When Bailey Zimmerman canceled his Albuquerque show on May 27, he told fans he wasn’t feeling well and needed to take care of himself. According to a New Mexico police affidavit, what actually happened that night involved a smashed guitar, a destroyed hotel room, a spit at a security guard, and $16,000 in damage.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, prosecutors in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, filed criminal papers on June 18 seeking an arrest warrant against the 26-year-old country star. He faces one felony charge for criminal damage to property over $1,000 and two misdemeanor counts of falsely obtaining services.
Zimmerman had been scheduled to perform at the amphitheater at Sandia Resort and Casino in Albuquerque on May 27. He never made it to the stage.
The Affidavit Describes a Night That Got Out of Control Fast
According to the affidavit, Zimmerman “stumbled onto the stage” during soundcheck, grabbed a guitar, and started smashing it on the ground “before tripping over the stage and falling backward.” He then kicked a drum set, threw a microphone to the ground, threw two cymbals across the stage, and pushed a guitarist “angrily.”
Hotel security reported that Zimmerman appeared to be intoxicated throughout the evening, stumbling, falling, and acting belligerently during soundcheck. After storming off stage multiple times, he returned to the resort and spit toward a security guard, reportedly upset that his SUV was the wrong color.
The resort kicked him out. Zimmerman initially refused to leave in a bus the resort provided, and the hotel ultimately had to call police.
That same night, Zimmerman posted an Instagram statement that read nothing like the scene described in the affidavit.
“Y’all know there’s nothing I love more than getting out on the road and playing these shows for you, so it’s so hard for me to have to say this, but I have to reschedule tonight’s (5/27) and Saturday’s (5/30) shows,” he wrote. “I have not been feeling well and have tried to power through, but I’m not able to give you all the show you deserve.”
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“Not feeling well” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that statement.
Housekeeping Found $16,000 in Damage the Next Morning
When housekeeping entered Zimmerman’s room the following day, they found it destroyed. The damage included a smashed television, a broken phone, a destroyed coffee table, and two broken chairs. Staff also reported a hole in one wall, damage to several others, stains on the carpet, and two missing chairs. The hotel estimated the total damage at roughly $16,000.
On top of that, Zimmerman allegedly racked up more than $400 in alcohol charges during his stay and never paid the bill, which accounts for the falsely obtaining services charges.
Court records state that both resort employees and police tried to contact Zimmerman and members of his team after the incident but received no response, which ultimately led prosecutors to seek the arrest warrant. It remains unclear whether the warrant has been served.
Bailey Zimmerman went from posting TikTok clips out of rural Illinois to touring with Morgan Wallen and Luke Bryan and headlining his own shows in less than three years. “Chevy Silverado” is currently sitting at No. 14 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, and his next scheduled performance is June 25 at the Country Drive Music Festival in Ashland, Nebraska.
He has not publicly addressed the charges. Neither has his team.
Telling 10,000 fans you canceled because you “weren’t feeling well” while police are documenting smashed guitars and holes in hotel walls is not a good look. And ignoring calls from law enforcement until they have to file for a warrant is an even worse one. Whatever Bailey Zimmerman is going through, this is the kind of night that can define a career in the wrong direction if he doesn’t get in front of it fast.
