Fans Angry After Trace Adkins Drunken Performance at a Children’s Charity Concert
Fans are furious after country artist Trace Adkins showed up to a benefit fundraiser for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital so drunk he couldn’t sing. The performance on Wednesday, July 15th was so bad, fans in attendance started leaving, and Adkins eventually finished his set early, stumbling off stage.
The drunken performance, part of an acoustic set dubbed “Guys with Guitars Under the Stars,” was sponsored by Rockin’ Country Thunder 106 in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. Attendees were especially agitated because so many children were in the crowd of an estimated 5,000 people. Numerous fans took to the Facebook page of Country Thunder 106 to complain about the performance, while others remarked how people were leaving in droves during Trace’s set.
“Praying for him to overcome his demons because he is a talented man. However, coming on stage in the condition he did, and singing (‘Whoop a Man’s {Backside})’ in front of children at a St Jude’s concert was disrespectful to the foundation and the kids,” said Jennifer Weisser Smith.
Despite the poor performance, the Trace Adkins camp has reportedly made efforts to attempt to make it right to the organizers. It was announced Friday (7-15) that Trace Adkins has donated his performance fee from the event back to the charity.
“The solution we reached with Trace in donating his appearance fee to benefit the children of St. Jude’s should allow each of us to move on from this event and realize that criticizing and intolerance does not advance the public good,” Thunder 106 General Manager Richard Morena said. “Taking a positive and affirmative action is what matters and that is what we have done in this instance.”
“The events from last night were unfortunate and upsetting to many,” added Thunder 106 station manager AJ Colantoni. “Nonetheless, all members of the country music world and empathetic fans of Thunder Nation are united in sending our love, support and prayers to Trace!”
Neither Trace Adkins nor his management have acknowledged the incident.
This is not the first time Trace Adkins’ drunkenness has made headlines. The country singer went to rehab for 28 days in 2001 after an intervention by his family. In 2014, Adkins was in an altercation with a Trace Adkins impersonator aboard a cruise ship where he was performing, later leaving the cruise and announcing he would return to rehab.
Six String Richie
July 15, 2016 @ 6:46 pm
This certainly is sad news. I wish him the best of luck in getting sober.
Cindy Parker
July 13, 2021 @ 9:12 pm
👏Prayers, going out to Trace.
He is Drowning in Agony & Hurt
From his Past. His Heartaches
are Deep. Its Hard for him to Overcome the Problems of a Down to Earth, Good Hearted
Country Boy who has let others lead him Astray.
He is in the Devil’s Clutches & stays Depressed & Uncertain,
not knowing where to Turn.
He’s tried too Hard to Please Everyone. It cannot be Done.
We all Fall Short at times.
Humans make Mistakes.
But, we should Learn from them.
You never know what a Person
Is Dealing with. Approach them
with Kindness. Some People had rather be Alone if they are Sad
or Hurting. Everyone is Different.
Trace is a very Talented Man.
But, it’s Obvious he has Demons
He needs to Seek Counseling.
Group Therapy is Successful.
Everyone can Relate to others,
going through Similar Problems.
You can Heal & Improve ur Life.
U must Love yourself, in order
to love Others. U may think nothing can help, but Confess
To Almighty God, Ask for True Forgiveness, Guidance, Comfort,
Safety, Blessings etc. Most of all
Trace, dedicate ur Life to God,
Be a True Believer. Talk with him in private. That’s ur Special time to find ur Destiny. God has a Plan for u & all his Children.
He is in Control, Always.
U owe it to God to prove ur love
& Dedication & Faith. U owe it to Yourself & Family to Seek the Lord of all Lord’s & the King of
All Kings. Jesus Christ.
Good Luck Trace, u can do it.
👏Amen👏
Brett
July 15, 2016 @ 6:55 pm
Nice move in returning the appearance fee. Hope he can get right. He’s definitely lived a country song type of life.
Rod
July 16, 2016 @ 7:02 am
He owed them the performance fee anyway because he didn’t earn it. Paying back what you owe anyway deserves no credit as a “donation”.
If he wants get credit for something, he can make a contribute beyond that to St. Jude’s.
Cathy Bittler
January 1, 2022 @ 7:01 am
Thanks for the judgement.
Becka Monjezi-Clark
May 6, 2022 @ 7:20 pm
How does that phrase go again Cathy? “Judge not, lest YOU be judged”? Hmmm. Think about that for a few.
Cathy Bittler
May 7, 2022 @ 4:05 am
My point exactly.
Gary
January 1, 2022 @ 7:02 am
This guy can keep giving But he will never beat Jerry Lewis telephone this guy just could not stop and he kept giving till he died RIP big guy
hoptowntiger94
July 15, 2016 @ 7:13 pm
Initially, I was going to defend Adkins, but then I read he was actually being paid for the charity appearance.
What song is “whoop a man’s ass?” I’m not up to date on Adkins discography.
Clifford
July 18, 2016 @ 7:33 am
It was on Cowboy’s Back in Town, from 2010 (I believe). It had a few good songs on it. That was not one of them.
Taylor
July 15, 2016 @ 8:16 pm
Sad deal, prayers he can find sobriety once again. Talented singer, so sad seeing many wonderful people suffer with alcoholism.
Jimmy Bob
July 15, 2016 @ 8:22 pm
That karma’s a real bitch sometimes. Thanks again for “honkytonk badonka donk.” Come to think of it, jamey johnson hasn’t released an album in over half a decade, right? Maybe karma really is a bitch.
…which is so sad cause jamey johnson totally made up for that one and then some…
Mike W.
July 15, 2016 @ 9:34 pm
I think that’s rather unfair to be honest. Yeah, Adkins helped kick off the bro-Country trend and he deserves criticism for that. But this ain’t Jason Aldean we are talking about here. Adkins, for as poor of an artist as his discography (for the most part) is, has always come off as a pretty upstanding guy. Do I agree with some of his political or social stances or his taste in music? No, but he has always come off as a pretty good guy who owns up to his past demons and generally does quite a bit of charity work. In short, for all his faults he doesn’t come off as much of a tone deaf human being like Aldean or some of the other modern “Country” stars who appear to have never made it past the 6th grade.
seak05
July 16, 2016 @ 11:54 am
You can like or not like someone’s music, but that is separate from who they are as a person. Wishing ill on someone because you don’t like their music is pretty low.
Jimmy Bobby
July 16, 2016 @ 12:21 pm
Wishing ill =/= laughing after bad shit happens to someone. Two very different things right there
Mike W.
July 15, 2016 @ 9:27 pm
I’m of two minds on this one. On one hand, I can kinda understand why folks are upset. After all, it was a children’s charity event and no doubt that if there is one place you would like someone to not be inebriated, it would be that type of event. (Though I happen to think the person complaining about Adkins singing “Whoop A Man’s Ass” in front of children is being WAY too protective of kids and, quite frankly, coming off as a pretty annoying human).
On the other hand, being “pissed off” or angry at a guy who is clearly battling some very serious demons is pointless. My guess is, considering Adkins very public battles with the bottle and his numerous rehab attempts, nobody feels worse about the state he was/is in, than Trace Adkins. Piling on my flinging proverbial mud at him like these fans are, is kinda sad, especially since the year is 2016 and we all know (or should know) a lot more about the demons of substance abuse addiction, than we did even 10 years ago. Demonizing guys like Trace Adkins and other addicts, while the easy thing for most people to do, is wrong in my opinion.
I’m not fan of Trace, hell you can probably draw a VERY direct line between his run as a radio darling in the early-to-mid 2000’s as the gestation of bro-Country. That being said, I can only feel sympathy for a guy battling the obvious demons he is battling.
Nadia Lockheart
July 16, 2016 @ 3:18 am
I feel stinging sympathy for him at this time, as unprofessional as his stint truly was.
I sure hope he learns the right lesson from this unfortunate episode. I’ve rarely been a fan of his mostly because he has long been inconsistent with song selection, but he definitely has among the most charismatic and distinctive voices among males.
Jen
July 16, 2016 @ 4:03 am
I love Trace Adkins, but why could he not stay sober for a children’s charity event, and why the he are celebrities getting PAID to do charity work?! That’s not how charities are supposed to work! No wonder 90 percent of charity money doesn’t go back into the charity! That’s not charity if you’re being paid to do it! Either give your time freely or don’t bother! Now, when I see a charity concert, I won’t be attending, no matter who is performing. Celebrities make enough money without having to be paid for appearing for a charity event! I paid over $1000 to attend the Nashville Rising concert, and most of that didn’t even go to the people it was supposed to help, and now I’m beginning to see why!
Mike W.
July 16, 2016 @ 6:46 am
My guess is St. Jude sets aside a certain amount of $$$$ each year to go towards promotion and hiring performers is just part of that pool. Further, I’m sure there argument would be that for the fee they gave Adkins (or any other performer), they probably make double that in terms of donations and attention drawn to their causes because they do have these performers. The goal of these paid charity concerts is to try and attract business community leaders who will have no problem writing out million dollar checks to their charity. Making the fee that Adkins charged/the charity paid a drop in the bucket to what they hope to pull in.
Should Adkins have turned the offer down and just volunteered his time? Yeah, probably, but that ain’t the world we live in and hasn’t been for a long, long time.
Trigger
July 16, 2016 @ 7:36 am
It is not unusual for performers to receive some sort of per diem even for a charity performance. It’s usually not for the artist themselves, it’s for their road crew who are probably not in a position to donate their time. Most big artists employ a dozen or so people, and they have to eat too. In this case however, Adkins was playing an acoustic show. Not sure if it was his band or a house band, or if his crew was involved. Most every charity event is going to involve the exchanging of money with the artist, it is probably just a smaller amount. With most of these charity events, it’s only a percentage of the proceeds that go to the charity. I’m not trying to justify anything. What Trace did was wrong and he clearly has a problem if he’s showing up to a charity event drunk. Just trying to give a bit of insight into how the business works.
liza
July 19, 2016 @ 2:08 pm
He had difficulty staying sober because he has an addiction illness.
Cosmic Cowboy
July 16, 2016 @ 4:29 am
Going to work drunk is wrong period! I don’t care who you are or what you do your not hired to be fucked up on the job! I have no mercy for this behavior for singers or cashiers.
Mike W.
July 16, 2016 @ 6:50 am
I think you can have mercy/sympathy for the man (in this case Adkins, who appears to be battling some very deep, personal, serious demons) while also not condoning and/or admonishing the man’s actions.
Fuzzy TwoShirts
July 16, 2016 @ 10:07 am
just a shame all around…
Mike W's conscious
October 23, 2017 @ 2:17 pm
Why? You seem to be so far up Trace’s ass you love what he had for breakfast 5 years ago.
Do you have mercy when it’s a rap star on drugs? So his “demons” is everyone’s fault? I “hear” you say that you are not “condoning” him, but your posts DO sound like you’re up his ass. Were you a drunk before? Do you know any victims of drunkards? You sound like you’d make exceptions for him but not someone else. Drinking on the job is wrong. I can’t do it; nor can most people do it. Most people would get fired for that. People like you Mike W, create two sets of rules for society. If he goes out and kills someone from drinking and driving, do you condone that? How do you know he hasn’t put others at risk? He came home late one night, drunk, and his wife (at the time) shot him. He’s been in prison multiple times. You seem to make exceptions for some people/celebrities, etc. but but they don’t hold up for everyone.
Tina Walton
July 16, 2016 @ 11:44 am
I understand everyone is pissed off. But he’s only human .and he probably has a problem of drinking and needs help. And everyone is so easy to judge someone. Everyone has there on problems to deal with. It says in the Bible not to judge so who are u to judge anyone. Your not god. And yes I get it it was in front of children to. And I pretty sure when he woke up he realized that he messed up. He’s a good man and a good country singer and he does alot to help. So everyone needs to back off. Of Trace adkins. I pretty sure we all are not perfect anyway. Thanks
seak05
July 16, 2016 @ 11:57 am
Honestly it’s just sad, to show up to a charity event drunk indicates he is probably pretty sick. Hopefully he gets help.
(and as Trigger said, most charity events involve some form of pay-out, it’s just generally less than the artist would normally receive)
Adrian
July 16, 2016 @ 3:43 pm
I recall reading stories about drunken performances by Toby Keith as well. Trace is Toby with less money, less talent, and less attitude.
karl
July 16, 2016 @ 4:32 pm
Only he can get himself the help he needs. I dont think it’s sad, I think it’s pitiful.
Mary Bryant
July 16, 2016 @ 8:51 pm
Everyone needs to leave trace along . Just because he made one mistake, don’t dog him with it . None of y’all ain’t perfect. And people needs to quit making a big deal out of it .
He’s a very sweet guy . And has a lot on him .
Quit acting as thou y’all are nicely nice , you are not . Y’all get into your pants one leg at a time just like he does and everyone else .
Everyone quit looking down on him.
He’s been thru enough !!!
JohnWayneTwitty
July 17, 2016 @ 8:39 am
I think a drunken fool “performing” for children with cancer and leukemia is the last person in the room that should be getting sympathies. “He’s been thru enough !!!”?? Children go to St Jude because they have a microscopic percentage of a chance of living to see their next birthday. It doesn’t matter if you’re an alcoholic. If you sign up to help, you have no right and no excuse to let these children down. Get your shit together for a couple hours. If a 6 year old fighting cancer can be strong to wake up, go through chemo, and still smile, a 50 year old man can stop drinking long enough to sing some songs to dying children. He sure doesn’t deserve a free pass from ridicule in this situation
Although, I can’t tell if your post is serious or sarcastic.
Jen
July 18, 2016 @ 4:38 pm
I can speak for those parents, having had a child with leukemia, and if I had taken her to such an event and the performer was drunk, I would be furious. I don’t care if he’s drunk for a performance for adults, but this was for CHILDREN, and not just any children, but many TERMINALLY ILL CHILDREN!! I can bet if he was in the same boat, he wouldnt be happy, either, and I sincerely hope he is beyond humiliated for it, and finally decides to get the help he desperately needs, and to take as long as it takes to get it and make sure it sticks, this time. Maybe someone can point him to Randy Trail and see what drinking and drug use did to him? He, too, is a product of his own stupid choices, and now he’s paying for it for the rest of his life. Don’t get me wrong, I live Randy Travis, and I wish him all the love in the world, but it breaks my heart to see him unable to perform like he used to, because of poor choices. I do t want to see the same thing happen to Trace Adkins or anyone else..
Jen
July 18, 2016 @ 4:40 pm
Damn it…stupid phone! Randy Travis…
Doug
October 16, 2021 @ 6:52 am
The last paragraph of Trigger’s account of this incident makes it clear that this was not just “one mistake,” but rather a recurring problem. Anyone familiar with alcoholism knows this is a typical pattern. Have compassion for a man who has a potentially fatal addiction, but don’t make excuses for him, either. That doesn’t help him; it enables more of the same.
Sadie
July 16, 2016 @ 10:04 pm
Sad for him, hope he gets treatment BUT the biggest eye opener is getting $ to be at charity events. This isn’t Hollywood hoped better of country artists.
JohnWayneTwitty
July 17, 2016 @ 8:24 am
“Now I think I know, how George feels”
Ben
July 17, 2016 @ 4:21 pm
Trace Adkins is an asshole, and this sort of behavior is something I expect from him. He came to Kuwait in 2010 when I was there. He acted like a complete jerk the entire time, and gave off a vibe like he didn’t even want to be there. Additionally, when being briefed regarding all the great things the military personnel were doing in Kuwait, he said he had better things to do and walked out after barely paying attention. He didn’t setup a table to shake hands and sign autographs like all of the other folks who came over with USO, and got the hell out of there as soon as he did about five songs.
Debi Collins
July 17, 2016 @ 5:07 pm
1st of all why was he ever charging a performance fee for a charity & 2nd giving the fee back says nothing, he is giving them nothing… not even an apology. If he was a man he have owned up to what he did, not only have apologized but have found a way.to make it right!
albert
July 17, 2016 @ 6:00 pm
Too many holes in this story for my liking . His handlers ( management , road manger , driver , wife / girlfriend , soundman, freinds ) are equally responsible , in my view , for allowing things to proceed if TA was THAT far gone .
EVERYONE suffers when a friend , family member , or entertainer is a prisoner of addiction . I know where-of I speak. EVERYONE in that person’s ‘orbit ‘ pays a price somehow . This is a sad story , indeed . I want to believe that the fact that it happened must hold some meaning . Whether it stands as a lesson to the kids and their families that addiction is an illness which can undermine ANYONE’S best intentions ..or whether TA can see this as something he will strive to never repeat . Something positive will come from this in some way shape or form .
Corncaster
July 17, 2016 @ 6:26 pm
Fire his ass.
Make him hit bottom. It’s the only way, and in the end the only compassionate way.
He ain’t the first and won’t be the last.
Joe Anderson
July 17, 2016 @ 10:59 pm
One of the worst things about trace’s new single is that it negatively portrays George Jones. George did have his struggles, but it’s a true shame for a fan like myself to see his off-the-stage stuff from years before the end of his life overshadow his great music and unparalleled vocal ability
Raydene
July 18, 2016 @ 11:20 am
Knowing him, this breaks my heart. The years that we were closer he was great about staying sober. No alcohol for anyone on his tour bus. Band members could drink after a show but they always seemed to keep it low key. He was open in telling us about his rehab in 2001 and I always hoped he could stay strong. But having worked the stage for several national acts I can honestly say that temptations are everywhere. Add to that other issues like physical, mental or emotional pain and it’s not difficult to see how this could happen. I pray that Trace regains his strength and focus, returns to the structure of earlier in his career when he surrounded himself with those of us who truly had the real him in our hearts. Still love you my friend. And as I once reminded Jen Marr when we were on way to help out at show in Paducah KY, you are human. You put your jeans on one leg at a time, just like the rest of us. We are here for you. Always.
Leandra Faye Denmark
April 4, 2017 @ 9:46 am
Maybe he needs to worry himself instead of what President Trump is tweeting
Lisa Wolfe-vito
September 26, 2017 @ 8:49 pm
Trace Adkins is my favorite country singer. I love his music. He is always helping our soldiers and gives charity to those who need it. I realize he goofed by getting drunk at the charity for ill children and he knows he goofed, big time; and I’m sure he feels bad enough without his fans getting on his case too. We are all human and we all make mistakes. There is no excuse for what he did; however, he has had a very rough time in his personal life, sadly his wife left him and his father passed away, pretty hard to get over that and I feel very bad for TA, I’m sure he very depressed and upset right now, but he has been trying to get help by going into rehab. I’m proud of him for that. I pray for him a lot and I believe in Him. He will get back to health again and he WILL get back on track as soon as he can.
barbara L joseph
December 11, 2020 @ 8:47 pm
hes a trump supporter so who cares
Morgan J Bearden
November 1, 2021 @ 8:45 pm
“Trace Adkins has donated his performance fee from the event back to the charity.”
Oh my, give til it hurts?
Mr.Hip
December 24, 2021 @ 8:08 pm
He really is a dick. And his “music” really sucks.
“Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”. Jesus Christ, what kind of shit is that?
Jim Evans
January 1, 2022 @ 6:04 pm
I never cared for the guy , and I always said he sucked , which he does .
Nivasi
January 17, 2022 @ 6:01 am
this is OLD NEWS.. How ignorant of ” saving country music to hold a damn grudge over sh*t that is 5+ yrs ago..
Trigger
January 17, 2022 @ 8:59 am
Yes, this article was written in 2016. You clicked on a link to an archived article.