Charley Crockett and the seven circles of hell wasn't something we saw coming.

Texan country icon Charley Crockett is currently out on his Age of the Ram tour, heading across America and taking an impressive number of opening artists with him.

In just a few days time, he’s set to play in Oregon and California, where the openers for the shows were lined up to be Los Angeles based vintage-rock duo, Twin Temple. However, in a whirlwind decision, the duo have been cut from Crockett’s tour.

The duo - whose music is inspired by 60s and 70s doo-wop rock - took to social media to post a statement that said “we were informed that Charley Crockett has decided to remove Twin Temple from his upcoming shows next week due to our Satanic imagery”.

The duo have been performing since 2017, and their artistic identity has always been heavily rooted in satanic imagery; their aesthetic, titles, songwriting and overall style all representing aspects of Satanism, embracing everything from pentagrams to upside down crosses. Over the years, the duo have gained a significant following and have racked up millions of streams on songs titled ‘Lucifer, My Lover’ and ‘Satan’s A Woman’.

The decision has come with no real explanation from Crockett himself or his team - just a few comments littered across socials - and nothing further than the initial statement from Twin Temple on their side. So, all we can work on is theory, speculation and what we already know about the artists.

Analysis: "From whatever aspect, it doesn't look great on the 'Lonesome Drifter'"

Daisy Innes

Staff Writer

What seems unsettling, from a neutral perspective, is that Crockett has never shied away from original artistry - in fact, it’s what he stands for - so the decision may perhaps come as a confusing one for many of his dedicated fans.

It seems unlikely that either Crockett, or his management team, were unaware of Twin Temple’s imagery - it’s instilled in everything they do, so, this couldn’t be a decision based on their recent actions. Surely, this wouldn’t be a result of sheer lack of research?

Whilst we’re not sure exactly where this connection between the two started, it could be down to a mutual friendship in legendary producer Shooter Jennings. Crockett’s latest album, Clovis was produced by Jennings, and it doesn’t mark the first time the pair have worked together. Jennings has also been a keen supporter and fan of Twin Temple, with the producer having championed many of the releases and statements the duo have previously made.

Crockett has recently experienced both changes and battles in the business of his music career. He chose label imprint Atlantic Outpost as the home to release Clovis, leaving behind Island Records, who were responsible for the release of the Sagebrush Trilogy of records between 2025 and 2026. That was after an undisclosed issue where Clovis was removed from all streaming platforms, seemingly due to ownership and disagreements over the release period of the record.

Perhaps his team shared concerns with Twin Temple opening for an artist that would be attracting predominantly country music fans? Whilst Crockett has always walked his own path, Satanism has never been something that sits well in country music - for his management, it could have been a red flag.

This theory might have been debunked though, by none other than the '$10 Cowboy' himself. With fans and media having picked up the story, Crockett took to socials and commented on one discussion of the decision saying, "You bet." Stepping into argumentative territory, Crockett began replying to certain comments, one of which suggested this could all be a marketing strategy, to that, he said "I don't do publicity stunts. I do the work". If that work includes choosing his own openers though, then perhaps he needs to be doing a little more research.

The situation has brought out significant outrage from other indie country artists, too, Sierra Ferrell chimed in on a post about the controversy to simply say, “Rebuke.” Ferrell, who has created a magical world of her own and has built it all on a very original identity, is seemingly disappointed in Crockett’s handling of the situation.

Arkansas native and singer-songwriter Nick Shoulders commented saying “I’m a guy from a Southern Baptist, gospel singing family, and I just wanna say how proud I am of yall saying what needs to be said: Hail Satan.”

Closing out the post with a “HAIL SATAN!”, Twin Temple wrote “We’re grateful for your support, not only of Twin Temple, but more importantly of artistic freedom”. This seems like one more dig at Crockett who, particularly recently, has been advocating for artistic freedom after a legal dispute over his newest record Clovis.

As an undeniable “outlaw” in the country world, Crockett has been a keen supporter of smaller artists and artistic rights to record, release and own their image and art. From whatever aspect, it doesn't look great on the 'Lonesome Drifter' singer - either he's giving into some higher up industry authority, or maybe his advocacy for unqiue artistry doesn't stretch into the world of satanism?

One thing’s for sure though, Twin Temple will be receiving a whole lot of attention over this scandal - perhaps even more than if they were on tour with Crockett?