Shinedown Pull Out of Rock the Country Festival After Drummer Called Ludacris a 'Coward' for Doing the Same

Shinedown have pulled out of the 2026 Rock the Country festival, shortly after their drummer Barry Kerch called rapper Ludacris a "coward" for doing the same thing.

The band announced its exit from the Kid Rock-led festival in an Instagram statement, which you can see below.

READ MORE: That Time Kid Rock Sang 'I Like 'Em Underage' in a Song on a Kids Movie Soundtrack

Shinedown's Rock the Country Statement

Shinedown explained their decision to pull out of the festival in the following message:

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.

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.

And to our fans, thank you for supporting and believing in us.

We love and appreciate you always.

All love and respect,

Shinedown.

Who Else Is Playing Rock the Country 2026?

The Rock the Country festival will feature a rotating lineup of rock and country artists as it visits eight cities across the United States. Rockers such as Creed, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Danny Worsnop will rub shoulders with country stars such as Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Jelly Roll and Brooks & Dunn.

The festival also featured a few rappers, including Nelly and Ludacris. The latter dropped off the bill just four days after it was announced, with his reps telling Rolling Stone the booking was "a mix-up. Lines got crossed and he wasn’t supposed to be on there."

Kerch addressed Ludacris' exit from the festival, as well as Shinedown's own decision to play it, in a recent episode of The Vinyl Road podcast, saying he "had no idea this was Kid Rock's thing."

“I don’t care. I’m just gonna go play a show," the drummer said (via Blabbermouth). "I really, really don’t care. You can keep your politics to yourself. I have no opinion one way or the other on Kid Rock. I love his music. This is about music. Ludacris wasn’t tough ... I mean, it’s not like he needs the money, jeez. If he’s not tough enough to stick it out, that’s just silly. That’s him being a coward, in my opinion.”

See what other rockers are touring this year in our 2026 Rock + Metal Tour Guide: