Elle King Delivers First Performance Since Drunken Grand Ole Opry Incident at Arizona Music Festival

Elle King is back on stage for the first time after her controversial and admittedly drunken performance during a Dolly Parton tribute held by the Grand Ole Opry at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium in January.

On Friday, the country music star, 34, performed an early evening set at Extra Innings Festival in Tempe, Arizona.

For the performance, King wore a red, long-sleeve top which she paired with a matching snakeskin skirt.

She accessorized her look with a pair of black sunglasses and minimal jewelry, including a studded belt.

On Saturday, the "Ex's & Oh's" singer is set to take to the stage again as the support on Chris Stapleton's All American Road Show tour stop in San Diego. She'll also soon play a series of three shows across the U.K. before more North American dates later this spring.

King's festival set comes nearly a month and a half after her controversial performance at an event to honor Parton's 78th birthday in late January. At the concert, the singer-songwriter was captured in several fan-recorded videos as telling the audience that she was "f---ing hammered" and had forgotten the lyrics.

"I don't know the lyrics to these things in this f---ing town," she said while stumbling over the words to "Marry Me." "Don't tell Dolly 'cause it's her birthday."

King later added after the song: "Everyone's like, holy s---, we bought tickets to this s---. I'm not even going to lie," she said while putting her hands in her pockets. "Holy s---. I'm not even going to f---ing lie. Y'all bought tickets for this s---?"

Following the show, which also featured sets from Ashley Monroe, Tigirlily Gold, Dailey & Vincent and Terri Clark, fans took to social media to request a refund. The Nashville venue replied to some concert-goers' posts on X (formerly Twitter) with an apology.

The Grammy-nominated singer then postponed five of her upcoming concerts shortly after the incident. At the time, she took to her Instagram Story to share that her shows scheduled for the winter in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan had been pushed back to late March, while her Dallas, Texas, concert had been moved to September.

"Your tickets will be valid for the new dates. If you can't make the new date, refunds are available at the point of purchase," King wrote. "See you there!"

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In February, Parton revealed in an interview with Extra that she held no animosity towards King for the incident. "Elle is really a great artist," the country music legend said. "She’s a great girl, and she’s been going through of hard things lately."

The "Jolene" singer added, "She just had a little too much to drink, so let’s just forgive that and forget it and move on, 'cause she felt worse than anyone ever could."

The Come Get Your Wife artist has previously spoken about her history of performing while under the influence of alcohol. In a 2022 San Diego Tribune interview, she shared that she doesn't want to be as drunk on stage as she has been in the past.

"It's easier for me to say: 'Yeah, I want to drink and party and [then] go on stage,'" the country star said. "I get nervous before I go on stage, [so] I have couple of drinks [first]. Drinking makes me less nervous about hitting the notes when I sing. If I don't make them, it won't sting as much." 

King added that she puts "being a mother way, way, way above having a good time." The singer shares 2-year-old son Lucky Levi with Daniel Tooker.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.