With four artists officially dropping out of the Rock The Country Festival, it has now been announced that one of the stops has been cancelled altogether.
Originally scheduled as an eight-show tour in small towns across the country, the festival has officially removed its July 25–26 stop in Anderson, South Carolina, from the lineup. In the last few days, artists like Carter Faith, Morgan Wade, Ludacris, and just this morning, Shinedown, have all redacted their names from the set of performances. Sunday night headliner, Shinedown, as well as supporting acts Ludacris and Morgan Wade, were originally a part of the Anderson County stop, along with other headliners like Creed, Brantley Gilbert, and many other country and rock acts throughout the two days.
The festival has received a massive amount of controversy, given its heavily patriotic-centered values, along with many viewing the event as a conservative-leaning operation. Coinciding with the United States 250th anniversary, the remaining seven shows begin the first weekend of May until mid-September. The headliners at these shows include some big names in country music like Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Jelly Roll, Brooks & Dunn, Riley Green, Hank Williams Jr, Ella Langley, etc. Along with Kid Rock as a frontman who’s also been taking a lot of heat, given his outspoken political stances.
According to the organizers of the Anderson leg of the festival, the show was cancelled due to “unforeseen circumstances.” Anderson County Administrator Rusty Burns released a statement saying, “Anderson County has been proud to host Rock the Country for the past two years. The event was a huge success drawing tens of thousands of visitors, making a multi-million-dollar economic impact on the Upstate. An event of this caliber proved what a great venue and exceptional hospitality we have here in Anderson County. Of course, we are disappointed that Rock the Country will not return to Anderson this year.”
He added on by assuring that to fill in the gaps of the loss of this high-yielding revenue-generating show, they are currently planning more upcoming community gatherings: “We are already planning additional major events and look forward to exciting announcements to come. Anderson County is committed to bringing high-quality arts and entertainment to our community.”
Considering that last year’s 2025 South Carolina stop drew more than 47,000 attendees, and given the festival’s vague statement, no concrete reason has been provided for why the show was removed from the lineup. However, with the loss of both Shinedown and Ludacris, Sunday’s show was ultimately left with only a lineup of opening acts, which presents a valid reason for the cancellation.
In addition, for those who were already planning to attend the two-day festival, anyone with tickets can either transfer them to another stop and receive a $50 merch voucher or file a request via email to receive a full refund.
Check out the remaining dates below:
May 1-2: Bellville, TX
May 29-30: Bloomingdale, GA
June 27-28: Sioux Falls, SD
July 10-11: Ashland, KY
August 8-9: Hastings, MI
August 28-29: Ocala, FL
September 11-12: Hamburg, NY
Check out the original South Carolina lineup:
