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The Covid-19 cultural war has a new front: country music. Whether it’s the Nashville establishment or newcomers to the adjacent roots, folk and American genres, many artists are taking a stand on concert pandemic precautions, often along partisan lines. Jason Isbell has become one of the most prominent musicians to enter the fray. The Grammy-winning freelance alt-country artist – who released acclaimed albums like Southeastern and Reunions last year – rowed with some vitriolic Twitter sites and users, while garnering praise, after announce on August 9 that proof of a Covid-19 vaccination or a negative test was mandatory for its spectators.
“We have the ability to limit the number of people who get sick. So I can handle pushbacks from anyone who refuses this because I think I’m right, ”Isbell said.
If the venues don’t comply, he has vowed not to perform, which resulted in a show being canceled and moved. Asked about the canceled performance, Houston Pavilion President and CEO Cynthia Woods Mitchell said they congratulated Isbell and wanted to implement his measures, but did not have enough time, although Isbell had tweeted this is false and the place “categorically refused”.
This is by no means the only dispute Isbell has faced since his announcement – he has also retweeted and berated numerous naysayers, who have called him all of a “Far left POS” to a wealthy elitist who excludes marginalized fans.
Isbell is certainly not the only musician facing the complications of the Delta variant. While Eric Clapton recently refused to give concerts where proof of vaccination is required, Stevie Nicks has ended his US tour due to pandemic peaks. Other acts as varied as Dead & Co, Maroon 5, and Foo Fighters require participants to provide proof of vaccination. “We are amplified when we are untied. And a lot of people reached out to say they were thankful that we spoke, ”Isbell says.
Yet Isbell’s efforts in particular have become a lightning rod for a genre that has not only seen some of its popular acts defy concert pandemic restrictions, but has also seen many fans rallying behind the artist of insults. racial Morgan Wallen. In 2015, conservative politician Ted Cruz praised country music for its nationalist response to 9/11.
Memphis singer-songwriter John Paul Keith – who has been acclaimed by American songwriter, Lyric Magazine and more – said “I respect Jason taking the lead on this” despite the backlash. A savvy social media commentator, Keith also spoke recently, following the cancellation of the New Orleans Jazz Fest, tweeting that the pandemic is endangering not only lives but also musicians’ incomes. He knows several doubly vaccinated musicians who had to postpone tours this summer due to exposure or breakthrough cases.
“It’s all the fault of the unvaccinated and the politicians, clergy and media figures who lie to them,” Keith said. When asked if he’s afraid of online firestorms like the one triggered by Isbell’s comments, Keith replied, “No, I’m worried about having to cancel my concerts or get a breakthrough deal. ” Despite being fully vaccinated, he is worried about cutting the precious tour dates he has available as the pandemic has stifled opportunities to support his latest album. “Many independent artists and working musicians are not in a position to demand that the places where they play require vaccines. If a bar band musician tries this, he may end up without a job. “
Austin songwriter Cari Hutson agrees that precautions for her shows are primarily driven by the health and safety of everyone, with economic ramifications coming second. “We follow CDC guidelines at our shows, to try to help keep our industry alive. Especially for small venues, because they’ve had a devastating year and a half, ”she says. “We can’t afford not to go to shows, we have to vaccinate and mask ourselves or whatever we have worked for our whole life will be gone. And it’s so upsetting to work so long on a trade and lose opportunities left and right, because people would rather believe in vaccine conspiracy theories than at least try these precautions, ”says- she.
While Isbell has sufficient stature to cancel shows at non-conforming venues, the option of cutting an entire Nicks-style tour is not an option for him, as he tweeted to a recent reviewer who told him about it. suggested following the lead of the Fleetwood Mac singer. His retort? She is “very rich”. Isbell told The Guardian that mass-market concerts could lead to a catastrophic economic scenario: “We want to keep working. And if we do nothing to keep the public safe, we will find ourselves locked in and a lot of people will not survive financially. “
Keith says the widespread disregard for the physical and economic health of the industry stems from artists and fans outside of its scene. “It’s no secret that traditional country music is, generally speaking, to the right of the Americana. I don’t know of any artist in the American world who is overtly anti-vax, ”he says. The biggest jab-opposing faction in American music right now, according to Keith: “Right-wing Christian musicians like Sean Feucht, who put on big, mass-market concerts and defy local security measures.”
While Keith is happy to be in Hutson’s camp, Isbell and his current tourmate, American veterinarian Lucinda Williams (who tweeted she was “proud to be by his side”), the Tennessee singer-songwriter admits concern about Isbell’s precautions. “I’m afraid there’s a political backlash in Tennessee. Our Republican supermajority in the state legislature could pass a law banning places from requiring vaccination cards,” Keith said, adding that an anti -mask going on in state schools leaves him certain “they’ll ban them everywhere if they can.”
But Isbell isn’t fazed by the prospect or other reactions beyond social media, saying his team “will do the right thing, and if that means going to court and talking to a governor to convince people , then that’s what I’ll do to keep people safe. I have good lawyers and I’m a good argumentator myself, ”Isbell says, adding that the loss of his friend and genre titan John Prine to Covid-19 last year is part of what propels him . He is also quick to point out that policies playing on an anti-Covid precautionary basis are themselves frequently vaccinated.
Isbell’s efforts appeared to be justified on August 12 when AEG, the second-largest concert organizer in the United States, began requiring proof of vaccination at its venues nationwide. And earlier this year, some of the nation’s biggest mainstream names starred in a public service announcement promoting immunization. A Los Angeles Times columnist praised Eric Church, Darius Rucker and Ashley McBryde for appearing in the video, produced by none other than the Academy of Country Music. The columnist also said that “country music can help America get back to normal” if the many fans of these stars are persuaded to follow such anti-pandemic procedures.
This approach contrasts sharply with country pop groups like Chase Rice and Chris Janson. They each not only drew large crowds to their concerts last summer during one of the peaks of the pandemic, but also wrote songs that appeared to criticize Covid-19 precautions. Keith, meanwhile, slammed Brad Paisley, one of the nation’s most popular acts, for appearing in a travel ad with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who opted out of the nationwide mask warrants. state and whose state has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country. “Country music and Christian music are the only genres that embrace right-wing politics so openly,” says Keith.
From the conduct of these artists to criticizing Isbell’s precautions against the virus, the pandemic has exposed one of the longest divides in country music. Prior to these ongoing rows, Isbell has regularly beards exchanged with right-wing supporters who implored him to focus on music and forget about politics. In 2018, Canadian country music newcomer Donovan Woods (whose songs were turned into smash hits by well-known names like Tim McGraw) was also criticized on social media for his jokes about Ontario Premier Doug Ford. . In an interview, he said: “I don’t think most people want artists to shut up and sing. Anyone who doesn’t understand that politics and music have always gone hand in hand is delusional. More of the country lore happened backstage at Willie Nelson’s 70th birthday concert in 2003, when a Nashville chart top quarreled with singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson at About his “left-handed shit”.
“There is more than one type of country singer, and if everyone outside of our community learns that we’re not all big hillheads, then that’s going to be a nice side effect of it all. But I don’t mean to do this, I just want everyone to be safe, ”Isbell says. “A lot of country stars look like me. And we have a lot of white men in our audience who feel disadvantaged these days. But if the music had been more inclusive of other stories, we would have a larger section, ”he says, before adding that this has forced him to support African-American country singers like Adia Victoria, who often has open for him.
Clifford Young, a pollster who worked on a 2019 Ipsos survey of country music and tribalism (among others), surprisingly determined that the genre was not as right-wing as it had been thought. While classical rock is the most popular and unifying type of music in the United States, according to these results, the country “has only a partisan gap of 15 percentage points,” well below more questions. controversies raised in the survey. When asked what information this investigation gives him about the current country music abyss, Young says context is key. “There is a section of the unvaccinated who are downright hostile to the mandate or to measures similar to a mandate,” he said. “We’re seeing such reactions at all levels, from school districts and businesses to country music. “
Regardless of how it breaks down, Hutson says it’s “infuriating” that vaccination and mask-wearing “are viewed as a political issue, rather than a health issue or a human issue.” She maintains hope that the gap will narrow so that “we can follow these protocols and the virus gets better.” So we can move forward. Because we can move forward. But coming from a place of love is the key ”.
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