The Kid Rock–backed Rock the Country festival is no longer moving forward in South Carolina, after a wave of artist withdrawals effectively collapsed one of its scheduled tour stops.
Anderson County, South Carolina, officials confirmed to The Post & Courier that the two-day concert planned for July 25–26, 2026, at the Anderson Sports and Entertainment Center has been canceled.
County administrator Rusty Burns said officials were notified on the night of February 5 but were not given a specific explanation for the decision.
“We weren’t told a reason,” Burns said. “It happens in the business. We had a good, two-year run.”
The festival was part of a larger, eight-date summer series launched by Kid Rock, with additional headline support from Jason Aldean and other major acts.
While the Anderson, SC, stop has been removed entirely, several other cities remain listed on the tour schedule, including Ocala, Florida; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Hamburg, New York.
The cancellation follows a rapid series of artist exits. On Feb. 6, Shinedown publicly announced it would no longer participate, citing concerns about division tied to the event.
“SHINEDOWN is everyone’s band,” the group wrote in a statement shared on X. “Our band’s purpose is to unite, not divide. We do not want to participate in something we believe will create further division.”
Creed, which had been promoted as a featured act at the Anderson date, was also removed from the festival’s website ahead of the cancellation announcement, with organizers claiming that they were only removed from the tour for that date.
Despite the shakeup, the tour’s remaining promotional materials still list Kid Rock, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Jelly Roll, and Brooks & Dunn among the artists attached to other stops.
The Anderson festival was projected to bring a significant economic boost to the region. County officials previously estimated that last year’s Rock the Country event drew roughly 25,000 attendees and generated about $17 million statewide.
Burns acknowledged the loss but said the county is already shifting focus to booking new concerts later this year. “The last two events showed we can host large-scale shows successfully,” he said.
Originally marketed as a patriotic celebration tied to America’s upcoming 250th anniversary, Rock the Country has drawn attention for its cultural positioning as much as its lineup.