"And we are an apolitical band. But the knives have come out. It's crazy. And to be honest, I had no idea, and neither did [Shinedown singer] Brent [Smith] - I think [guitarist] Zach [Myers] maybe had a clue - I had no idea this was Kid Rock's thing. It was just, 'Hey, here's an offer. It looks like a cool lineup, and it's a mix of country and rock. Okay, we'll play it.'"
"I don't care. I'm just gonna go play a show. I really, really don't care. You can keep your politics to yourself. I have no opinion one way or the other on Kid Rock. I love his music. This is about music. Ludacris wasn't tough... I mean, it's not like he needs the money, Jeez. If he's not tough enough to stick it out, that's just silly. That's him being a coward, in my opinion."
The 2026 Rock the Country festival will visit eight small U.S. towns, with Kid Rock headlining five dates and a mixed country-and-rock lineup. Ludacris was scheduled with Shinedown for the July 26 Anderson, South Carolina stop but withdrew four days after the bill amid fan backlash tied to Kid Rock's right-wing associations and the festival's MAGA undertones; his camp cited a "mix-up". Shinedown has received criticism for playing the festival. Band members characterize themselves as apolitical, say they accepted the offer unaware it was Kid Rock's project, and defended performing; Barry Kerch called Ludacris a coward for pulling out.
Read at Consequence
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