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HARDY shared a heartfelt response to his fans after announcing earlier this month that he would take time to focus on his mental health one year after he and his crew were involved in an accident on their tour bus.
The the mockingbird & THE CROW star shared a video on Instagram on Friday (October 13), addressing a crowd for the first time after canceling shows to receive treatment for anxiety stemming from the bus accident last October that led to “significant injuries” for three crew members. Photographer and videographer Tanner Gallagher, who was injured in the accident, previously shared photos and an account of what happened, and said “by the grace of God, we all survived.” HARDY wrote in his Instagram caption on Friday: “I can’t thank you guys enough for the love you’ve sent my way the past couple weeks. I had a great show last night and I’m on my way to getting back to center. Love y’all.”
“I’m gonna try to get through this next thing without crying. Holy sh*t,” HARDY said into the mic as the crowd cheered. “First and foremost, I wanna let everybody know I’m OK. I’m dealing with some stuff right now. I really hate that I had to do what I had to do last weekend and cancel shows, but it’s something that I had to do for myself. And if you know me, you know how hard that was for me to do because I like to work. I’ve experienced more love and positive words, positive vibes, prayers, thoughts, from y’all in the past two weeks than I have ever experienced in my life. And there’s something like anxiety and depression people want to be embarrassed about it, and I don’t know why because it’s real and it sucks and it’s terrifying. And if anybody in this room has ever truly been through that, I know for a fact that you would agree with me because it’s a very real thing.
“But I want you guys to know that I’m OK,” HARDY continued. “I’m gonna be OK, and I’ve been experiencing a lot of anxiety onstage, off the stage — I’m actually having a great time tonight, by the way — I’m not gonna lie, I was really nervous before I walked on the stage, and it might hit me some before the show is over, but as soon as I got on this stage, something in my brain said, ‘this is what you’re meant to do, and you’re meant to be here tonight.’ And I just relax and put a show on.”
The crowd cheered and applauded the award-winning singer-songwriter throughout his update, and shouted encouraging messages like, “you got this, brother,” and “we love you.”
HARDY announced in a statement on October 3 that he’d “been dealing with some serious anxiety since the bus accident last year and over the last two weeks, it has taken control of my life. It’s caused me to suffer many panic attacks which have landed me in the hospital. I need a moment to focus on me and to make myself better for my wife, family and you, the fans.” HARDY said at that time that he would cancel two of his “the mockingbird & THE CROW Fall Tour” shows, and push his Georgia Rodeo performance to April 2024. His headlining tour — which includes Lainey Wilson and Dylan Marlowe — on Thursday night (October 12) took place in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Watch HARDY’s latest update here (warning: language):