Tim McGraw turned one of the rougher moments of his Cincinnati concert into his own joke after taking a hard fall onstage and getting right back up to finish the song.
The 59-year-old country star was performing “I Like It, I Love It” at Riverbend Music Center on Aug. 27 when he lost his footing on a raised section of the stage and fell backward. McGraw kept hold of his microphone, quickly returned to his feet and continued performing, according to Page Six.
McGraw then walked back toward the spot where he had fallen, looked down and joked to the audience, “There’s a hole there,” before carrying on. The tumble came during an unusual night that had already seen his set begin roughly 40 minutes late because of travel and weather problems.
By the next day, McGraw was making the mishap part of the joke himself. He posted footage of the fall on Instagram, thanked Cincinnati for singing along and told the crowd they had started his weekend “on the right foot even if I couldn’t stay on mine.”
McGraw Posted the Fall Himself the Next Day
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McGraw’s Aug. 28 Instagram carousel begins with photographs from the Cincinnati concert before revealing video of the fall. “Cincinnati, you started our weekend off on the right foot even if I couldn’t stay on mine,” he wrote, according to PEOPLE. “We appreciate you coming out and singing along!”
He leaned further into the joke by adding a familiar voiceover to the video: “Yup, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.” The edited clip slows the fall and pauses as McGraw tips backward, showing his boot catching on the stage surface before he goes down.
Despite the impact, the microphone remained in his hand and McGraw was smiling shortly after getting back up. His youngest daughter, Audrey McGraw, was among the people reacting to the post, responding with laughing, crying and heart emojis.
His Set Started About 40 Minutes Late
The fall was not the night’s only unexpected development. McGraw’s portion of the show began approximately 40 minutes later than planned because of travel and weather issues. When he finally reached the stage, he greeted the Cincinnati audience with, “I made it!” and apologized for the delay.
Riverbend had scheduled the overall concert to begin at 7 p.m., with Timothy Wayne performing first, followed by 49 Winchester and McGraw closing the show. Despite his delayed start, McGraw still delivered a career-spanning set rather than substantially cutting the performance.
Among the songs was “My Best Friend,” a 1999 hit that McGraw said he had not performed in some time. He told the audience he brought it back at the request of his wife, Faith Hill, adding a personal moment to a show that also included “Don’t Take the Girl” and “Live Like You Were Dying.”
The Pawn Shop Guitar Tour Continued in Michigan
The Cincinnati concert was part of McGraw’s 2026 Pawn Shop Guitar Tour, a 33-date North American summer run that began in July. The official tour schedule placed him at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan, on Aug. 28 and Acrisure Amphitheater in Grand Rapids on Aug. 29.
His Instagram caption after the Cincinnati fall ended with “Detroit, you’re up!” before he continued the tour in Michigan. The remaining headline dates include stops in Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Georgia and Florida. The summer headline run is currently scheduled to conclude Sept. 26 at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida.