As a person who started high school in the late 90s, I’ll admit to having a bit of an affinity for Kid Rock. Sure, he wasn’t Guns N’ Roses or Soundgarden, but the guy had some catchy music. I’m sure quite a few of you reading this right now blasted “Only God Knows Why” more than you’d like to admit. Those were simpler times.

Besides, you have to respect Kid Rock for remaining relevant for so long. He’s still releasing new material and his sense of humor has carried him when the music didn’t. Plus, the dude did a chart-topping duet with Sheryl Crow. He’s not Led Zeppelin, but he’s made his mark.

Kid Rock is also still touring, and that’s what has him back in the news. When faced with the prospect of playing venues that would require COVID-19 vaccinations of concert-goers, the singer decided to make a boss move: Not show up.

According to a video he posted to Facebook (transcribed by The Daily Caller), Kid Rock is not going to be playing any leg of his “Bad Reputation” tour that requires attendees to have gotten jabbed or to wear a mask.

(Language Warning)

Singer and songwriter Kid Rock announced in a Thursday video posted to his official Facebook page that he wouldn’t be “showing up” to venues that require COVID-19 vaccinations on his new “Bad Reputation” tour.

“There’s been a lot of talk about vaccine mandates and venues. People saying, ‘I’m not going to that venue because of the vaccine mandate’ and this, that and the other,” Kid Rock said. “Trust me, we’ve done all our research on this and the consensus says that all this is going to be done, if there are any at these venues, I’m not aware of any, but if there are any, they’re going to be gone by the time we get to your city. If they’re not, trust me, you don’t have to worry. You’ll be getting your money back because I won’t be showing up either.”

“If you think I’m going to sit out there and say ‘Don’t tell me how to live,’ that ‘We the People’ are holding up their fucking vaccine cards and wearing masks, that shit ain’t happening.”

Kid Rock follows in the footsteps of Eric Clapton, who also refused to play venues that have vaccine mandates during the summer of 2021. That has earned the legendary blues rocker more than his share of derision from the mostly left-leaning music industry.

Obviously, Kid Rock doesn’t care at all about such criticism. He knows his audience, and they aren’t the type to double-mask and care whether the person next to them has been boosted. He also happens to be on the right side of the data. We know that the vaccines do not stop the spread of COVID-19. We also know that cloth and surgical masks are largely useless in preventing transmission. Thus, the only logical position is to be against any policy that mandates those things.

I don’t believe any of this should be an issue, especially when talking about musical acts. The mixing of politics with literally everything has become mind-numbing. It also happens to be very unhealthy for society. People need less of that in their lives and good for Kid Rock for deciding he’s not going to play ball.