Country singers Carter Faith and Morgan Wade will no longer perform on the 2026 Rock the Country tour. Sources close to the artists confirmed to Rolling Stone that they’ve dropped off the festival, which some consider to be MAGA-related: Kid Rock and Jason Aldean, two outspoken supporters of President Donald Trump and his movement, are headliners.
Faith and Wade’s exit was telegraphed last Friday. That morning, Wade’s name vanished from the tour poster, and Faith replied to a fan online asking why she was performing at the festival. “I’m not anymore!” she wrote. A rep for Rock the Country did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
The departures of Faith and Wade follow that of Ludacris, who was originally announced as part of the show when the lineup dropped on Jan. 12. However, a rep for the “Rollout (My Business)” rapper told RS earlier this month that a “mix-up” resulted in his client’s inclusion. “Lines got crossed, and he wasn’t supposed to be on there,” they said.
The Rock the Country tour kicks off May 1 in Bellville, Texas, and will play eight towns across the U.S. through September, including weekend stops in Georgia, South Dakota, and Florida. The lineup, which varies in each town, also includes Blake Shelton, Jelly Roll, Creed, Brooks & Dunn, Hank Williams Jr., Lynyrd Skynyrd, Riley Green, Miranda Lambert, and Josh Turner. Faith was slated to perform at the May 29 – 30 weekend in Bloomingdale, Georgia. (As of Tuesday, her name was still listed on the tour’s website.)
As RS reported in an essay last year, Nashville’s mainstream Music Row system has become increasingly cozy with the MAGA movement since Trump’s second election. Despite the exit of Faith and Wade, this year’s Rock the Country lineup, with household names like Shelton and Jelly Roll, underscores that shift.
While not an explicitly political event, the festival, launched in 2024, has had its share of political statements. Gavin Adcock went on a tirade against then-President Joe Biden in 2024, and, last year, Trump himself introduced Kid Rock’s set via a video message.
