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   From: leroysoetoro@americans-first.com   
      
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   MAGA-friendly 'Rock The Country' event in Anderson SC canceled after bands   
   drop out, politics cited   
      
   By Eric Connor econnor@postandcourier. com   
   Feb 6, 2026 Updated 10 hrs ago   
      
      
   ANDERSON — This summer's "Rock The County" multiday concert, part of a   
   MAGA-friendly series headlined by country music stars Kid Rock and Jason   
   Aldean, has been canceled as high-profile artists once part of the tour   
   have dropped out — with at least one citing political division.   
      
   Anderson County, which stood to benefit financially from the rock-country   
   event's multimillion-dollar economic impact, was informed the night of Feb.   
   5 that the two-day concert had been canceled, Administrator Rusty Burns   
   told The Post and Courier Feb. 6.   
      
   The county wasn't given an explicit reason why, Burns said, though he said   
   he was aware of online chatter about artists dropping out of the   
   politically charged tour. He declined to elaborate and instead said the   
   county is focused on securing artists for concerts in April.   
      
   One major act that was booked to perform as part of the eight-date tour —   
   Shinedown, a rock band of particular early 2000s fame — announced online   
   Feb. 6 that they were dropping out to avoid "further division. "   
      
   "SHINEDOWN is everyone's band, " the group posted on their X profile. "We   
   feel that we have been given a platform to bring all people together   
   through the power of music and song. We have one BOSS, and it is everyone   
   in the audience. Our band's purpose is to unite, not divide. "   
      
   "With that in mind, " the post continued, "we have made the decision that   
   we will not be playing the Rock The Country Festival. We know this decision   
   will create differences of opinion. But we do not want to participate in   
   something we believe will create further division. "   
      
   The band's departure follows three other artists who last month dropped   
   from the upcoming tour without explicitly stating why though they faced   
   online backlash for their participation: country musicians Morgan Wade and   
   Carter Fatih, and Atlanta-based rapper Ludacris.   
      
   Likewise, early 2000s Christian-inspired rock band Creed — which along with   
   Ludacris was to be a premier headliner in Anderson — has been quietly   
   removed from the event's website as of Feb. 6.   
      
   The website also removed the stop in Anderson, leaving only Bellville,   
   Texas; Bloomingdale, Ga. ; Sioux Falls, S. D. ; Ashland, Ky. ; Hastings,   
   Mich. ; Ocala, Fla. ; and Hamburg, N. Y.   
      
   A host of popular artists remain listed, including Kid Rock, Jason Aldean,   
   Blake Shelton, Jelly Roll, and Brooks and Dunn, among others.   
      
   The two-day Upstate event was to be held July 25-26 at the Anderson Sports   
   and Entertainment Center and was billed as a celebration of America's 250th   
   anniversary.   
      
   In its first year in 2024, "Rock The Country" drew about 25,000 people and   
   generated about $17 million for the state, Anderson County reported.   
      
   "Rock The Country" was primarily founded by Kid Rock (real name Robert   
   James Ritchie), and while it wasn't overtly billed as a political event, it   
   served as a counter-cultural haven for MAGA-leaning ideology, with   
   outspoken criticism of former President Joe Biden and progressive political   
   policies.   
      
   Kid Rock campaigned for President Donald Trump ahead of the 2024 election,   
   has visited the White House in flamboyant patriotic regalia, and to kick   
   off a 2022 concert tour had the president introduce him via a pre-recorded   
   video.   
      
   On Feb. 8, Kid Rock will headline a televised concert — sponsored by the   
   late Charlie Kirk's conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA — during   
   halftime of the Super Bowl to serve as a counter-performance to the game's   
   halftime performer, Bad Bunny.   
      
   The Puerto Rico-born artist — real name Benito Antonio Marti´nez Ocasio and   
   credited with bringing Latin rap to international fame — first drew the   
   consternation of MAGA voices last October, when during hosting "Saturday   
   Night Live" he spoke in Spanish and told the audience that if they didn't   
   understand what he was saying, they "had four months to learn. "   
      
   The latest kindling came Feb. 1, when during his acceptance speech the   
   Grammy Awards he denounced recent U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement   
   crackdowns.   
      
   Anderson County will take an economic hit from the cancellation, Burns   
   said, but the county hopes to recoup that with future shows. He said the   
   past two "Rock The Country" events proved the county can successfully host   
   large concert events.   
      
   "It happens in the business, " Burns said. "We had a good, two-year run. "   
      
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