About This Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, Wheeler Walker Jr. Tour
Many folks were caught off guard when the curious tour lineup of the Wet Cigarette of Music Kid Rock, Bro-Country Godfather Brantley Gilbert, and foul-mouthed comedic country artist Wheeler Walker Jr. was revealed last week, dubbed the “Red Blooded Rock N Roll Redneck Extravaganza Tour,” stimulating all manner of opinion and dialogue from the respective fan bases and casual onlookers alike.
Yes, it’s a pretty unusual booking, but with a lot of important tentacles. The first thing that must be digested is that there’s no longer any question about it, Kid Rock is now officially a “country” music artist, like it or not. Shake your little fist, shrug your shoulders, or perhaps celebrate if you’re a fan of his, but when few were paying attention, Kid Rock signed to the country label Broken Bow, released a “country” record called Sweet Southern Sugar in November of 2017, and he currently sits at #23 on the Billboard Country Albums chart.
Because the whole Bebe Rexha saga has been sucking up all of country music’s attention, and the media has cried wolf so many times on the whole “gone country” thread for pop and rock artists, nobody put up a fight when Kid Rock waltzed right into the genre unperturbed, logging a Top 25 radio single with “Po-Dunk,” and another Top 40 single with “Tennessee Mountain Top.” The only reason Kid’s initial 43,000 records sold for Sweet Southern Sugar didn’t top the country chart is because it was released on an extremely busy week that also included Blake Shelton and others, and it only came in at #4. Kid Rock has been just successful enough to keep this “gone country” thing going, but has sneaked just enough under the radar where few are paying enough attention to put up a fight.
Meanwhile for Brantley Gilbert, this is yet another step down for a guy that at one point commanded one of the most wide and fervent fan bases in mainstream country, but seems to have hit a rough patch in the last few years. Where his first two records on Big Machine both sold over 1 million copies, his latest The Devil Don’t Sleep has struggled to make it above 200K. In 2016 and 2017, Brantley Gilbert was headlining his own tours at the arena level. Now he’s sharing opener duty with Wheeler Walker Jr. in the slightly smaller amphitheater setting.
And of course Wheeler Walker Jr. is the strangest part of it all. In the sci-fi world, they call it “continuity issues” when a storyline goes out-of-bounds from previously-established narratives. Okay, Kid Rock is the preeminent mutt of American music, which makes him an easy to fit for someone such as Wheeler Walker. But a performer like Brantley Gilbert stands for everything Wheeler Walker Jr.’s online presence has been against for the last few years. Granted, some slot Wheeler as a parody artist when he isn’t, but just about nobody has been more outspoken about bad country music like the stuff Brantley has built his career upon than Wheeler.
Also, Wheeler Walker Jr. has been a bit outspoken politically, taking on some of the bigoted fans his music naturally attracts, and who are naturally attracted to someone like Kid Rock, his whole “Dumfuckistan” campaign against non-Trump states, and his defense of the Confederate flag. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not accusing Kid Rock or his fans of anything, but it’s a bit unclear how that jives with some of the previously-held stances by Wheeler Walker publicly. Previous bunk mates of Wheeler Walker Jr. include Birdcloud, who are about as outspoken politically against people like Kid Rock as anybody.
Also, you think it’s awkward for Wheeler Walker Jr. to be on a tour with Kid Rock and Brantley Gilbert? Try to be perpetrating the most raunchy country music persona possible in the midst of the #metoo movement and the most fervent political correctness regime we’ve ever seen. This is what Wheeler Walker Jr. is facing. It also weirdly makes a Kid Rock tour one of the few places Wheeler’s brand of music comedy can still be accepted.
And there there’s Brantley Gilbert fans who veer very religious, which will make for some very interesting facial expressions when they’re finding their seats at the Toyota Amphitheatre in their bedazzled Cavalry Cross skin tight Tapout T-shirts, and Wheeler’s singing about … well, Wheeler stuff. But perhaps that’s the whole point of the booking, at least for Wheeler. He certainly will be reaching more people than if he remains on the club circuit, and maybe it’s Brantley Gilbert fans who need his “preaching” about the ills of pop country the most, even though Gilbert fans often pride themselves as being better, and more authentic than that average pop country fan, and granted, at times Brantley has delivered some better songs.
This is not the first time an artist from the country underground has tried to take a big step up by kissing the ring of Kid Rock. Hellbound Glory also tried this maneuver in 2012 with mixed results. Yes, it put the band’s name out there like never before and bought them a new touring van, but it also resulted in a mild implosion afterwards, though fans of Hellbound Glory know that implosions have always been part of Hellbound Glory’s narrative, and charm. Interesting to note, a few months ago Hellbound Glory started trolling Wheeler Walker Jr. on Twitter, saying they would make a perfect touring pairing, and they probably would. And now they both have Kid Rock in common.
Wheeler Walker Jr. has and will continue to see blowback for booking himself on a tour like this from his fans, but in many respects he’s sitting in the cat bird’s seat here. He’s definitely the 3rd rail on this tour, but he’s also just elevated his name right beside two artists much higher on the totem pole, while frankly the other two are being lowered. That has to be the long game thinking from Wheeler’s team, as well as being able to bring in a bigger touring purse not just now, but in the future after the experience. The only question is if Wheeler Walker Jr. will parse his fan base in the process, and just how bad. A lot of his fans certainly won’t be ponying up for a billing like this.
Touring is where the money is made in music these days, and the more folks you can draw the more money you can make, and not just from ticket sales, but from sharing venue costs which reduces overhead. Big bills also entice people to travel from neighboring markets to make a show. This is the stimulus behind other recent tour pairings of a curious nature such as Lucinda Williams, Dwight Yoakam, and Steve Earle. But the question is if it’s serving the best interests of the public. Plenty will look at this lineup and find the nearest receptacle to vomit in regardless. But the biggest concern for promoters is if established fans of the respective artists refuse to pay for tickets because of someone else on the bill. This tour billing definitely crosses the cultural divide, and in many different ways.
Time and ticket sales will bear out whether this tour lineup makes sense for anyone involved. But as independent artists continue to rise in popularity (including Wheeler Walker Jr.), and certain mainstream artists continue to come back down to earth, don’t be surprised if we see more and more of these strange tour bookings as everyone tries to squeeze the most they can out of the live music dollar.
Red Blooded Rock N Roll Redneck Extravaganza Tour Dates
Aug. 3 – Darling’s Waterfront Pavilion – Bangor, ME*+^
Aug. 4 – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, NH*+^
Aug. 18 – White River Amphitheatre – Auburn, WA*
Aug. 22 – Shoreline Amphitheatre – Mountain View, CA
Aug. 24 – Toyota Amphitheatre – Wheatland, CA
Aug. 25 – Glen Helen Amphitheater – San Bernardino, CA
Sept. 1 – Coastal Music Park at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre – Raleigh, NC
Sept. 7 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis, MO
Sept. 14 – Lakeview Amphitheater – Syracuse, NY
Sept. 15 – Saratoga Performing Arts Center – Saratoga Springs, NY
Sept. 21 – Ruoff Home Mortgage Center – Indianapolis, IN
Sept. 22 – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Chicago, IL
Sept. 29 – Xfinity Center – Boston, MA
Oct. 12 – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre – Tampa, FL
Oct. 13 – Coral Sky Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, FL
*Brantley Gilbert not performing
+Wheeler Walker Jr. not performing
^A Thousand Horses supporting
hoptowntiger94
April 9, 2018 @ 11:10 am
Really? When I first saw this, I thought they nailed their target audience.
hoptowntiger94
April 9, 2018 @ 11:12 am
I think you give Walker way too much credit.
Tangelox
April 9, 2018 @ 11:33 am
I agree, I don’t get the wheeler love, he’s like the Larry the Cable Guy of country music.
hoptowntiger94
April 9, 2018 @ 11:36 am
That’s so funny you said that… I initially wrote he’s a foul-mouthed Larry the Cable Guy! Then I thought Wheeler does play guitar and can sing a little. So, I didn’t think the comparison was fair. But, I agree with you.
FunctionallyIlliterate
April 9, 2018 @ 11:55 am
I agree with Trig here, Hoffman’s playing with house money and probably raking in more than he ever did with standup or his short lived tv show.
This is almost theater of the absurd territory, he’s done shows with Kid Rock before, but the real loser is Brantley doing co 2nd fiddle duties with Wheeler.
Musically speaking give me anything Wheeler’s put out over the purile shit of either of the other two.
Trigger
April 9, 2018 @ 12:16 pm
I think I’ve been very fair to Wheeler Walker Jr., and wouldn’t call my assessment of his music or some of the decisions he’s made including this one “love.”
Tangelox
April 9, 2018 @ 12:22 pm
I meant in general not you necessarily. To me he and Larry the Cable Guy found a niche which is a character making fun of their audience. I find kid Rock to be 100x more genuine than walker and I wouldn’t pay to see rock.
The Ghost of Buckshot Jones
April 9, 2018 @ 1:33 pm
I was gonna say he’s Cletus T. Judd 2017 with more f bombs.
Mike W.
April 9, 2018 @ 1:44 pm
Eh, Wheeler/Ben Hoffman is a hell of a lot funnier than Cletus T. Judd ever was though. I’m not the biggest fan of Wheeler’s music, but his podcast is usually pretty good (though he needs to spend some $$$ on audio equipment for it). Cletus T. Judd always felt like one huge “dad joke”.
Andrew
April 9, 2018 @ 2:46 pm
Except Larry the Cable Guy occasionally stumbles onto something at least a little bit funny. Walker’s only “joke” is to curse and be over the top raunchy on every song.
FunctionallyIlliterate
April 9, 2018 @ 2:56 pm
Pretty sure Isbell ghostwrote “Summers in Kentucky”.
hoptowntiger94
April 9, 2018 @ 3:06 pm
Here’s a funny Larry the Cable Guy story …
He did an in-store event with us at a Walmart in Washington, PA in 2005 . Rolling Stones was embedded with him at the time … this was at the height of his popularity. People started lining up at midnight. By 11 am the next day, the line wrapped around the store. The problem was Larry has some medical issue that hinders him from signing more than X amount of autographs. This day it was like 100 before he started shaking. Everyone was concerned the people not getting an autograph would be pissed from wasting their whole day waiting. So, we went in back to the storage/ docking room and all forged his signature on these 8X10’s that he passed out while walking the line of remaining fans. Someone has an 8X10 of Larry the Cable Guy signed by me in their junk draw.
A.K.A. City
April 9, 2018 @ 11:19 am
I really think that the fans there for Kid Rock and Brantley Gilbert will not get that Wheeler Walker, Jr. is a parody act/performance artist. Most of it is going to go over their heads completely, or they will be happy to sing along irony-free.
I like Wheeler, and I guess I’m happy that he will be making some money, but I have no idea where this is going to take him. If this tour is successful, then the creation will have become its own being, more successful than its creator.
Aggc
April 9, 2018 @ 11:27 am
I can’t wait to not attend that.
JB-Chicago
April 9, 2018 @ 7:20 pm
That comment is so good, I’m stealing that comment for another site….lol Thanks
Jeremiah
April 9, 2018 @ 11:32 am
I’m interested to know the reactions of Brantley’s fans that show up used to his whole defending women persona and get their first experience with “The Pussy King.”
Dawg Fan
April 9, 2018 @ 11:38 am
No GA dates….yay!
Steve
April 9, 2018 @ 11:48 am
Dumpster Fire.
Clyde
April 9, 2018 @ 11:59 am
Hard to imagine Wheeler Walker going over big, at this point, with anyone who is not already a fan.
wayne
April 9, 2018 @ 11:59 am
HA HA. Keep ’em guessing Kid. I love how you play the game.
Trainwreck92
April 9, 2018 @ 12:11 pm
I’d never pay to see WWJ play by himself, but I’d love to see him open for or co-headline with another more serious act. Unfortunately, Kid Rock and Brantley Gilbert are not those acts. I think Wheeler would fit in great at a Hellbound Glory or Hank 3 show, but this lineup is just…puzzling to say the least.
hoptowntiger94
April 9, 2018 @ 12:31 pm
Wheeler is way too lowbrow for Hank 3.
Hank 3 support real artists on the road.
Trainwreck92
April 9, 2018 @ 1:16 pm
Wheeler is too lowbrow for a guy with a song called “Cunt of a Bitch”? I’d never expect Hank to ever actually perform with WWJ, I’m just saying that that pairing makes far more sense to me than Wheeler with Kid Rock and Brantley Gilbert.
hoptowntiger94
April 9, 2018 @ 1:47 pm
I was prepared for you to come back at me with something like “P.F.F.”, but you went deep cut on me. Honestly, I’ll have to go back and listen to “Cunt of a Bitch” in the context of Ghost to a Ghost. I never felt 3 was using vulgarity for cheap laughs like Wheeler who sings about slipping fingers in assholes during sex. I don’t think the two are comparable.
I was searching for an article Trig did years ago praising 3 for the the opening acts he selects. I can’t find on my phone, I’ll look on my laptop tonight. But Wheeler and his fans don’t fit that mold.
Johnny
April 12, 2018 @ 9:19 am
I can see them singing “Dick in Dixie” as a duet on stage.
kross
April 9, 2018 @ 12:17 pm
I could see wheeler getting his ass kicked by Kid Rock at some point during this tour.
Isaac
April 9, 2018 @ 11:43 pm
They are friends. They’ve been hanging out in Nashville together for a couple of years now.
James O
April 9, 2018 @ 12:30 pm
I think I’m gonna go to one- kid rock is stud, Brantley is ok, and wheeler is ok- I don’t like wheelers politics tho
J Burke
April 9, 2018 @ 12:32 pm
Love him or hate him, I don’t see an upside for Kid Rock.
hoptowntiger94
April 9, 2018 @ 12:42 pm
What’s funny is one of my customers who says he hates country music, but loves Kid Rock, sent me a few Wheeler YouTube clips awhile back and said this kind of country music he could listen to.
Mike Honcho
April 9, 2018 @ 12:51 pm
That’s a lot of overachievement to consider in one place. Talent? We don’t need no stinkin talent.
Stringbuzz
April 9, 2018 @ 12:55 pm
Two closest places, no wheeler, so no me..
JohnS
April 10, 2018 @ 1:39 pm
Wish we could trade. I’m near Wheeler and am not a fan of him personally.
Dennixx
April 9, 2018 @ 1:23 pm
Vegas should issue a over/under line for dui’s on this tour.
Dave
April 9, 2018 @ 1:30 pm
Remember Kid Rock also had hits on country radio with his duet with Sheryl Crow “Picture” and especially that atrocity “All Summer Long”
Chris
April 9, 2018 @ 1:36 pm
Notice the word “country” is nowhere in the title of this tour. At least that’s honest. But yeah, I have zero interest in this if Kid Rock is involved. He makes me ashamed to be from southeast Michigan.
James O
April 9, 2018 @ 1:59 pm
Hey! Kids a stud #MAGA
Chris
April 9, 2018 @ 1:37 pm
I mean, honest as far as Gilbert and Kid Rock are concerned.
Mike W.
April 9, 2018 @ 1:41 pm
Well, I guess we should expect higher meth use (than normal) and STD diagnoses (than normal) at all of the stops on this tour.
Kris Hitchcock
April 9, 2018 @ 1:48 pm
I find the dates locations kind of interesting. Almost completely missing the south, barely touching the Midwest, and all those Cali/west coast dates.
FunctionallyIlliterate
April 9, 2018 @ 2:01 pm
Clearly the target demo is coastal elites — who didn’t vote for Trump – you know all three guy’s buggest fanbases.
Isaac
April 9, 2018 @ 11:45 pm
At Kid’s annual Fish Fry in Nashville this past year, I walked around the parking lot for a while, just scanning the license plates to see who had come from out of state for it.
SOOOOOO MANY YANKEE TAGS / REBEL FLAG BUMPER STICKERS!!!
James O
April 9, 2018 @ 2:00 pm
#RedneckExtravaganza #yeehaw #maga
Cool Lester Smooth
April 9, 2018 @ 2:03 pm
Y’know, this could be subversive as fuck, by Wheeler.
Or he wants to get paid.
Or both.
Isaac
April 9, 2018 @ 11:46 pm
He has been friends with Kid for years. He opened this past year’s annual Kid Rock Fish Fry.
DJ
April 9, 2018 @ 2:09 pm
Feast Your Eyes On Kid Rock’s Snazzy Cadillac Inspired By Waylon Jennings
http://countrymusicnation.com/feast-your-eyes-on-kid-rocks-snazzy-cadillac-inspired-by-waylon-jennings
Back in 2003, Rock helped honor his musical idol on the tribute album I’ve Always Been Crazy: A Tribute to Waylon Jennings. The album was released the year after Jennings’ death, and featured covers from some of the biggest names in country music. Just a few of the participants were Alison Krauss, Hank Williams Jr., and Travis Tritt.
J Burke
April 9, 2018 @ 2:26 pm
Could not open link but went to You Tube and found it. Very very nice!
DJ
April 9, 2018 @ 6:11 pm
Yes. I happened to see the Inside West Coast Customs segment when they did that car. I like Kid Rock and that gave me an even better reason to like him.
albert
April 9, 2018 @ 3:56 pm
stupidest tour name ever .
I’m pretty sure I’ll be re-organizing my stamp collection that month.
Therealbobcephus
April 9, 2018 @ 4:25 pm
I don’t mean to discredit the Kid Rock went country narrative you have here, but he’s been playing country-ish music since his album “Cocky” in the early 2000’s. Remember “picture”? That didn’t happen yesterday.
hoptowntiger94
April 9, 2018 @ 5:12 pm
He was also performing regularly with Hank Jr. around 2001.
DJ
April 9, 2018 @ 6:14 pm
Long haired country boy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iskARYUmKYI
Aggc
April 9, 2018 @ 7:09 pm
Vulgarity is act of desperation reserved for those who have nothing left to say. Both Wheeler Walker and Kid Rock are prime examples.
Fourth Blessed Gorge
April 9, 2018 @ 9:06 pm
“Wet Cigarette Of Music”…LOL! Fantastic. Music critics with a sense of humor still exist!
“The inflatable wading pool of…”
“The lukewarm lite beer of…”
“The under-cooked company picnic hot dog of…”
“The shiny whitehead on the nose of…”
“The ice cube in the urinal of…”
Kid Rock is music for people who pretty much lost interest in music twenty-something years ago. It’s background music for passing out on lawn furniture. His cut & paste cornpone sounds of familiarity soothe the easily-entertained and his silly (and highly contrived) displays of jingoism are designed to give the rabble the impression that they’re attending something meaningful and not just a Kid Rock concert. He’s clown shoes. He finds the easiest trend to ape and hops on board, he’s as authentic as that Rolmex watch I bought at the bus station.
albert
April 9, 2018 @ 11:10 pm
beautiful FBG
GrantH
April 9, 2018 @ 11:28 pm
The only way this tour could get white trashier is if Kenny Chesney was the headliner.
Isaac
April 9, 2018 @ 11:48 pm
As I said in multiple comments above: WWJ and KR are friends in real life. Kid owns a decent chunk of Nashville real estate at this point, and WWJ hangs out at Kid’s house on the outskirts of town pretty regularly.
charlotte
April 11, 2018 @ 9:45 am
IMO, Kid Rock is talented and versatile. A technically good voice….nah….but he could sing anything he chooses and it would be good. Could go to Broadway and succeed probably. IDK…just something about him.
Willie Potter
April 11, 2018 @ 9:52 am
“There’s no longer any question about it, Kid Rock is now officially a “country” music artist”…
Now?
Kid Rock’s two duets with Sheryl Crow, “Picture ” and “Collide” are some of the best country songs of the last 20 years. He also has done some excellent stuff with Tim McGraw, Martina McBride, Angelina Presley ,Jamey Johnson, Dwight Yoakam and Hank Jr. of course.
Robert James Ritchie has crafted some really great country music throughout his career.
And when he truly wants to, he can be a pretty damn soulful singer as well.
And as someone else stated already, the guy has been on the country charts for about 20 years now…
Trigger
April 11, 2018 @ 10:08 am
But clearly there is a purposeful effort to establish him in the country genre full-time that was not there before, releasing his latest album on a country label, and taking two country acts out with him on the road. Sure he’s always done country stuff, but this assertion is not a stretch.
Wayne
April 11, 2018 @ 10:14 am
More strange than the lineup is the fact that this is billed as a “redneck” tour, but only features 3-4 dates in the South (depending on if you call St. Louis southern). And Tampa and West Palm Beach can hardly be described as redneck. Most of these dates are on the upper coasts. How many Kid Rock-Brantley Gilbert-Wheeler Walker Jr. fans can there really be in Bangor, Syracuse, or Aurburn, WA (Seattle suburb FYI)
Benny Lee
April 11, 2018 @ 11:00 am
All the good stuff won’t come within 700 miles, and THIS is what shows up on my front porch?
…
Lone Wolf
April 12, 2018 @ 11:41 pm
I remember him on tour with RUN-DMC and Aerosmith in the early 2000’s and he said, “If RUN-DMC and Aerosmith had a baby, it would be Kid Rock.” I couldn’t tell if it was bravado or he was really trying to appeal to both fan bases. I still enjoy ‘Devil Without a Cause’ but haven’t liked much else since. His sampling and paint by numbers style of songwriting wore on me. I respect him for having a sustainable career but he’s nobody I get hyped up to listen to anymore with regards to his new stuff.
Hvnter
April 16, 2018 @ 12:17 pm
I can understand why purists would really not like Kid Rock, but I really have always enjoyed him. Few artists can be as diverse as he is, and still retain some of the foundational aspects of each genre he has touched on. I’d say his fanbase is more of an issue than the actual music he puts out.
William
June 21, 2018 @ 11:55 am
I’m not sure anyone on here realizes that Wheeler Walker Jr. is trolling country music. He is a jewish comedian that is just trying to show that anyone can make crappy country music. That is also why Kid Rock switched, why put any real effort into making music when you can just make a shitty country song and morons will buy that crap
blatchy
December 5, 2018 @ 12:42 pm
LOL! WWJ is not a parody? Ask Ben Hoffman what he thinks…
Jacob Morgan
June 8, 2019 @ 1:31 am
Brantley has more talent in a single nut hair than all y’all put together! Post that shit turds!!!