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Carrie Underwood<\/a>‘s four-song rock breakdown at Velocity Festival left many fans\u00a0begging for a rock album. Others were remarkably unimpressed.<\/p>\n The second-to-last song of Underwood’s\u00a023-song performance was Guns N’ Roses<\/a>‘ “Sweet Child of Mine,” a song she’s covered many times. Before that she played these four ’90s to early 2000s rock songs for the very first time:<\/p>\n Collective Soul<\/a>, “Shine” Underwood and Papa Roach have a history together, having recorded “Leave the Light On<\/a>” together in 2024 in a partnership with American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.<\/p>\n The Collective Soul cover is interesting because the band served as direct support for\u00a0Underwood and presumably played “Shine,” their biggest hit. It was something of a warmup for her nu metal set.<\/p>\n “One Step Closer” was Linkin’ Park’s debut single in 2000. Underwood would have been about 17 years old at the time, which puts her on the young end of their demo but still included.<\/p>\n Her cover doesn’t shy from the rock-rap cadence Chester Bennington made famous. Video shows<\/a> full pyrotechnics as Underwood works the stage. She took a very similar approach to “Break Stuff,” Limp Bizkit’s (originally released in 1999).<\/p>\n Underwood\u2019s performance \u2014 especially her Limp Bizkit cover \u2014\u00a0was a polarizing moment. Video shared by a fan page (see above) earned praise. \u201cCarrie you can sing anything \u2026 sound great,\u201d says @randalljohnson296.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is in her most fun era ever!! Give us a rock album,\u201d adds @bermerubio.<\/p>\n There were mostly fire emojis and compliments there, although some politely panned the performance.<\/p>\n \u201cCarrie you\u2019re one of my favorites but pleas quit doing rap music,\u201d says @morrisphillips129142.<\/p>\n On more general social media accounts, the criticism was more pointed. Digital creator Jesealee shared the video<\/a> on Monday. There were mixed reviews of her commitment to a curse-free performance. There were a string of \u201cpass\u201d gifs and at least two people who claimed cultural appropriation.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone get their drunk mom off the stage,\u201d says @dustythepunk.<\/p>\n In fairness to Underwood, these criticisms were hardly well-thought-out essays on if she accomplished a goal. They were insults tossed from afar, often with some sort of unspoken political ideology behind them (she\u2019s been called MAGA on several occasions).<\/p>\n Underwood established her love for rock music years ago, but until this festival, she rarely performed anything but hits from classic bands like GNR, Aerosmith<\/a>, Fleetwood Mac<\/a> and Led Zeppelin<\/a>.<\/p>\n Those performances were typically praised, but they were also a very small part of her set.<\/p>\n On Saturday, more than 20 percent of the show was rock covers, and four were songs she was playing (per SetList.fm) for the very first time. She tailored her set for an audience of rockers and even arrived a day early to soak up the environment.<\/p>\n At this point, Underwood fans would probably take any sort of new album from Underwood. but it\u2019s a stretch to believe she\u2019s working on something out-of-genre. This was a rock show (Lynyrd Skynyrd and Skillet were the other two direct support acts), so she played the part.<\/p>\n With Dolly Parton’s recent induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the country and rock genres are closer than ever before \u2014 but she’s far from the first country artist to venture into rock territory, or vice versa. Here are 35 songs that show just how great the musical crossover between country and rock can be.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
Carrie Underwood’s Rock Set at Velocity Festival (Sept. 5)<\/h3>\n
Papa Roach<\/a>, “Scars”
Linkin’ Park<\/a>, “One Step Closer”
Limp Bizkit<\/a>, “Break Stuff”<\/p>\nReaction To Carrie Underwood’s Rock Set In Iowa<\/h3>\n
Is Carrie Underwood Making a Rock Album?<\/h3>\n
35 Songs That Prove Country and Rock Music Go Hand in Hand<\/h2>\n