-
Follow Us
On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
While trying to avoid the gun debate, the CMAs wade in even deeper
On the night of October 12, country superstar Jason Aldean performed at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was his first concert since being on stage at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, the site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, an Aldean wanted to talk to his audience about what he had witnessed. After about four or five minutes of what appeared to be a combination of thanking the crowd and thinking out loud, Aldean finally hit on the message he wanted to convey.
"They're gonna try to continue to hold us down, make us live in fear and be scared," he said, seemingly speaking of people who carry out mass shootings though never actually clarifying who they were.
"To those people I say : F*** you, we don't really care."
It was the same message of defiance that he expressed when he appeared on "Saturday Night Live" nearly a week after the shooting to sing "I Won't Back Down," a performance that doubled as a tribute to the recently deceased Tom Petty and as a declaration that no domestic terrorist would ever succeed in stopping people from living their lives.
Jason Aldean has not made any public statements in favor or against gun control – though that hasn't stopped peddlers of misinformation from claiming the former – which is fine. It's a tough ask from someone who just witnessed such carnage to put aside whatever they are going through to pick a side in such a divisive fight. But whether he wants to or not, Aldean will forever be associated with the issue because of his presence in what transpired. And because he's one of the genre's biggest stars, that connection extends to country music itself.
It's a relationship country music acknowledges, albeit partially and reluctantly. Cable network CMT changed the format of its 2017 "Artists of the Year" ceremony from being all about the honorees – Jason Aldean was among them this year – to a somber "night of hope and healing" for the victims of the Las Vegas shooting and those affected by the recent hurricanes. A cynic could interpret the inclusion of the latter group as an attempt to conflate a tragedy orchestrated by an individual and facilitated by our current gun laws with natural disasters under the generic label of "healing." In further evidence that the Country Music Association doesn't want to talk about gun issues, they threatened to revoke the credentials of any reporter who asks country musicians about what happened at the Route 91 Harvest Festival at their upcoming CMA Awards ceremony, before going back on the decision after it was met criticism.
"In light of recent events, and out of respect for the artists directly or indirectly involved, please refrain from focusing your coverage of the CMA Awards Red Carpet and Backstage Media Center on the Las Vegas tragedy, gun rights, political affiliations or topics of the like," read the press guidelines, which were leaked by the Nashville Scene.
"If you are reported as straying from these guidelines, your credential will be reviewed and potentially revoked via security escort."
It's a bizarre threat to make given country music's long history of being political – there's the Dixie Chicks publicly denouncing George W. Bush and the Iraq War or the left, and Toby Keith and Merle Haggard's "silent majority" anthem "Okie From Muskogee" for the right. It's also one that was doomed to fail from the start because people within country music have already spoken strongly on the issue. Caleb Keeter, guitarist of the Josh Abbott Band, took to Twitter the day after witnessing the Las Vegas shooting firsthand.
“I’ve been a proponent of the 2nd amendment my entire life. Until the events of last night. I cannot express how wrong I was," Keeter wrote in a lengthy message, which he ended with an explanation for his sudden change of heart.
"We need gun control RIGHT. NOW. My biggest regret is that I stubbornly didn’t realize it until my brothers on the road and myself were threatened by it. We are unbelievably fortunate to not be among the number of victims killed or seriously wounded by this maniac."
Expressing the same plea for gun control was Rosanne Cash, singer-songwriter and daughter of musical legend Johnny Cash. Cash, who has been advocating for sensible gun control, wrote an op-ed for the New York Times imploring her fellow country musicians to speak out against the National Rifle Association and to sever any ties they might have with the powerful lobbying group. Her plea appears to have worked. A recent Rolling Stone feature revealed that several acts had discontinued their ties with NRA Country, a marketing arm of the NRA that organizes several country music-related events and promotes up-and-coming artists.
Not 36 days after the tragedy in Las Vegas, a shooter opened fire and killed 26 people and injured 20 others at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, a small community outside San Antonio. The reaction from the country music community, which has seen so many of its own hail from Texas, was one of grief, condolences, and the all-too-familiar refrain that is heard after mass shootings: "How could this happen... and so soon after the last?" Perhaps unsurprisingly, advocacy for either side of the gun control debate has been muted.
Gun violence is not going to go away; the United States has averaged 7.5 mass shootings a week just this year alone. What happened in Vegas was a tragedy, yes, but it was also a reminder to country music fans and artists that they aren't exempt from this reality. The Las Vegas shooting might not have flipped the entire country community on the issue of gun control, but it has served as an opportunity for a lot of musicians previously stifled by a fear of offending their audience by expressing an opposing political view to finally speak up. “There isn’t a constitution of country music, but if there were, it would speak to a moment like this,” artist Charlie Worsham told Politico. “That people would operate without the fear of losing money or fans. We have a chance to say and do what we know in our hearts is right. It will not be the easiest thing we’ve ever done. But my favorite country songs aren’t about easy stuff, anyway.”
More must-reads:
Trending in Entertainment
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
