Patriots Day Freedom Fest, a conservative festival that was to include speakers like Kid Rock, was canceled just days before it was set to take place in northern Kentucky.
Eric Deters
The festival's organizer, lawyer and political commentator Eric Deters, announced the cancellation of the free event on Monday via Facebook Live, revealing only six $1,000 VIP tickets were purchased.
"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," he said on Facebook Live.
Deters, who ran as a Republican for Kentucky governor in 2023 and for the state's 4th Congressional District in 2024, criticized the lack of VIP sales, adding, "I want to tell you something, rich people, as a whole, suck."
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Deters confirmed that he has no plans to revive the festival, which debuted in 2022, saying, "I am never ever, ever, ever, ever doing this event again. Ever."
This year's lineup intially was set to include speakers like Kid Rock, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Kentucky Republican congressional nominee Ed Gallrein, U.S. Rep. James Comer and Fox News contributor Joe Concha. Previous lineups included speakers like Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Candace Owens.
Kid Rock performs July 18, 2024, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wis., ahead of Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump's speech on Day 4 of the Republican National Convention.
Eric Deters denies low attendance was behind cancellation
Deters pushed back on speculation that concerns about low attendance prompted the cancellation, sharing photos of large crowds from previous years.
"These are the crowds we have at the free Freedom Fest. VIP tickets do not have jack to do with our crowd. People were stoked to see Kid Rock," he captioned a Facebook post Tuesday.
He also said wealthy people who decided not to buy VIP tickets did so for financial reasons, not because they don't support President Donald Trump. He also stressed that the lack of sales wasn't because of Kid Rock, adding the country rock musician is "a good dude.”
"Those people that didn't buy VIP tickets, it wasn't 'cause they don't like Trump or don't support Trump. I know these people. They're all Trump supporters. The reason why they didn't buy VIP tickets is because they're just not very good human beings," he said in a Tuesday livestream. "It's got nothing to do with Trump. It's to do with money. These people value money more than anything else in the world. It's sad."
