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Jason Aldean’s performance of “Try That In A Small Town” aired during the hours-long CMA Fest special on Wednesday night (July 19), following the iconic festival’s 50th anniversary last month. The televised rendition of Aldean’s latest single comes shortly after the premiere of its music video, which stirred controversy among listeners and viewers.
Aldean’s music video for his latest single — a song that was written by Kurt Allison, Tully Kennedy, Kelley Lovelace, and Neil Thrasher — was recorded in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, the site of the lynching of Henry Choate in 1927 and other incidents of racial violence. It also shows footage of unrest during protests, flag burning, robberies and more. It drew backlash largely for its pro-gun lyrics, violent imagery and other divisive issues (though Aldean’s supporters and his wife, Brittany Aldean, have also spoken out in his defense). The video has since been pulled from CMT’s rotation.
Aldean included “Try That In A Small Town” during his CMA Fest set at Nissan Stadium in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee. Through the song had been released before the performance on June 10, the video was still weeks away from its premiere.
“In the past 24 hours 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,” Aldean said in a statement on his social media channels earlier this week. “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 video 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.
“As so many pointed out, I was present at Route 91-where so many lost their lives- and our community recently suffered another heartbreaking tragedy,” he continued, noting pushback in response to pro-gun lyrics in the song. “NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart.
“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,” Aldean concluded. “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 a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to- that’s what this song is about.”
CMA Fest aired on ABC on Wednesday night. It's now available on Hulu.