). Ballerini also noted the “unhinged” moment every time she performed an iconic line from “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)”:
“from love me like you mean it to penthouse, the mutual screamsings were VERY LOUD like piercing like i had to take my monitor out every night and have a freak out. thank you for this new little breath of life in these rooms, for letting me be in a silly goofy mood between songs, for appreciating my band and crew, for waiting in line for hours beforehand, for the handmade signs and tshirts, and the progressively more unhinged ‘HYPOTHETICALLY IF YOU EVER KILL YOUR HUSBAND’ moment.”
Subject To Change, Ballerini’s latest full-length project, made its debut in September. The 15-track album was largely inspired by ‘90s female country, with “The Little Things,” “Love Is A Cowboy,” “HEARTFIRST,” “You’re Drunk, Go Home” (featuring Carly Pearce and Kelly Clarkson), “What I Have” and other standouts. Next, Ballerini is getting ready to hit the road with fellow East Tennessean Kenny Chesney on his headlining tour, before kicking off the third leg of “HEARTFIRST Tour” dates.
“i can’t wait to hit the road in a few days with my hometown hero [Kenny Chesney] and then go right back to the last round of these (damn near already sold out) heartfirst shows later this summer. big big big love. 🤍”
See Ballerini’s latest tour photos here, and see the last round of “HEARTFIRST Tour” dates below.
June 16 — Santa Barbara, CA
June 17 — Las Vegas, NV
June 20 — Highland, CA
June 21 — Oakland, CA
June 24 — Seattle, WA
June 25 — Jacksonville, OR
June 27 — Portland, OR
June 28 — Boise, ID
Jun 29 — Salt Lake City, UT
July 1 — Phoenix, AZ