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Kelsea Ballerini reshared a post from 2013 as she embraced a full circle moment on Friday (January 31) in Nashville, Tennessee.
Ballerini, 31, shared one of her posts from more than a decade ago on her Instagram story in the hours before her headlining concert at Bridgestone Arena. The photo showed Ballerini’s boots kicked up in the empty venue as crew members cleared the stage after a show. The Patterns star, currently on her first-ever headlining arena tour, shared a heartfelt reflection of her journey since that moment (and beyond):
“After watching a show at Bridgestone Arena, I stayed and watched the crew break down the stage and promised myself I would play here as a headliner one day. I wasn’t signed as an artist yet, and I had no idea how, I just knew I would work my a** off and make music I was proud of until we did it. In some ways tonight feels like my ‘ten year town’ story, (and) in others it feels so, so much deeper, like my 31-year story. I can’t wait to celebrate every ounce of this journey with you tonight, Nashville.”
“When people ask me what my dream is, this is my answer,” Ballerini wrote in her Instagram caption on July 23, 2013, when she was 19 years old. “I believe in music and its ability to unite people and make us feel something. I believe in the honesty and vulnerability it stirs in our hearts, and its ability to make anyone smile, cry, remember, forget, laugh, dance, change. That's what I want to do. Create, share, and live music. Forever.”
The 2013 post has since garnered fresh comments from Ballerini’s longtime fans, writing that they’re “proud” of the singer-songwriter’s journey and referencing the lyrics of one of her songs on Patterns: “But, baby, baby LOOK AT YOU NOW!!!”
Ballerini released Patterns, her fifth studio record, in October 2024. The 15-track album includes the title track, “Sorry Mom,” “Baggage,” “First Rodeo,” “Two Things,” “WAIT!,” “Cowboys Cry Too” with Noah Kahan, “This Time Last Year” and more. Ballerini celebrated the album’s debut with a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. She kicked off her arena tour this month with special guests Sasha Alex Sloan, Ashe, The Japanese House and MaRynn Taylor. See the dates here.