This weekend Kelsea Ballerini returned to Knoxville, TN and Central High School, where she attended her Freshman and Sophomore years for a reunion – with everything shut down last year, the 10 year reunion in 2021, became the 11 year reunion in 2022.

Kelsea shared, “Technically, I didn’t graduate from this high school. I only spent my freshman and sophomore year there before moving to Nashville. but so much life happened here. crushes. music. friendship. heartbreak. insecurity. drive. the first time I played a song I wrote for anyone was in this auditorium. there was tragedy and there was magic…and it made leaving this community to go chase down this naïve knowingness the truest meaning of bittersweet. so after 13 years of being in Nashville, I decided to go to my reunion to be nostalgic with the people that made me love my hometown like I do. go bobcats for effing ever.”

Kelsea even got a special award at the reunion…

Anyone familiar with Kelsea and Kenny Chesney number-one hit “half of my hometown” knows the story of Ballerini’s move from Knoxville to Nashville.