Travis Tritt Defends Jason Aldean Amid Song Controversy

Travis Tritt threw in his two cents after country music fans grew divided over a new Jason Aldean single. Aldean released “Try That In a Small Town” early this May and its accompanying music video has recently gained mixed attention. Tritt, 60, has taken to social media to defend the song and Aldean, 46.

Beginning his career in ’98, Aldean has gone on to release several albums that are certified platinum. He also has five Grammy Award nominations to his name for Best Country Album. Meanwhile, Tritt became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1992 and he has seven albums that are certified platinum. What has caused Tritt to speak out on Aldean’s new single?

Travis Tritt addresses a new Jason Aldean song and music video

Although Aldean’s song was released in May, the accompanying music video only went live on Friday, July 14. Some of the lyrics are “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face / Stomp on the flag and light it up / Yeah, ya think you’re tough / Well, try that in a small town / See how far ya make it down the road.” Meanwhile, the music video includes clips of BLM activists during protests.

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By Tuesday, backlash reached a new high. CMT has since removed the song from its usual lineup. Tritt was among the country music artists addressing the new Aldean song. Other defenders include 89-year-old Pat Boone, who called the move to cancel Aldean’s song “sick.”

The response to the song

For the record, I love the new @Jason_Aldean single, “Try That In A Small Town”. IMO, this song isn’t promoting violence as some have suggested. It is simply expressing a point of view that many American people share which is against the obvious violence that we have seen from…

— Travis Tritt (@TravisTritt) July 19, 2023

“For the record, I love the new @Jason_Aldean single, ‘Try That In A Small Town,'” said Tritt in a Twitter post. “IMO, this song isn’t promoting violence as some have suggested. It is simply expressing a point of view that many American people share which is against the obvious violence that we have seen from the likes of so many ‘activists groups’ in this country in recent years and the belief shared by millions that this behavior would not be tolerated by many people in many places across the USA.”

In a follow-up post, he added, “I would also like to remind my friend, @Jason_Aldean that Twitter and social media in general is not a real place. The views shared by many accounts on this platform are not actually representative of the vast majority of the population of this country. Say what you want to say and be who you want to be. Damn the social media torpedoes.”

Critics to the song and music video said they believe “Try That In A Small Town,” which is a part of Aldean’s 11th upcoming album, promotes gun violence and racism. At one point, Aldean and the band are backed by an American flag flying at Tennessee’s Maury County Courthouse, site of the 1946 race riots and a 1927 lynching incident.

Aldean insists that “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.” Additionally, for how much the lyrics express pride in gun ownership, after Aldean survived the 2017 Las Vegas music festival shooting, he said that tragedies should not be used for politics, but that it is “too easy to get guns.”