The 2026 Rock the Nation Competition will not play in Anderson, South Carolina, after a number of musicians dropped out of the live performance.
Anderson County administrator Rusty Burns advised native newspaper The Submit and Courier on Friday, February 6, that the two-day present was canceled. Burns additional claimed that he wasn’t given a selected motive why the pageant canceled its South Carolina reveals.
Rock the Nation is described as “a pageant for the folks” that includes performances from Child Rock, Jason Aldean, Jelly Roll and Blake Shelton. The pageant was scheduled to cease at eight cities throughout the US this summer time.
Whereas Rock the Nation has not publicly addressed shuttering the South Carolina dates, the pageant’s web site and social media pages have since been up to date to spotlight its remaining seven reveals. The pageant is presently scheduled to start in Bellville, Texas, on Could 1-2 earlier than heading to Bloomingdale, Georgia, later that month. Performances are additionally scheduled to happen in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Ashland, Kentucky, Hastings, Michigan, Ocala, Florida, and Hamburg, New York.
Months earlier than the Rock the Nation pageant crosses the US, three of its named performers have all dropped out. The annual pageant, consisting of an eight-city tour that includes units from well-liked music artists, initially featured Ludacris, Morgan Wade and Carter Religion among the many star-studded lineup. The trio of artists have since quietly canceled their (…)
Hours earlier than the Anderson present was scrapped, Shinedown revealed that they not deliberate to play at any of the reveals on the tour.
“Shinedown is everybody’s band. We really feel that we’ve been given a platform to convey all folks collectively by the facility and music and tune,” an X assertion learn. “Now we have one BOSS, and it’s everybody within the viewers. Our band’s function is to unite, not divide.”
The band added, “With that in thoughts, we’ve made the choice that we are going to not be enjoying the Rock the Nation Competition. We all know this choice will create variations of opinion, however we don’t wish to take part in one thing we consider will create additional division.”
Shinedown — that includes Brent Smith, Zach Myers, Barry Kerch, Eric Bass and Jason Todd — beforehand denied any political motivation contributed to their preliminary choice to carry out with Rock the Nation.
“We’re an apolitical band, however the knives have come out. It’s loopy, and to be trustworthy, I had no concept,” Kerch, 49, mentioned, on the “Vinyl Street” podcast in January. “It was simply, ‘Hey, right here’s a suggestion. It appears like a cool lineup, and it’s a mixture of nation and rock (artists).’ We took the provide … after which, abruptly, we came upon this (has) acquired some political leaning to it. I don’t care, I’m simply going to play a present. You retain your politics to your self.”
Kerch additional burdened that neither he nor his bandmates knew the pageant was “Child Rock’s factor.” (Child Rock, 55, is a famous supporter of President Donald Trump and the Republican get together, and can be set to headline Turning Level USA’s different halftime present throughout Tremendous Bowl LX on Sunday, February 8.)
Shinedown isn’t the one artist to again out of Rock the Nation — Carter Religion, Morgan Wade and Ludacris have equally walked away from the reveals.
“Strains acquired crossed, and he wasn’t alleged to be on there,” a rep for Ludacris, 48, advised Rolling Stone earlier this month, claiming his inclusion was a “mix-up.”