Trump, guns and political anthems: How country music went to war with itself

I think what we’re seeing in country music is a direct representation of what’s happening in America,” says Florida-born country singer Brooke Eden. “Before Trump was elected, being a Republican or a Democrat wasn’t this heated. That’s what’s hard right now – the extremism on both sides.”

It speaks to the degree of tension in Nashville that Eden, 34, was one of the few artists who agreed to speak with The Independent for this story. In the build-up to the US election, the toxic culture war gripping country music has reached a painful crescendo, pitting artist against artist in a scene that once prided itself on a family ethos.

For those who haven’t followed the scene closely in recent years, a rousing chorus of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” sung by adoring fans in joyous, unified heartache, is now just as likely to be drowned out by newer political anthems in an altogether more threatening tenor.

“It is wild, this divide,” the softly spoken Eden sighs. “What we’re missing right now is what made country, country. It’s supposed to be about family, and what we have is a lot of families split two ways. The middle ground just doesn’t exist anymore.”

Even those unfamiliar with country music have likely heard the near-mythical furore that erupted when The Chicks, then known as the Dixie Chicks, called out President George W Bush – a fellow Texan – over the imminent invasion of Iraq.

CDs were burnt, they were blacklisted by virtually every major country radio station, sponsorship deals were pulled, and the group’s three members received death threats.

Many artists since, including country-pop crossover queen Taylor Swift, have cited that moment as the reason why they avoided any discussion of politics in their own careers.

But in the past decade, something has shifted. And for many, that something was Donald Trump.

The divisive former president marched the Republican Party to the right, to the delight of large swathes of White America, who felt their voices had been lost and political currency diminished after two terms under Barack Obama.

Suddenly, dams burst and red lines were crossed in one dizzying crisis after another. Mass shootings put gun ownership at the top of the agenda. The murder of George Floyd tore police trust asunder. Fraud, conspiracies and the spread of social media’s poisonous underbelly eroded bonds and carved the US in two.

In 2017, all eyes were on Trump’s inauguration stage, as it became clear the newly elected president was struggling to find anyone with sufficient star power to perform. Arguably the only “big” name was country singer Toby Keith, who caused controversy in 2002 with his post-9/11 song “Courtesy of the Red White and Blue” (which he performed at Trump’s inauguration ceremony).

Meanwhile Garth Brooks, another country star, was forced to defend himself from “disappointed” fans who assumed he would be on the lineup.

Backstage at music festivals, dressing room doors that were once left open are now pointedly closed. “Ten or 15 years ago, everybody would sit in a circle around the table, pull out their guitars and start singing old country songs,” festival producer Rendy Lovelady told Rolling Stone in September. “There was a lot of camaraderie. Whereas now, the camaraderie has definitely lessened. They tend to stay in their own community.”

Many of the most prominent signs of the rift in Nashville have transpired in the past year. Jason Aldean’s single “Try That in a Small Town”, released in May, caused uproar over its heavy pro-gun theme, and a music video that featured a Tennessee courthouse where a Black teenager was lynched in 1927. Scenes from Black Lives Matter protests were projected onto the side of the building. For many, including Aldean’s peers, it went too far.

“I’m from a small town,” Sheryl Crow tweeted, tagging Aldean. “Even people in small towns are sick of violence. There’s nothing small-town or American about promoting violence. You should know that better than anyone having survived a mass shooting. This is not American or small town-like. It’s just lame.”

Aldean told CBS this week that he was unaware of the courthouse’s history: “But I also don’t go back 100 years and check on the history of a place before we go shoot it either.”

He added: “Honestly, if you’re in the South, you could probably go to any small-town courthouse, you’re going to be hard-pressed to find one that hasn’t had some sort of racial issue over the years at some point.”

“Try That in a Small Town” was intended to be a comment on “the lawlessness and the disrespect for cops and just trashing cities… I’m just not cool with that,” he said.

Just three months after Aldean’s single, newcomer Oliver Anthony dropped “Rich Men North of Richmond”, with lyrics complaining about taxes, “welfare cheats” and obese people. Fans of the song included prominent Republican figures such as Kari Lake and Marjorie Taylor Greene, and controversial podcast host Joe Rogan.

Xural.com