The South Carolina stop of the 2026 Rock the Country traveling festival has been canceled outright following Shinedown’s decision to drop off the bill. The two-day event was set to take place July 25th and 26th in Anderson, South Carolina.
Rock the Country originally announced eight cities, with Kid Rock headlining five of the stops. While Kid Rock was not on the South Carolina lineup, he is perhaps the face of the traveling festival.
When the 2026 festival tour was announced, Kid Rock stated, “Rock the Country isn’t just a music festival; it’s a movement. In 2026, as America celebrates its 250th anniversary, this is a place for hard-working, God-fearing patriots to gather as one and celebrate freedom, music, and the party of the year.”
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Ludacris and a few other artists dropped off the bill a couple weeks ago after social media posts questioned why they were playing a “MAGA” festival. Shinedown, who were set to co-headline the South Carolina stop with Creed, announced this morning that they, too, were no longer performing, despite their drummer Barry Kerch previously calling Ludacris a “coward” for doing the same.
Now, the festival has fully canceled the South Carolina stop, with county administrator Rusty Burns releasing the following statement to Fox Carolina:
“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. 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.”
The other seven stops of Rock the Country are still scheduled to go on as planned. Individual lineups for each city can be found at the festival’s official website.
