“I Stand By The Song”: Jason Aldean Performs ‘Try That in a Small Town’ at Liberty Ball for Trump's Inauguration

Jason Aldean has again defended ’Try That in a Small Town’ as he took the stage at the Liberty Ball in Washington, DC for President Donald Trump's inauguration celebration.

The multiple Entertainer of the Year winner performed a plethora of chart-toppers and fan-favourites throughout his fiery, high-energy hour-long set at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Monday (January 20th) evening, following President Trump's official swearing-in ceremony at US Capitol Hill earlier that day.

As he introduced ‘Try That in a Small Town’, Jason Aldean referenced the controversy the song sparked back in 2023, underlining, “Well, this next song kind of stirred up a little bit of some shit. But I've always said I stand by the song, I stand by the video...I stand by what it says, and I think President Trump does too, because he called me when this thing came out and told me he liked the song, and what a great song it was...and you guys ended up making this one a big hit for us, so I'm gonna play it for you guys. It's called, ‘Try That in a Small Town’”.

Shortly after the release of ‘Try That in a Small Town’ and its music video, Jason Aldean was faced with accusations of including racist undertones and pro-gun messaging.

In the track, after describing criminal activities he deems to be associated with ‘city’ culture, he hints at a violent response, “Got a gun that my granddad gave me / They say one day they're gonna round up / Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck”.

The music video exacerbated the outrage surrounding ‘Try That in a Small Town‘, with clips of flag-burning and BLM protests interwoven with shots of Jason Aldean performing in front of Maury County Courthouse. Some expressed their discomfort with Aldean choosing this as the video location, given the courthouse was the site of a 1927 mob lynching of an 18-year old Black man, Henry Choate.

After ‘Try That in a Small Town’ was pulled from CMT, Jason Aldean responded on Instagram, emphasising, “In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous. There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it - and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage. While I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music - this one goes too far”.

Elsewhere during Jason Aldean's Liberty Ball performance, the ‘Burnin’ It Down’ crooner - who has been a vocal supporter of Donald Trump for many years, and appeared at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee - treated attendees to live-wire renditions of hits such as ‘You Make It Easy’ and ‘Dirt Road Anthem’.

During President Trump's inauguration ceremony, fellow country chart-topper Carrie Underwood performed a powerful a cappella version of ‘America the Beautiful’, while the likes of Parker McCollum, Billy Ray Cyrus, Rascal Flatts and Lee Greenwood also took the stage at inauguration events spread throughout the rest of the day.

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