Billy Ray Cyrus Addresses Trump’s Awkward Inaugural Performance

For Billy Ray Cyrus, the show must go on – painful musical equipment and all.

A day after her performance at President Donald Trump’s first Liberty Ball went off the rails — with the country music star struggling with technical difficulties, a raspy voice and sometimes awkward behavior on stage — Cyrus explained what happened passed in a post on Instagram.

“I would not have missed the honor of performing at this event whether my microphone, guitar and monitors worked or not,” Cyrus wrote Tuesday alongside a photo of himself performing. “I was there because President Donald J. Trump invited me. I had a great time at the Liberty Ball last night and I’ve learned over the years when the producer says ‘here we go’ , you have to go entertain people even if the equipment goes to hell.”

He added: “I was there for the people and we had a great time. It’s called rock n roll!”

Cyrus’ comments echo sentiments he expressed Monday in a separate Instagram post about the performance featuring photos of him on stage and with Trump.

“It’s an honor to kick off the Liberty Ball at the request of our 47th President and Commander in Chief,” he captioned the post. Apparently referring to technical difficulties, he added: “When you get knocked down, you get back up. You fight and you persevere.” Ironically, this weekend, Cyrus shared on social media that a sound check of the event’s performance “went wonderfully!”

Register for Weekly Entertainmentthe free daily newsletter to get the latest TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars and much more.

Cyrus wasn’t the only one experiencing technical issues on Monday. Country artist Carrie Underwood was forced to sing “America the Beautiful” a cappella when only a small portion of the song’s introductory notes were played before abruptly stopping, leaving the American idol former student standing in front of a confused crowd.

After more than a minute of silence, the singer told a man wearing headphones, “I’m just going to sing it.” She then addressed the crowd, telling attendees, “If you know the words, help me here.”

Besides Cyrus and Underwood, other musicians who performed at various inauguration events over the long weekend included Christopher Macchio, Lee Greenwood, Kid Rock, the Village People and Liberty University’s Praise Choir.