Shinedown frontman Brent Smith discussed with Rolling Stone the band’s choice to withdraw from this year’s installment of Rock The Country, the country-focused festival launched in 2024 by headliner Kid Rock.
He stated: “We saw infighting that we had never seen before, and for us, it was our job to diffuse it. I just want to remind everybody, it says the ‘United States of America’ — united. And a lot of people right now don’t feel united.”
Smith later acknowledged that stepping away from the festival did little to quiet critics or fans who opposed Shinedown’s decision to cancel their Rock The Country appearance.
“There were certain people that were not happy about [pulling back],” Brent said. “I will say that there was an overwhelming amount of people that agreed with the decision.… You’re entitled to your opinion 1,000 percent in this country, and that’s one of the beautiful things about it.”
The band was scheduled to perform at the July 26 stop in Anderson, South Carolina as part of the 2026 edition of the traveling country-rock festival. However, on Friday (February 6), Shinedown announced via social media that they would no longer be taking part.
In a statement addressing fans, the band wrote: “Shinedown is everyone’s band. We feel that we have been given a platform to bring all people together through the power of music and song.”
“We have one BOSS, and it is everyone in the audience. Our band’s 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.”
“We know this decision will create differences of opinion. But we do not want to participate in something we believe will create further division.”
“And to our fans, thank you for supporting and believing in us.”
“We love and appreciate you always.”
Shinedown’s withdrawal is particularly notable given comments made last month by drummer Barry Kerch regarding Ludacris’s own exit from the festival.
Appearing on The Vinyl Road podcast — hosted by former Shinedown and current Saliva bassist Brad Stewart alongside Jason Bailey — Kerch addressed backlash tied to the festival’s perceived political associations. While Rock The Country is not officially a political event, its lineup and connections have generated heated online debate.
Kerch admitted that the band initially did not realize the broader context surrounding the event. He said: “There’s been tons. The knives come out when they don’t like it, especially now politically. 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 Brent [Smith]— I think 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.’ We took the offer and played it, and then all of a sudden we find out, ‘Oh, this has got some political leaning to it.’”
At the time, Kerch made it clear that he personally had no intention of backing out and criticized Ludacris for doing so.
“I don’t care. I’m just gonna go play a show,” he said. “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.”
