Kid Rock announces 2018 tour,
Kid Rock has released his new video, “Greatest Show on Earth,” an apt title for the raucous clip featuring concert footage spanning his career. The video appears after another show of sorts where the musician teased a run for Senate. Later Friday morning, he released a second video with the stomping, country-tipped “Po-Dunk.”
Later, he and his band sing on the anthemic chorus of the blistering guitar-driven song, “Welcome to the greatest/ Love you when you hate us/ Welcome to the greatest fucking show on Earth.” It ends with the words “Greatest Show on Earth Tour. Coming to a city near you. 2018. Are you scared?”
“Are you scared?” is a phrase that the musician used on the website that sparked talk of his possible run for the Senate in 2018, which would seem near impossible in conjunction with a concert tour. The song comes as the musician took on detractors that questioned his hints about making a Senate run. On Wednesday, Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, shared the website KidRockForSenate.com on Twitter. “I have had a ton of emails and texts asking me if this website is real,” he tweeted. “The answer is an absolute YES.”
The website features merchandise with “Kid Rock for US Senate” branding that can be purchased from a Warner Bros.-linked online store, which led to speculation of a less-than-legitimate campaign. On Thursday, Kid Rock took to his official website and insisted that his hint at a Senate run is “not a hoax” nor a ploy to promote an upcoming album, despite him releasing music seemingly as part of the “major announcement” he planned to make.
“First of all, I’ve got 15 days from my announcement to file paperwork with the FEC! Second, I’m not signed to Warner Bros!!!,” he wrote in the post titled “Once Again the Press is Wrong.”
As for the release of music in conjunction with his possible Senate run announcement, he wrote, “Like politicians write books during their campaigns, I’m planning on putting out music during mine and it all starts tonight at midnight. “It’s not a hoax, it’s a strategy and marketing 101!” he continued. “No plans for an album or anything else that has been the usual norm in the music business or politics.”
If the musician did somehow manage to run for Senate while also on tour, he would be up against potential Democratic candidate and incumbent Senator Debbie Stabenow. “I concede that she is better at playing politics than I am, so I’ll keep doing what I do best, which is being a voice for tax paying, hardworking Americans and letting politicians like her know that We the People are sick and tired of their bullshit!” he wrote.
On Wednesday, Senator Stabenow responded to the initial reports that Kid Rock might run for Senate. “I know we both share a love of music,” she tweeted. “I concede he’s better at playing guitar and I’ll keep doing what I do best: fighting for Michigan.”