Kid Rock’s Rock the Country Festival Loses Its Biggest Artist Yet

Another artist has pulled out of Kid Rock and Jason Aldean‘s Rock the Country Festival and this time it’s clearly tied to controversy surrounding the event and it’s headliner.

Shinedown say their purpose is to unite, not divide. “With that in mind, we have made the decision that we will not be playing the Rock the Country Festival,” the band writes on social media.

That brings the total number of artists who’ve dropped out of the eight-date festival series to four. There are still 82 artists from the original poster scheduled to play.

• Blake Shelton and Jelly Roll are two more top line artists scheduled to play one or multiple Rock the Country Festival dates.
• Each festival is a two-day event. The dates are spread from May to September.
• This is the second year for the series.

Related: Who’s Performing at Turning Point USA’s All-American Halftime Show?

Who’s Dropped Out of Rock the Country?

Rock band Shinedown is the fourth artist to drop out, after country singers Morgan Wade and Carter Faith, and rapper Ludacris, who indicated his original inclusion was a misunderstanding.

Neither Wade nor Faith gave a reason for dropping out of the festival. Shinedown did.

“We know this decision will create differences of opinion,” the band continues in a social statement. “But we do not want to participate in something we believe will create further division.”

Why Are Artists Dropping Out of Rock the Country?

The reasons artists are dropping out are somewhat abstract. Response to the lineup provides a clue. When it was announced on Jan. 12, Shinedown wrote “See you soon” with three fire emojis in the comments.

Replies to that range from support or questions if they were playing a particular show, to disappointment that they’re aligning themselves with two headliners (Kid Rock and Aldean) closely associated with President Trump.

As predicted, their decision to exit the event was met with division as at least one person is now labeling them “cowards.”

Marketing and promotion of the festival hasn’t been political, but Kid Rock has remained visible around conservative causes in recent days. For example, he’s headlining Turning Point USA’s All-American halftime show on Sunday.

Over the last decade or more, he’s been a polarizing character but his most controversial social statements came months or even years before the festival lineup announcement. So, it’s not quite clear which single event triggered a decision to step away from the fest, if any, or if it has more to do with the American political climate.

Maren Morris offered another explanation. She revealed how newer artists often tag along to festivals their tour headliner is playing between tour dates. It makes for easy routing and a nice paycheck.

Read More: 17 Stunning Kid Rock Facts!

Those new artists may not have a say or even realize what event they’re playing until after the lineup announcement. This explanation would certainly fit for Wade and Faith, but probably not Shinedown who have more autonomy.