Matt Rife Jokes About Morgan Wallen Skipping Awards Shows

The comedian, who will be performing in Bangor this summer, poked fun at the singer’s consistent absences from award shows.

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Morgan Wallen has missed several major country awards shows in recent years, including this month’s Academy of Country Music Awards, marking his third straight absence from the event.

While Wallen remains one of country music’s biggest commercial stars, he has appeared to keep a distance from awards shows, even offering little public reaction after winning entertainer of the year at the 2024 CMA Awards.

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Wallen was not in attendance at the American Music Awards, where he won Best Male Country Artist during the fan-voted ceremony.

While presenting Breakthrough Country Artist, comedian Matt Rife joked about Wallen’s absence by pretending he was in the crowd before saying Wallen “hates awards shows” and was too busy “selling out two shows on the moon.”

Rife is scheduled to bring his ‘Stay Golden Tour’ to the Maine Savings Amphitheater in Bangor on Saturday, August 8th, 2026.

The 18+ show was rescheduled from its original July 12th, 2025, date.

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And there you have it! While presenting at the American Music Awards on Monday night, Matt Rife joked about the elephant in the room, or in this case, the one who wasn’t in the room.

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