Country singers breaking silence
Since tragic Parkland school shooting, many speaking out about gun control
Garth Brooks wiped a tear as he talked about the March for Our Lives rally, the student-led demonstration earlier this month demanding an end to mass shootings and action from Congress to stop gun violence.
Conventional wisdom in Nashville is country singers shouldn’t talk about anything controversial, because they don’t want to alienate their audience or anger country radio, which can make or break careers.
The topic of guns is seen as especially polarizing, given the National Rifle Association’s close ties to the industry.
However, Rolling Stone reported NRA Country — the lifestyle arm of the NRA — recently revamped its website and removed the names of all country singers affiliated with the brand. Popular acts such as Florida Georgia Line and Thomas Rhett had already been deleted after the Las Vegas shooting.
“I can only guess that after the Parkland shooting, there were a lot more acts that felt queasy about having their name directly associated with the NRA,” David Macias, the president of management company Thirty Tigers, told the magazine.
When a gunman shot and killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, some Nashville stars spoke up. Tim McGraw posted on Instagram, “I’m deeply moved by these students who are lifting their voices — challenging us to listen, learn, and make real changes.”
Country singer Cam wrote on Twitter, “This is not the America we are capable of. Please get upset.”
Others were critical of the government. Jennifer Nettles, of the recently reunited duo Sugarland, tweeted: “More than anything else, people who want to hurt as many innocent children as they can, use guns to do it. I wonder how long it will take our government to do anything at all. I wonder how loudly the voices of every mother in this country can scream ’til they do.”
The duo Brothers Osborne wrote: “Nothing will be done. Nothing.”
McGraw and his wife, Faith Hill, have previously called for stricter gun control, and Cam was one of the artists who pushed back last fall when the Country Music Association tried to ban reporters at the CMA Awards from asking questions about guns or politics. And Brothers Osborne (siblings T.J. and John) aren’t shy about discussing controversial topics on social media.
“A lot of people are like, ‘Stay out of politics.’ I don’t care if you agree with me or not or I agree with you or not, we should all be involved in politics because it affects every single one of us,” T.J. Osborne recently told the Nashville Tennessean in an article about how country singers are becoming less fearful about getting “Dixie Chick’d” — blacklisted from country radio after sharing their political views, as that trio did in 2003 with its criticism of then-president George W. Bush.
When students across the country walked out of schools in their first call for stronger gun-control legislation, Kelsea Ballerini tweeted an image of the walkout and wrote: “This is heavy but so brave and beautiful. My heart is with these students all over the world who are walking out, boldly letting their voices be heard for a change, and honouring their friends, classmates, and strangers who have been taken.”
Maren Morris doesn’t hold back her thoughts on social issues — yet country radio has increasingly embraced her music.
“I don’t think watering yourself down ends up gaining you more fans. I deal with it every time I say something a little more outspoken — it’s like, you lose a thousand followers, but the ones that stick with you are really, really in it with you for good,” said Morris.
The Dixie Chicks comparison “is a very easy thing to say when someone says something you don’t agree with. But I think that people don’t even think that way, anymore, really — it’s changed so much since all of that went down. I’m just not threatened by that thrown out at me anymore.”