‘MAGA event’ Freedom Fest with Kid Rock cancelled after just six VIP tickets sold
Kid Rock’s BBC appearance ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration has left people cringing. (Getty Images)
A Kentucky Patriots’ Day Freedom Fest event featuring Kid Rock has been cancelled days before it was scheduled to take place due to a lack of sales.
In a since-deleted Facebook video announcing the cancellation on 21 September, organiser Eric Deters revealed that they only sold six $1,000 VIP tickets, adding: “I want to tell you something, rich people, as a whole, suck.”
Kid Rock’s representative said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly: “Kid Rock was added to this event 5 days before it was canceled. He was not performing, only booked to speak at the event. He has no other ties to the event.”
The event had originally been scheduled for 26 September at Deters’ property in Morning View, Kentucky, around 25 miles from Cincinnati.
General admission was set to be free, with VIP packages intended to cover costs. Deters said he had planned to sell about 100 VIP tickets at $1,000 each, but only six were bought.
Deters also complained about wealthy supporters failing to stump up the money, saying: “Rank-and-file Americans are the backbone of this country – both political parties.
“Those people that didn’t buy VIP tickets, it wasn’t ’cause they don’t like Trump or don’t support Trump. I know these people. They’re all Trump supporters. The reason why, they didn’t buy VIP tickets, is because they’re just not very good human beings.”
What the festival promised
Patriots’ Day Freedom Fest was billed as a conservative festival, with Deters previously calling it “the best MAGA event”.
Other celebrities and speakers on the 2026 lineup included Dog the Bounty Hunter, Kentucky Republican congressional nominee Ed Galleria, Fox News contributor Joe Concha and US Rep. James Comer.
The festival debuted in 2022, and previous line-ups have included Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Candace Owens.
Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert James Ritchie, had been advertised as part of this year’s line-up.
Deters: ‘I am never ever… doing this event again’
In a follow-up Facebook video responding to the backlash, now deleted, Deters the musician, saying: “Kid Rock’s a good dude. I’m tickled to death he agreed to come,” and insisting the cancellation had “absolutely nothing to do” with him.
Deters also said he would not revive the festival, declaring: “I am never ever, ever, ever, ever doing this event again. Ever.”
