Rock band Shinedown announced on Friday (Feb. 6) that it will no longer be performing at the upcoming Rock the Country festival after receiving backlash from fans.
“Shinedown is everyone’s band. We feel that we have been given a platform to bring all people together through the power of music and song,” the band said a statement on its social media pages. “We have one boss, and it is everyone in the audience. Our band’s purpose is to unite, not divide. With that in mind, we have made the decision that we will not be playing the Rock the Country festival.”
The group added, “We know this decision will create differences of opinion. But we do not want to participate in something we believe will create further division.”
Shinedown had been schedule to perform at a Rock the Country event in Anderson, S.C., on July 25-26, a show which now no longer appears on the Rock the Country’s lineup. Other artists who had initially been slated to appear on that weekend include Creed and Brantley Gilbert.
Shinedown’s decision makes the group the latest to pull out of the Rock the Country shows, following artists Carter Faith and Morgan Wade. Rapper Ludacris’ name also appeared on an early Rock the Country festival poster, though reps for the artist maintain he “wasn’t supposed” to be included on the lineup in the first place.
Rock the Country, which will visit seven cities including Ashland, Ky., and Ocala, Fla., has a lineup that includes Jelly Roll, Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Ella Langley, Jon Pardi, Brantley Gilbert and Hank Williams Jr. on various shows. The tour is slated to launch May 1-2 in Belleville, Texas.
Though the festival’s organizers have not explicitly expressed any political affiliation, performers Aldean and Kid Rock have both been vocal supporters of President Donald Trump, while Kid Rock and Gilbert are both set to perform at Turning Point USA’s upcoming “All-American” alternative halftime show, set to broadcast opposite of the NFL’s official Super Bowl Halftime Show, which will feature a performance from Grammy winner Bad Bunny.
