There was a time when fans could safely assume that all country music stars leaned conservative, even if they didn’t explicitly say so. Now everything has become political and it’s hard to find any neutral celebrities. And what’s worse, it’s almost impossible to find any famous people who are brave enough to espouse conservative views, even in the realm of country music.
However, there are a few country artists who aren’t afraid to say they are conservative. These are some of the most outspoken.
Kid Rock
Love him or hate him, Kid Rock (whose real name is Robert Ritchie) is one of the most vocal conservative country stars in the business. He’s become friends with Donald Trump, he says, and even plays golf with him.
“We ended up becoming buddies,” Kid Rock mentioned during a March appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” “Spend a lot of time [together] at the golf course now. It’s really weird to get phone calls from him and stuff. It’s kind of mind-blowing.”
He said hanging out with Trump is “awesome” and “so much fun.” Ritchie is absolutely not a fan of Joe Biden or Dr. Anthony Fauci, though. In the song “We the People,” which was released in January, the singer said of the administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, “Wear your mask. Take your pills. Now a whole generation is mentally ill.”
The chorus includes the line “Let’s go, Brandon,” which has become a euphemism for “F*** Joe Biden.”
John Rich
Rich expresses his political views through song lyrics. He leaves nothing up to interpretation in the song, “Progress.”
“There’s a hole in this country where its heart used to be, And Old Glory’s divided, on fire in the street…They say Building Back Better will make America great…If that’s a wave of the future, all I’ve got to say…”
“Stick your progress where the sun don’t shine/Keep your big mess away from me and mine/If you leave us alone, well we’d all be just fine/Stick your progress where the sun don’t shine.”
Jason Aldean
Jason Aldean says he tried to stay away from politics, but that became impossible after the events of 2020 and 2021.
“When you got kids and you’re kind of seeing the future for them, like what it looks like, it’s pretty scary,” Aldean told Taste of Country about why he came out as a conservative. Now there are photos of him hanging out at Trump’s Christmas party. The country star also mentioned playing golf with the former president.
“So I think for me, just seeing that, and you know, just how everything has been the last couple of years has been pretty wild,” Aldean continued. “A lot of things that I don’t agree with, and sometimes it’s kind of hard for me to sit back and not say anything.”
And even though he’s not thrilled about the backlash, the “You Make It Easy” singer says some things in life are more important than popularity.
“To me there’s a bigger picture there,” he said. “If somebody doesn’t listen to my music because of the way I think politically, that to me is kind of crazy, but whatever. To me, the bigger issue is we got kids and future generations that, we gotta get this stuff straightened out. It’s kind of like the wild west out there right now. It’s just been kind of crazy. It’s hard to not have an opinion.”
Aldean’s wife Brittany is even more outspoken than her husband, and recently got into a public battle with some other country stars when she criticized the idea of children who identify as trans being given hormone blockers, cross-sex hormones, and irreversible surgeries.
The singer supported his wife in the comments of her social media posts, which fans took to mean he felt the same way.
Granger Smith
Smith won’t commit to a political party one way or the other, but his lyrics and performances are patriotic on purpose.
“We talk about these big, American things in a very funny, but proud, way — celebrating it, in a way,” Smith told The Boot of his song, “Merica” in 2016. “To me, it’s great because that song puts patriotism in America front and center at whatever festival or concert we play. We make sure that America is front and center, because I’m so proud of the opportunities that we have here.”
The singer is also vocal about his Christian beliefs and support for the troops. During his Granger Across Merica Pledge of Allegiance Tour, he held concerts on the east coast – in what he called the thirteen colonies – reciting the Pledge everywhere he went.
He was also one of the few country music stars who showed support to Jason Aldean’s wife, Brittany, during the recent controversy over transgender children by liking one of her Instagram posts.
Toby Keith
If anyone has doubts about Keith’s commitment to conservative values, all they need to do is listen to “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue.” That song sparked a feud between him and Natalie Maines, lead singer of The Dixie Chicks (now known as The Chicks).
“It’s ignorant, and it makes country music sound ignorant,” she said of Keith’s anthem to the American troops.
In retaliation, Keith projected a doctored image of Maines cuddling with Saddam Hussein on a large screen at several of his concerts. He later apologized for his actions and the feud is over, but Keith remains a conservative and even performed at Trump’s inauguration in 2017. Keith was later awarded the National Medal of Arts for “extraordinary contributions to American music” by President Trump in 2021.
“My father was a soldier. He taught his kids to respect veterans,” Keith said in 2009. “It’s that respect and the thank you that we have a military that’s in place and ready to defend our nation; our freedom.”
In 2021, Keith concluded a message on the anniversary of September 11 saying, “Let’s never forget. Always remember. Stay vigilant. And never apologize for being patriotic. Godspeed.”
Trace Adkins
Former “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant Trace Adkins remains faithfully conservative even as his fellow country singer compatriots defect to the other side. The “You’re Gonna Miss This” singer endorsed Mitt Romney in 2012 and performed at the Republican National Convention in Tampa that year.
He also sang the National Anthem at Tennessee governor Bill Haslam’s second inauguration in 2015 and did the same a year later during then-candidate Donald Trump’s nomination at the 2016 Republican National Convention.
Brantley Gilbert
Not only does Brantley Gilbert have a gigantic second amendment tattoo on his back, the country crooner has also been spotted wearing “Trump for President” hats. When fans started chanting “F*** Joe Biden” at his concert in West Virginia, Gilbert turned the microphone toward them to encourage them.
“Oh I’m here for that…I knew I loved West Virginia,” he told the screaming crowd.
At the same show, Gilbert laid out exactly who he was.
“I feel like I need to tell you a few things about myself in case you don’t know me well,” the singer said. “Number one, I’m a patriot, even though that’s a cuss word right now. Number two, I like my guns and ain’t nobody taking them from me.”
“And I see a lot of kids, I understand this is a PG-13 show but that still allows me one F-bomb and I’m gonna choose to use that right now so kids, cover your ears,” he continued. “I don’t like cold weather, cause I don’t f*** with snowflakes.”
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