"Rock the Country," the touring music festival led by Kid Rock, has canceled its scheduled July 25-26 stop in Anderson, South Carolina, amid a wave of artist withdrawals and lineup disruptions this week.
The Anderson dates, originally announced as part of an eight-city tour spearheaded by Kid Rock, have been removed from the festival's official website.
Anderson County administrators were informed on Feb. 5 that the event would not take place, according to The Post and Courier. No reason for the cancellation was provided.
The South Carolina cancellation follows multiple departures from the festival's lineup. Artists, including Shinedown, Ludacris, Morgan Wade, and Carter Faith have exited the tour in recent days, significantly reshaping the lineup ahead of its spring and summer dates, Billboard reported.
Seven "Rock the Country" stops remain listed on the tour's schedule: Bellville, Texas, on May 1–2; Bloomingdale, Georgia, on May 29–30; Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on June 27–28; Ashland, Kentucky, on July 10–11; Hastings, Michigan, on Aug. 8–9; Ocala, Florida, on Aug. 28–29; and Hamburg, New York, on Sept. 11–12.
The tour's lineup shifts from stop to stop, with Kid Rock headlining the multicity run.
Additional artists scheduled to appear throughout the run include Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Jelly Roll, Brooks & Dunn, Riley Green, Miranda Lambert, Hank Williams Jr., Ella Langley, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jon Pardi, and Brantley Gilbert.
Shinedown, which had been booked for the canceled Anderson weekend, announced on Feb. 6 that it would no longer participate in the festival. The band said it decided to withdraw after receiving backlash from fans related to its involvement.
"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," the band said in a statement on social media. "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."
The group added, "We know this decision will create differences of opinion. But we do not want to participate in something we believe will create further division."
Organizers have not issued a public statement addressing the Anderson cancellation or the recent artist departures.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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