Back in May, Jason Aldean released his song “Try That in a Small Town,” a plodding don’t-come-round-here-no-more warning to anyone choosing to “act a fool” in the titular small towns of America. It stayed mostly under the radar then, but last week it caromed into the cultural discourse when Aldean and director Shaun Silva dropped a video for the song featuring the country star performing in front of a courthouse — reportedly in Columbia, Tennessee, the site of a 1933 lynching — and interspersed with footage depicting protests as violent and lawless.
The backlash against the video, song, and Aldean himself has been swift, culminating with CMT, the country-music cable network, pulling the music video from its rotation. (A rep for CMT confirmed to Rolling Stone that the video was no longer airing.) Aldean responded to the criticism on Tuesday with a lengthy post on social media, dismissing the backlash completely.
“In the past 24 hour I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous. There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it – and there isn’t a single clip that isn’t real news footage – and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music – this one goes too far,” wrote Aldean, going on to reference the 2017 Las Vegas festival mass shooting and, seemingly, the recent Covenant school shooting in Nashville.
“As so many pointed out,” he continued, “I was present at Route 91 – where so many lost their lives – and our community recently suffered another heartbreaking tragedy. NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart.”
He went on to explain his interpretation of the song, written by Kelley Lovelace, Kurt Allison, Neil Thrasher, and Tully Kennedy and produced by Aldean’s longtime producer Michael Knox. “Try That In A Small Town, for me, refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief. Because they were our neighbors, and that was above any differences. My political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least one day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to – that’s what this song is about.”
As he points out in his statement, Aldean hasn’t been shy about his pro-Trump politics. He and his influencer wife, Brittany Aldean, have promoted anti-Biden (and anti-vaccine) clothing in 2021. Last year, the couple became embroiled in a controversy over a transphobic post made by Brittany Aldean.
Aldean is currently on the road with his Highway Desperado Tour. Last weekend, he had to cut short a show in Connecticut after being overcome by the heat.