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MUSIC PEOPLE
NEWS
AUGUST 2024 Volume 55 Number 8 Issue 654
Editor Duncan Warwick
Contributors David Allan , Janet Aspley , Donnie Ayers , Craig Baguley , Jonny Brick , Tony Byworth , Larry Delaney , Don Cusic , Julie Flaskett , Michael Hingston , Stan Hitchcock , Tony Ives , Sianna King , Spencer Leigh , John Lomax III , Bryce Martin , Adrian Peel , Paul Riley , Alex Rossi , Chris Smith , Tom Travis , Walt Trott , Jack Watkins New release consultant : Steve Tidbury
Assistant editor Kelly Gregory
Photographers Patricia Presley , Barry Dixon
Advertising Kelly Gregory - kelly . cmpcountry @ gmail . com
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Please recycle this magazine
Cody Johnson
FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES
F ollowing the recent assassination
attempt of former president Donald
Trump at a Pennsylvania rally , Jason Adean wasted no time in dedicating his ( already controversial ) song Try That In A Small Town , saying , “ President Trump ’ s a friend of mine so I want to send this next song out to him ,” to cheers and chants of “ U . S . A .”
Aldean was playing in Nashville just hours after Thomas Matthew Crooks fired on the Pennsylvania crowd injuring the former president and killing one in the audience with the eight rounds he fired .
“ Just goes to show you there ’ s a lot of bullshit in the world , and that ’ s kind of what this song right here was about , so this one goes out to the Pres ,” Aldean declared before launching into the hit from last year . Meanwhile , George Strait addressed the shooting at a Detroit show that included Chris Stapleton on the bill , by paying tribute to law enforcement officers and dedicating his song The Weight Of The Badge to any in the audience saying , “ Thank you for coming when we need you . We appreciate that very much , especially after today .”
Cody Johnson was playing in Chicago the same night and was more pragmatic with his statements to the crowd . “ The fact that any American citizen would think what they did today would solve a problem in this country is absolutely disgusting ,” he said .
“ I ’ m tired of the hatred and division ,” Johnson went on to say , his voice rising above the swelling crowd . “ I ’ m tired of people talking about Trump and Biden . Let me tell you something . There ’ s people in this crowd that agree with Trump . There ’ s people in this crowd that agree with Biden .”
4 country music people