Rock The Country, the conservative-leaning rock and country festival spearheaded by conservative-leaning rock and country singer—and occasional rapper—Kid Rock along with conservative-leaning country/country rock singer Jason Aldean, caught flack the week for lowering ticket prices. The tour put out the following statement Wednesday explaining the rationale behind the newly discounted tickets:
Fuel costs are up and we want to help! ⛽️ In response to rising transportation costs, you can enjoy up to 50% off general admission passes to any of 7 small town stops for a limited time only. Use code FUEL for $59 single-day and $99 weekend GA tickets at rockthecountry.com while supplies last. Take advantage of this offer, fill up your tank and we’ll see you this summer! Promotion ends April 23rd at midnight ET.
Despite Aldean (born Jason Aldine Williams) and Rock (born Robert James Ritchie) both being vocal supporters of Donald Trump, neither has made any mention of the fact that the rise in transportation costs is a direct result of Trump's war with Iran. Meanwhile, others have speculated that the discounted ticket prices are simply a means to bolster underwhelming sales. The latter is supported by the fact that the tour's official Instagram page has already taken to posting screenshots of individual ticket receipts. It's probably not a great sign when a tour's social media account celebrates moving one or two tickets at a time.
Normally, we'd embed a link to the Instagram post. But the official Rock The Country Instagram account has disabled embeds. It's also probably not a good sign that a social media account is actively taking steps to prevent its 60,000 followers from spreading the word. Fortunately(?), the Facebook embed works.
Either way, fans are not happy. Some paid upwards of $5,000 for first class front-row centers seats—a far cry from $59 price that went into effect this week. Even main floor section tickets started at $500 before the price cut. Understandably, fans took to social media to voice their dismay.
One angry fan commented:
so can i get a partial refund on the tickets i already bought, not very fair to discount the tickets after people bought them for full price
Another unfortunate fan posted:
you guys said the longer we wait prices will go up and now this. I would have saved almost $450 if I had waited till now. This isn't cool. Ticket sales will plummet next year due to this everyone will wait for the $99 tickets. Give people a partial refund to cover the difference
To make matters worse, it was just announced that three-time Grammy-winner Jelly Roll (born Jason Bradley DeFord) will no longer be playing the June 28th show in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, citing a "scheduling conflict." Taking his place will be nu metal veterans Staind, who are gearing up for their Break the Cycle 25th Anniversary Tour with Seether and special guests Hoobastank and Hinder. Staind lead singer Aaron Lewis is another outspoken MAGA acolyte straddling the line between rock and country.
One Jelly Roll fan put it succinctly:
That is the replacement…jelly roll was the draw. No thx to Staind-whoever that is
This is just the latest in a string of setbacks for the MAGA-coded music festival. Both Morgan Wade and Carter Faith backed out in January along with Shinedown the following month. The tour also lost rapper/actor Ludacris (born Christopher Brian Bridges), but the Grammy-winning Dirty South legend claims his initial involvement was the result of a miscommunication.
Still, this is Kid Rock. Ain't nobody gonna tell him how to live. Or how to sell tickets, presumably. As he puts it, "Rock The Country isn’t just a music festival; it’s a movement." (No word on why the posters still say "festival.") Kid Rock's Freedom 250 Tour with special guests Jon Pardi, Parker McCollum, Brantley Gilbert, Big & Rich, and Them Dirty Roses kicks with the first f̶e̶s̶t̶i̶v̶a̶l̶ movement stop May 1st in Bellville Texas.
Check out tour dates and the music video for "Shakedown" featuring Robert James below.
Kid Rock's latest album, Bad Reputation, is out now on Top Dog Records.
Rock The Country Tour
05/01-02 Bellville, TX @ Austin County Fairgrounds
05/29-30 Bloomingdale, GA @ Ottawa Farms
06/27-28 Sioux Falls, SD @ W.H. Fairgrounds
07/10-11 Ashland, KY @ Boyd County Fairgrounds
08/08-09 Hastings, MI @ Barry Expo Center
08/28-29 Ocala, FL @ Florida Horsepark
09/11-12 Hamburg, NY @ Erie County Fairgrounds
Freedom 250 Tour
04/13 Nashville, TN @ Kid Rock's 5th Annual Comedy Jam
05/01 Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion #
05/02 Bellville, TX @ Austin County Fairgrounds %
05/08 Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek #
05/09 Charlotte, NC @ Truliant Amphitheater #
05/15 St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheater ^
05/16 Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre ^
05/29 Bloomingdale, GA @ Ottawa Farms %
05/30 Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheater +
06/05 Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center ~
06/06 Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center ~
06/19 Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center ~
06/20 Burgettstown, PA @ The Pavilion at Star Lake ~
06/27 Sioux Falls, SD @ W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds %
08/08 Hastings, MI @ Barry Expo Center %
09/12 Hamburg, NY @ Erie County Fairgrounds %
% Rock The Country
# with Brantley Gilbert & Them Dirty Roses
^ with Parker McCollum
+ with Big & Rich Them Dirty Roses
~ with Jon Pardi
Break the Cycle 25th Anniversary Tour
05/07 Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome To Rockville
05/09 Biloxi, MS @ CPR Fest
05/10 Dothan, AL @ Dothan Civic Center
05/15 Columbus, OH @ Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival
09/08 Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheatre
09/10 Charlotte, NC @ Truliant Amphitheater
09/11 Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park
09/13 Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
09/14 Wantagh, NY @ Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
09/16 Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
09/18 Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center
09/19 Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater
09/21 Toronto, ON @ RBC Amphitheatre featuring Seether
09/23 Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre !
09/24 Shakopee, MN @ Mystic Lake Amphitheater
09/26 Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center
09/27 Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre
09/29 Franklin, TN @ FirstBank Amphitheater
10/01 Ridgedale, MO @ Thunder Ridge Nature Arena
10/03 Thackerville, OK @ Lucas Oil Live $
10/07 West Valley City, UT @ Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
10/09 Wheatland, CA @ Toyota Amphitheatre
10/10 Ontario, CA @ Toyota Arena
10/13 Phoenix, AZ @ Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
10/14 Albuquerque, NM @ First Financial Credit Union Amphitheater
10/16 Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center
10/17 Houston, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
10/19 Austin, TX @ Moody Center
! no Hoobastank
$ no Seether or Hinder
Nu Metal Agenda may earn an affiliate commission via purchases on ticket links through this article.
