Kid Rock's MAGA Fest Dies After Just 6 VIP Tickets Sold

Eric Deters canceled the Kid Rock-headlined Freedom Fest in Kentucky after just six $1,000 VIP tickets sold.

Patriots Day Freedom Fest, a MAGA-themed festival scheduled for Saturday, September 26 at organizer Eric Deters' Morning View farm in Northern Kentucky, was canceled on Monday, September 21 after only six people bought the $1,000 VIP tickets meant to fund it, according to Billboard and The Detroit News, both citing the Cincinnati Enquirer. The free general-admission event had been set to feature Kid Rock, Rep. James Comer, congressional candidate Ed Gallrein, Fox News personality Joe Concha and reality TV star Duane 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' Chapman.

Loudwire reports that Deters was counting on roughly 100 wealthy contacts buying VIP tickets at $1,000 apiece to raise about $100,000 to cover the cost of the free event, since big-name appearances like Kid Rock's come with a hefty price tag. Instead, only six VIP tickets sold — about $6,000. 'When I put together Patriots Day Freedom Fest, I put it together with the game plan and the idea that I could pay for it with VIP sales of $1,000 from these 100 people that I interact with on a regular basis,' Deters said in a since-deleted Facebook livestream.

Deters' venting drew wide pickup across the pack. 'Rank-and-file Americans are the backbone of this country, both political parties,' he said, before adding, 'I want to tell you something: rich people, as a whole, suck.' Yahoo News New Zealand reports he made a caveat for himself — 'Now I'm a rich person. I live in one hell of a house. I don't suck' — and said he was angry that wealthy contacts ignored him or made excuses like 'I was traveling.' The Detroit News quotes his vow: 'I am never ever, ever, ever, ever doing this event again. Ever.'

The cancellation is not the festival's first. Deters insisted the collapse wasn't Kid Rock's fault — Billboard quotes him saying 'Kid Rock's a good dude' — and rejected any suggestion of waning support. 'The MAGA supporters always support this event, always turn out,' he said. 'The issue was simply paying for the damn event, because I make it free.'

Deters says the festival is done for good and that none of the wealthy contacts who failed to buy tickets will 'ever get a favor' from him again, according to the International Business Times UK report carried by inkl. A representative for Kid Rock did not respond to a comment request, per that report. For music fans, the story is a cautionary tale about the economics of free, VIP-funded festivals: with no general-admission revenue, a handful of six-ticket VIP sales could not cover headliners' fees, and a repeat headliner is now vowing to walk away from the event permanently.