This one’s for the crown.
The NCAA tournament is back in action tonight, with the four #1 seeds facing off in what might be the most boring March Madness we’ve had in a while. (Go Gators I guess, anybody but Duke).
But while March Madness has lacked excitement this year, we’ve had plenty of action in our annual Whiskey Riff Madness tournament.
This year we teamed up with our good friends at Rock the Country, a festival for “We The People,” to bring you a bracket for “We The People” featuring 64 of the most red, white and blue-blooded American country songs of all time – and let you, the readers, vote for your favorites.
Throughout the entire tournament, Toby Keith has appeared to be unstoppable. I mean it’s hard to deny that when you think of patriotic country songs, he’s the first name that comes to mind. In fact, the only one who’s been able to stop Toby so far has been…Toby.
And now we’re down to the final two teams. But before we get to the voting, let’s look at what happened in the Final Four.
It was kind of a mixed bag in the last two rounds. We had Toby vs. Toby on one side of the bracket, with “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue” going up against “American Soldier.” But there was a clear favorite, with “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue” absolutely dominating and securing its place in the championship with over 87% of the vote. Would hate to have to go up against that one for the win…
But somebody’s got to do it. And it was a tight battle between “Ragged Old Flag” by Johnny Cash and Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” for the other spot in the championship round.
The Man In Black jumped out to an early lead – but it didn’t last, and ultimately AJ pulled out a razor-thin victory, winning with 54% of the vote for the opportunity to try to keep Toby Keith from running the board this year.
So that’s our championship matchup – “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue” vs. “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)” – and now it’s time to vote.
Voting is open NOW for the championship, and ends at noon central time on Monday, April 7.
You can vote down below, or by clicking the link here, and you can vote as many times as you want if you have a favorite that you want to see move on to the next round.
Every single vote counts, so throw a few extra votes to your favorite song if you really want to see it stay alive. And of course if you haven’t already, start making your plans to celebrate America in person this summer at Rock the Country, coming to a small town near you with so much good country music you’ll want to run out and buy a suit like Kid Rock wore in the Oval Office.
Rock the Country kicks off THIS WEEKEND in Livingston, Louisiana, featuring a stacked lineup of headliners like Kid Rock, Nickelback, Hank Williams Jr. and Lynyrd Skynyrd, along with performances from incredible artists like Travis Tritt, Treaty Oak Revival, Tracy Lawrence, Aaron Lewis, Big & Rich, Shenandoah, and more. The lineup varies by city, so make sure to check out the closest one to you and get your tickets soon before they’re sold out and you’re left on the outside looking in like the British were in 1776.
Rock the Country Dates:
April 4-5 – Livingston, LA
April 25-26 – Knoxville, TN
May 2-3 – Poplar Bluff, MO
May 9-10 – Ocala, FL
May 30-31 – York, PA
June 13-14 – Hastings, MI
June 20-21 – Little Rock, AR
July 11-12 – Ashland, KY
July 18-19 – Sioux Falls, SD
July 25-26 – Anderson, SC
