Kid Rock won’t be taking the stage at Patriots Day Freedom Fest after the conservative Kentucky gathering was abruptly canceled after organizers sold just six $1,000 VIP tickets.
Organizer Eric Deters broke the news September 21, only days before the free festival was scheduled to take place in northern Kentucky. Deters said his financial plan depended on selling VIP tickets to about 100 people he regularly interacts with.
“When I put together Patriots Day Freedom Fest, I put it together with the game plan and the idea that I could pay for it with VIP sales of $1,000 from these 100 people that I interact with on a regular basis,” he said on Facebook Live.
“I want to tell you something, rich people, as a whole, suck,” he said.
The MAGA-associated Patriots Day Freedom Fest has been canceled less than a week before it was set to start after only six VIP tickets were reportedly sold.
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) September 22, 2026
The event promised Kid Rock, Dog the Bounty Hunter, and other MAGA personalities. pic.twitter.com/uZCdc4V5WI
The former Republican candidate for Kentucky governor also said the festival, which debuted in 2022, will not return.
“I am never ever, ever, ever, ever doing this event again. Ever,” he continued.
Kid Rock was part of a lineup that also included Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman, Rep. James Comer, congressional candidate Ed Gallrein and Fox News contributor Joe Concha.
Deters later pushed back against suggestions that the cancellation reflected weak interest in the free event.
“VIP tickets do not have jack to do with our crowd,” he wrote. “People were stoked to see Kid Rock,” adding that the singer is “a good dude.”
