Kid Rock’s music festival loses Creed, Shinedown amid controversies
“Rock the Country,” Kid Rock’s upcoming touring “festival for the people,” has lost more of its lineup as headliners Creed and Shinedown have dropped out in the run-up to the country rocker’s alternative halftime show for Turning Point USA, and recently resurfaced comments about underage girls.
Less than a month ago, Creed and Shinedown appeared on a poster for the MAGA-coded event, consisting of “eight massive shows” taking place in “eight small towns.”
But as of Saturday, neither band was listed on the lineup on the official website, which now advertises just seven shows in seven towns, beginning May 1 in Bellville, Texas and ending Sept. 12 in Hamburg, N.Y.
Rapper Ludacris had already dropped out of his July 25-26 slot in Anderson, S.C. well before Friday, when Shinedown announced on Instagram that they’d be canceling their appearance.
“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 County Festival,” they wrote. “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 drummer Barry Kerch told “The Vinyl Road” podcast in January that the band only learned of the “political leaning” of the event after they signed on to play, and for which they faced “tons” of backlash.
Creed does not appear to have publicly remarked on dropping out as a featured act for the Anderson show.
The cancellations went even further when officials in Anderson said the city would no longer host the festival, according to NBC affiliate WYFF.
Among the many still slated to perform in the other cities are stars such as Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Jelly Roll, Miranda Lambert, Brantley Gilbert and Nelly.
Meanwhile, Kid Rock is set to headline Sunday’s “All-American Halftime Show,” billed as an alternative to the official Super Bowl halftime show headlined by Bad Bunny. The rival event is being put on by Turning Point USA, the conservative organization founded by slain activist Charlie Kirk and now led by his widow, Erika.
TPUSA announced its own halftime show in October after President Trump trashed the NFL for its decision to book Bad Bunny — a history-making Puerto Rican performer who sings in Spanish, advocates for the LGBTQ community and has publicly criticized the Trump administration’s ICE raids.
On Tuesday, Kid Rock was confirmed as the headliner for TPUSA’s event, which will also feature country artists Lee Brice, Brantley Gilbert and Gabby Barrett.
Backlash directed at Kid Rock was swift and quickly followed by further controversies making the round online — including resurfaced lyrics from his 2001 track, “Cool, Daddy, Cool,” in which he sings, “I like ’em underage, see / Some say that’s statutory / But I say it’s mandatory.”
Also this week, an X account that goes by the handle The Democrats highlighted Rock’s 2001 appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” during which he made remarks about then-14-year-old Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
“Why is every guy in America waiting for these chicks to turn 18?” he asked at the time. “If there’s grass on the field, play ball!”