The release of the song “Try That In A Small Town” is certainly not going the way Jason Aldean and his team intended it to, though it is doing well commercially.
A song that Aldean says refers to a sense of community has actually divided much of the country, with CMT even pulling the corresponding music video from their rotation (do they still play music videos?) as Jason defends himself and the release of the song.
“‘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.”
Multiple public figures have come out to defend Aldean and “Try That In A Small Town,” but there have also been peers of the country music star attack him over the tune, such as Sheryl Crow, who called the same “lame.”
One person that came out in support of Jason Aldean is politician Kristi Noem, who is currently serving as the Governor of South Dakota. In a video that she posted to her social media today, Noem started with:
“Good morning everybody. I was just getting in the car to head to a meeting and I was thinking about something I posted on my social media on May 24th. It was about a new song that had just been released that my friend Neil Thrasher helped write, but it was by Jason Aldean.”
The governor, who has developed a friendship with Aldean and his wide Brittany in recent years, was deciding to defend the song and its message with the video.
She continued:
“I was so impressed with the song because it talked about the value of small towns and how we have our priorities right. And when I posted on my social media, I talked about that I hoped the video would be shot in South Dakota because that is our way of life here.”
Noem described the values of the song being similar to those beliefs that South Dakota residences share.
The Governor went on to say that she is surprised by the backlash surrounding the song:
“I am shocked by what I am seeing in this country with people attempting to cancel this song and cancel Jason and his beliefs. Him and Brittany (his wife) are outspoken about their love for law and order and for their love of this country, and I’m just grateful for them.
I think a lot of times people who go out and fight everyday on these important issues and have an opinion and remember the freedom and liberty that this country was founded on get persecuted from it.
And we’re seeing that with the Aldean’s right now and the songwriters that worked so hard on this.”
The South Dakota Governor then went on to invite Jason Aldean to her state to play anytime, and even offered up her front yard as a venue if necessary:
“I just want them to know that we support them, we love them, and thank you for writing a song that America can get behind. Keep singing and keep playing, and if you want to come to South Dakota I’ll let you play anywhere.
We’ll facilitate it, and I know you are coming in August, but if you want to come sing it on the Governor’s Residence front lawn, we’ll do it proudly.”
The full video of Kristi Noem’s statement can be viewed below:
“Try That In A Small Town”
