Country and rock music festival, “Rock The Country,” unexpectedly pulled out of Anderson, South Carolina after both Saturday headliners dropped from the lineup. Rock band Shinedown and rapper Ludacris both pulled out of the festival amid the political backlash received following the lineup drop.
“Rock The Country,” a festival started in 2024 and co-founded by the controversial musician Kid Rock, is described as “A festival for the people.” Meant to celebrate America and the music it’s bringing to the stage, that’s typically in the genre of rock and country.
While the festival doesn’t explicitly state any political affiliation online or at the actual festival, it’s an assumption that the festival attracts a specific kind of crowd with its lineup.
The main thing that is resurfacing is lyrics from Kid Rock’s 2001 song “Cool, Daddy Cool” where the line “young ladies, young ladies, I like em’ underage” has regained traction. Many artists chose to pull their participation from the festival, choosing not to be associated with the pedophelic lyrics the co-founder sang following the resurfacing.
The biggest thing that people online are taking note of is the alternative halftime show that Turning Point USA was hosting, featuring Kid Rock as the headliner. Having Kid Rock as the headliner of a show by an organization that promotes protecting children says more about the organization than themselves could.
Social media users have been referring to the festival as a racist and MAGAfest. One major misconception that fans have been under is that Creed also pulled out of the fest, when that isn’t the case. They did not, they just got caught in the crossfire of the cancellation of that specific festival date, according to a comment from their Instagram stating “Only Shinedown pulled off Anderson, and with lack of viable/available replacement alternatives that our fans deserve, we made the unfortunate decision to cancel the stop.”
Ludacris and Shinedown were not the only acts to pull out of the festival. The exit of Shinedown follows after country singers Morgan Wade and Carter Faith made the decision to pull out of the festival.
As a single-day attendee of Rock The Country last year, as they brought the festival to York, Pennsylvania, it definitely has a crowd it attracts. But the festival organizers themselves are not promoting a specific agenda, just loving America and the music they are providing.
