John Rich is getting some recognition for helping foil the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plot to build a facility in his home county.
Sounds like something out of a movie, does it not? But it actually happened this past summer, and the country music artist that isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind played a big role in halting the plans. He’s actually been very outspoken about his politics in recent years, and in a way, it’s helped grow his fanbase up a bit. The one half of Big & Rich and the founder of Redneck Riviera consistently takes his thoughts to social media, and one of the latest fights he’s fought has been against the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
The TVA was apparently looking into building a generation facility in Cheatham County, Tennessee, which Rich considers to be his home county. He became angered when he learned that the government organization was trying to take away vast amounts of farmland – and even homes – from residents in Cheatham County for their project.
That was until the TVA announced on July 15, 2025 that they were abandoning a location in Cheatham County, Tennessee as an option for their new facility:
“Based on feedback in response to our scoping process and at Board listening sessions, as well as input from the TVA Board of Directors, the Lockertsville Road site in Cheatham County, TN, is no longer the preferred alternative for a proposed 900 MW generation facility.
With input from community leaders, we are evaluating a site at a nearby industrial park as well as other Middle Tennessee sites that will support economic development and address the increasing power demand across the system. We remain committed to delivering reliable, low-cost electricity to power the region’s continued growth.”
By “input from community leaders,” they mean getting an earful from John Rich and President Donald Trump.
The 51-year-old country music artist had been butting heads with the TVA for weeks, and he was ultimately overjoyed when he found out that the TVA was backing off the Cheatham County, and posted a video message to X (formerly Twitter) saying:
“Anybody that has been following me for the past several weeks, you’ve gotten pretty educated on what’s been going on there. The TVA was about to destroy several thousand acres of farmland, hundreds of homes, school districts, water supplies… just a total disaster (of a plan).”
Rich explained that Cheatham County is where he went to high school, and had many other family members put their roots down. He was distraught when he saw that TVA agents were allegedly trespassing on the property of Tennesseans, and cited that Americans have a 4th amendment right that should protect them from such.
And John Rich also took a moment to thank President Trump and Secretary Brooke Rollins for helping him… let’s just say “encourage” the TVA to move on from Cheatham County:
“Right now I’d like to thank the President of the United States, Donald Trump, for weighing in on this situation. I’d like to thank Secretary Brooke Rollins with the Department of Agriculture for weighing in on this situation. They joined forces with me and all the residents of Cheatham County, and as of today, TVA announces they are pulling out…
This is just the beginning of what I hope turns into a complete revamping of the TVA. There should be new protocols put into place for how they have to behave. They should have to deal with zoning laws like every other energy company does.”
Rich made sure to point out that, in his opinion, the TVA didn’t pull out because they are good people, or because it was the right thing to do. He insists that they pulled out under threat, because they were “afraid that President Trump is gonna fire every member on that board.”
Though other states and other areas of Tennessee are now under the same threat (and the land the TVA was going to build on still belongs to the organization), John Rich called it a victory, and promised his followers that they’d hear more from him about the TVA… in a new song:
“In the coming weeks, you are going to see national interviews. You are going to see a song from me that I wrote called ‘The Devil in the TVA.’ Wait until you hear this one.”
I’ve linked that song below (it has since come out), but first, we’ve got to get to the Cheatham County community giving thanks to the country artist.
Cheatham County Mayor Kerry McCarver told News 2 that Rich’s home county owes a lot to the singer, and is very thankful that he used his connections and influence to make change that positively benefited Cheatham County:
“He didn’t have to get involved, but he did, and we are so grateful that he did.”
This past Monday night, residents and officials gathered at the Cheatham County Courthouse to honor Rich, and presented him with a resolution and thank-you card that was apparently 24 pages long and was signed by hundred of people in Cheatham County that were opposed to the TVA’s plan.
One of those signatures belonged to Cheatham County resident Deborah Doyle, who said that John Rich’s involvement in bucking against the TVA was instrumental in getting the organization to change course:
“It was a game changer. He got the ball across the line that we could not do, and we were very lucky to have his input and his connection and his voice.”
Guess you could say that John Rich ran the devil and the TVA out of town.
“The Devil & The TVA” by John Rich
