Chase Bryant Is Still Playing Tim McGraw’s Sandy Hook Benefit
Billy Currington is out, but Chase Bryant is staying put. That’s the latest news surrounding the charity concert happening at the Infinity Theater in Hartford, Connecticut on July 17th as part of Tim McGraw’s upcoming Shotgun Rider concert tour.
On Monday (April 13th), Tim McGraw announced the Connecticut show would be a benefit with 100% of the proceeds going to Sandy Hook Promise—a non-profit set up in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre. This stimulated conservative news site Brietbart to post a story politicizing the tour stop as a “Gun Control Fundraiser,” and causing Billy Currington to back out after a backlash ensued with some fans, including some labeling McGraw and Currington as “un-American,” “socialists,” and calling for a boycott of their music.
Tim McGraw has since reaffirmed his commitment to the concert. “Let me be clear regarding the concert for Sandy Hook given much of the erroneous reporting thus far. As a gun owner, I support gun ownership. I also believe that with gun ownership comes the responsibility of education and safety most certainly when it relates to what we value most, our children. I can’t imagine anyone who disagrees with that.”
Tim McGraw has personal ties to the Sandy Hook story. His touring fiddle player Dean Brown is a long-time friend of Mark Barden, whose child was killed in the mass shooting, and who is also one of the founders of Sandy Hook Promise.
Chase Bryant was the other opener for the Sandy Hook benefit show with Billy Currington. The Broken Bow-signed artist was initially not as much of a target of gun rights advocates, possibly because of his fairly unknown status. Bryant just started his country career in 2013, and has yet to release a full-length album. His single “Take It On Back” reached #16 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
Though Chase has not made a public statement about the controversy, conservative news site Brietbart confirmed the news that he will play the show in another post that smacks of click-baiting and political headhunting, and makes no mention of Sandy Hook Promise’s primary goal of helping to spread awareness about the mental health issues surrounding the gun debate, and focusing more on private sector work instead of political action. Instead of conveying all the facts to readers, writer AWR Hawkins is using fear to drive web traffic to Brietbart, and whip gun rights activists into a frenzy to attack Chase Bryant and Tim McGraw for their perceived political beliefs.
“Sandy Hook Promise supports the 2nd Amendment and is not anti-gun,” the organization said in a statement amidst the controversy. “We recognize an individual’s right to bear arms and support millions of law-abiding citizens in the United States who own firearms. Our primary focus is preventing children from being harmed by gun violence. Our programs encompass things like community-based prevention, supporting social and emotional learning in schools, teaching Mental Health First Aid, teaching kids how to be inclusive at school, and helping people to know the signs of someone who may be in a mental crisis.”
Though some of Sandy Hook Promise’s work could be considered gun control by some, the organization insists they are a, “Gun-safety advocacy group that focuses on parents’ love for their kids rather than on politics.” Briebart claims they support Oregon Senate Bill 941, which attempts to make private sellers of arms screen buyers before sales. Sandy Hook Promise posted positively about a successful vote on the measure on their Facebook page, but it’s undetermined if the organization materially supported the bill with financial support or lobbying.
No word on if Billy Currington will be replaced for the charity concert.
April 19, 2015 @ 3:59 pm
Don’t know who Chase is, but kudos to staying put. Same with Tim. Integrity and backbone goes a long way, regardless whether you believe in their cause or not.
April 19, 2015 @ 4:04 pm
This guy looks like he will probably be wearing a rainbow flag while there.
April 19, 2015 @ 4:30 pm
Welcome to Country.
April 20, 2015 @ 4:27 pm
Saving Country Music is the best country music website on the Internet because it’s not filled with ignorance. It’s obviously an open-minded website dedicated to open-minded country music.
I thought the same would be said for a lot of its readers, but comments like “This guy looks like he will probably be wearing a rainbow flag while there” and some of the stuff I’ve read about Tim McGraw this week just for standing up for a good cause have me questioning whether that’s true.
April 20, 2015 @ 6:06 pm
Julian,
I am constantly surprised and enlightened by my commenters, and say regularly that the best part of Saving Country Music is the comments. My job is just to spark off the discussion. But of course there’s exceptions to every rule. At the same time, I’m glad there’s a diverse field of viewpoints represented here, especially folks who disagree with me. Because I feel like representing all viewpoints is the best way for all of us to learn from each other.
That said, Strait Country’s comment probably didn’t represent anyone in a very positive light.
April 19, 2015 @ 4:23 pm
I don’t think Chase Bryant can afford to miss any show considering he’s like on the C-list of pop country.
April 19, 2015 @ 4:34 pm
Bio -Rock-influenced country singer and songwriter Chase Bryant was barely old enough to order a beer when he first made an impression on the country charts with his song “Take It on Back.” Born in 1993 and hailing from the small Texas town of Orange Grove, Bryant was a youngster with music in his blood — his grandfather was Jimmy Bryant, the legendary Nashville session guitarist, and his uncles Jeff Bryant and Junior Bryant were founding member of the country band Ricochet. Chase’s passion for music was sparked when he was just three years old by his grandfather’s Jerry Lee Lewis records, and in his teens he developed broad tastes in rock & roll (Tom Petty and Bryan Adams), classic country (Bob Wills, Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard), and mainstream country (Vince Gill and Keith Urban), and wrote his first song when he was 11.
April 20, 2015 @ 2:30 pm
Bryan Adams? The Whiskeytown guy?
April 20, 2015 @ 5:51 pm
No, that’s Ryan Adams.
May 18, 2015 @ 12:54 pm
Just to note – Chase’s grandfather, Jimmy Bryant, was not the guitarist Jimmy Bryant, but the piano playing Jimmy Bryant, two great musicians but two very different people.
April 19, 2015 @ 9:16 pm
Again, Sandy Hook Promise IS an anti gun organization. They are not the Brady campaign or Michael Bloomberg, but they have, in the past, supported anti gun measures. It does not matter how small the measures are, if you give them an inch, they take a mile.
Personally I don’t care much what artists think about issues, and in this case, I don’t like any of the artists. All I’m saying is that while McGraw and Bryant likely have nothing but the best of intentions, they are still supporting something that goes against the majority of their fans, whether they know it or not.
April 19, 2015 @ 9:21 pm
Define an “anti-gun organization.” Are they simply an organization that doesn’t always cater to exactly what you believe? There’s a difference.
I don’t know why everybody’s given a brush to alter an already clear picture, but keep stroking new colors on there so you can say what you want to say.
April 20, 2015 @ 5:54 pm
I want to know what you see an anti-gun measure, too. Is it background checks, reduced capacity magazines? We will likely never agree if they are anti-gun or not, because some think gun-rights are all or nothing and some would support minor legislative changes and don’t see that as a threat of a takeover. So then I would ask if this organization is a real threat and does McGraw deserve to be trashed as he is and booted. I contend they have no power or influence and the worry is force-fed by fringe bloggers who like to keep their fans in a frenzy.
The social media mob action and hate rhetoric attempting to destroy individuals is so disturbing in this country. I think the people pushing the hate absolutely know that McGraw is not anti-gun. Yes he is left of the right, but he’s no flaming liberal. Why is it a tragedy to be a blue-dog? It’s propaganda b.s. and it changes nothing.
April 20, 2015 @ 7:23 am
The reason social media isn’t raising a fuss about Chase Bryant stems from his existence as the equivalent of a chess club president in country music’s high school hierarchy. Tim McGraw and Billy Currington are the power couple (head cheerleader/quarterback) Everyone gossips/has an opinion when they separate, but the rumor mill (unless desperate for gist) ignores the chess club president (I was the chess club president in high school).
April 21, 2015 @ 10:12 am
Its tough for artists these days to support anything they believe in because they either get labeled as an insensitive gun toting crazy conservative or they get labeled as un-American socialist bleeding heart liberal. Billy currington has the right to not play the show without being labeled as the former just as chase Bryant and Tim McGraw have the right to play the show and not be labeled as the latter. It’s ridiculous people let politics get in the way of entertainment.
April 21, 2015 @ 10:31 am
And trigger I appreciate you and your articles and I’m sure you’ve got a reason for it but sometimes I really wish you’d stay away from reporting anything regarding politics. I get that you like to cover current happenings in the industry but unless it affects how someone chooses to arrange their albums, play guitar, or anything else having to do specifically with their music, I don’t see how it’s relevant to country as a genre. There’s a fine line between healthy debate and petty arguments, and People can’t help but get inflamed over politics. and as much as a mature person can try not to let it get in the way of anything, sometimes they can’t help but feel pitted against people they would otherwise agree with on anything other than politics. And there’s always the people who don’t even try and automatically go to war with anybody who disagrees.
Overall, I feel like adding politics in the mix is a good way to detract from what were all here for: country music.
April 21, 2015 @ 11:44 am
Courtney,
Believe it or not, 90% of the time I do steer clear of political issues here, even if and when they’re germane to country music. I HATE mixing politics and music, but believe it or not, that was actually my motivation here, was to attempt to give an impartial assessment of the situation and try to de-politicize what Brietbart was trying to turn into The Dixie Chicks part 2. I really think Tim McGraw in this instance was just trying to do something nice for a Sandy Hook charity and for a mutual friend through his fiddle player, and people saw the opportunity to start a firestorm. If those scenarios go unchecked, then there will be more of this interjected into country music, and that’s what I’m attempting to diffuse.
April 22, 2015 @ 12:31 pm
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/little-big-town-throw-support-behind-tim-mcgraws-sandy-hook-benefit-20150422
I’m sure you’re already on top of this and so much more, but this update is pretty big.
Little Big Town are backing Tim McGraw in light of the Sandy Hook controversy: thereby being the first recording artists thus far to publicly defend his decision.
April 22, 2015 @ 12:44 pm
Thanks Noah, I did see this, and Little Big Town can attest to being a part of a manufactured controversy (even if they were partly to blame). I’m working on a big followup story about this issue and I’ll make sure to include this news.