By Mark Gray
2:00am PDT, Sep 19, 2023
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"Jason Aldean says 'try that in a small town,' we did it at his f****** concert," one man said into a microphone while stationed outside the country music star's Chicago concert on Sept. 9.
It appears that about 20 members of the Revolution Club of Chicago attended and took part in the protest (TMZ has video). "We will try that in a big city. And, we will try it right in front of your concert," the man said.
The group proceeded to set fire to several American flags and then stomped on them.
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Although Jason Aldean's song "Try That In a Small Town" was released in May, it went viral in mid-July after CMT pulled its music video — which critics claim has a "pro-lynching" message. (The country singer's supporters say it's simply art that promotes small-town values.)
The music video for "Try That in a Small Town" features news footage from 2020 BLM protests and was filmed in front of a Tennessee courthouse where an 18-year-old Black man was lynched a century ago.
Some further believe the video is pro-gun, which struck a chord with critics given that Jason was on stage when a gunman opened fire on the crowd, killing 58, during 2017's Route 91 Harvest music festival. It remains the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, and the motive is still a mystery.
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Jason Aldean has remained defiant while responding to the backlash. "I feel that everyone is entitled to their opinion. You can think something all you want to, but it's doesn't mean it's true," he told the crowd during a recent concert. "What I am is a proud American. I'm proud to be from here. I love our country and I want to see if restored to what it once was before all this bull**** started happening to us."
He also wrote on Instagram, "'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. 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."
