Kelsea Ballerini offered a heartfelt apology for stopping her show early in Buffalo, New York. The Patterns artist has been battling illness — noting that “the flue is going around (and) everyone’s getting sick” — throughout the week. She rescheduled three shows to take time to rest.

Ballerini said in a video shared to her social media accounts on Thursday night (February 6), the night she took the stage in Buffalo: “Buffalo, I am so, so sorry that I could not finish the show tonight. I'm sicker than I’m trying to be, and I did not want to let anyone down tonight. And I just got through the first few songs and I couldn’t do it. I’m so sorry. But I never want to give you a half-a**ed show. And so, we are rescheduling (the next three shows)…and I will make them the best shows I’ve ever played in my whole life, and I will pull out every stop for you, and I will make it so worth it. I’m gonna go rest now and get better so I can really show up for the rest of this tour. I hope you understand, and thank you for the grace to be human, and I love you.”

She added in her caption on TikTok that the “flu got the better of me. I’m so so sorry my friends, I tried my best. Rescheduled dates are posted.” Ballerini also shared a photo on her Instagram story to thank “the sweet fan who made this pillow,” with photo of the singer-songwriter’s dog, Dibs, who is going through cancer. “I can’t even tell you how much I needed this and what it means. Thank you. I love and appreciate y’all. See you in a few days.”

Ballerini will return to Buffalo on April 11. She will perform on April 12 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and on April 13 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Videos recorded by concertgoers and shared by a fan account for Ballerini show the “First Rodeo” star telling the audience, “there was no world I was not going to get on this stage for you tonight and give you everything I have,” despite her ongoing illness. She thanked the crowd for “braving the cold and the snow” to show up to her concert on a Thursday evening. however, a few songs into her set, Ballerini was unable to continue.

Earlier this week, Ballerini addressed the audience in Detroit, Michigan. she said she was feeling under the weather, but “I’m also a perfectionist, and I also have this crippling fear of letting people down. So I’m gonna give you absolutely every ounce of everything I have left in the tank tonight.” She powered through that performance, and thanked fans for understanding.

“THANK YOU for helping me through our show last night and being so loud and kind,” Ballerini said in a statement on her Instagram story on Wednesday (February 5). “Feeling a bit better today and grateful for the grace to be human I’m feeling from y’all. Sending you the biggest (air) hug and going back to bed now. PS - TAKE YOUR VITAMIN C AND ZINC YALL ITS SICK SZN.”

Ballerini shared another health update ahead of her Buffalo show: “For those sweet angel humans asking, I’m feeling better. Got some good rest (WOW I FORGOT HOW MUCH I LOVE SLEEP) and the meds are doing their job and I can’t wait to perform for you tonight. My voice is still a little raspy (like the Phoebe [Buffay, from Friends] sexy voice) and I will see you on that stage. No way I’m letting you down.”

Ballerini is on her first headlining arena tour after releasing her fifth studio record, Patterns. The 15-track album arrived in late October, and Ballerini celebrated with a sold out album release show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Ballerini “accidentally” let it slip that she’s working on a deluxe edition of Patterns.

“It is a love record. It’s full of love—self-love, love for my family, my friends, my partner, whatever,” Ballerini said of Patterns in an interview with Byrdie, published earlier this week. “But it’s the nuance of it, the growth of it, the tension within it… that is so necessary and interesting to me.”

Ballerini’s tour includes special guests Sasha Alex Sloan, Ashe, The Japanese House and MaRynn Taylor. The next show is set for Monday, February 10 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. See the list of tour stops here.

Tim Palmer

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