This band bailed on Kid Rock’s MAGA-leaning festival. But it’s coming to Boise
When multiplatinum band Shinedown abruptly exited this year’s Kid Rock-led Rock the Country festival, response was swift and predictable: “Shinedown abandons patriotic festival as disappointed fans slam ‘woke’ decision to cancel,” a Fox News headline trumpeted Feb. 6.
But the decision hasn’t impacted the group’s willingness to visit deep-red states like Idaho.
Shinedown will headline a concert Monday, Aug. 10, at ExtraMile Arena. The Boise stop of the Dance, Kid, Dance Act II World Tour also will feature special guests Coheed and Cambria, From Ashes to New and DJ Rockfeed. Tickets to the general public will become available at 10 a.m. Friday at Ticketmaster. Prices will range from $49.50 to $129.50, according to promoter Live Nation. Presales already have begun.
With a jaw-dropping 21 No. 1 songs, Shinedown is the top act on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Mainstream Rock Artists Chart. Described in a press release as “one of the most vital and forward-thinking powerhouses in music,” Shinedown has “over 8.3 billion global streams, 15 platinum and gold singles, platinum or gold certification for all of their albums, 10 million albums sold worldwide, and major media acclaim. They are known for their timely and honest messages behind their chart-topping songs that resonate with not only their global audience and the rock community, but with our culture at large.”
Still, the band ruffled MAGA bald-eagle feathers in early February when it abruptly announced its departure from the Rock the Country festival. Headlined by Kid Rock and Jason Aldean, the eight-stop tour already had faced controversy for its ties to the far-right movement. Ludacris, Carter Faith and Morgan Wade had left the lineup prior to Shinedown’s decision. And a two-day stop in South Carolina had been canceled, leaving Rock the Country with a planned eight-city itinerary between May and September.
Shinedown posted on X that it “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.”
One thing that everybody can agree on? The longevity of Shinedown’s success is beyond impressive. Formed 25 years ago in Jacksonville, Florida, the group is “one of the biggest bands in the world,” as the release declares, adding that Shinedown has released four major songs in the past year. Of those, “Dance, Kid, Dance” and “Killing Fields” both went to No. 1 at rock radio, while “Three Six Five” hit No. 1 at alternative radio — and was a crossover hit on other charts.
Shinedown’s latest studio album, “EI8GHT,” is scheduled to be release May 29.
