Kid Rock-Billed Freedom Fest Cancelled for a Third Time Since 2023, When It Was Pulled Twice in Three Weeks

Eric Deters cancelled his Patriots Day Freedom Fest on Monday, 21 September, for the third time since 2023. The former lawyer and 2023 candidate for Kentucky governor had billed Kid Rock as a speaker. Morning View was due to host the free pro-Trump gathering five days later.

Deters first scrapped the 2023 edition on 12 August, saying Donald Trump could no longer attend. Twelve days later, Deters rescheduled the event. On 1 September, the organiser called it off again. About 10,000 people attended the rally in 2022, but 2026 now joins 2023 as a year without it.

What Went Wrong in 2023

Deters had promoted Trump as the headliner of the 2023 festival. Some supporters bought $5,000 (about £3,740) very important person (VIP) tickets on that promise, according to Deters, who predicted a crowd of 50,000 at the farm. A month before the date, Deters blamed campaign stops in Iowa for the withdrawal. The campaign never confirmed at the time that the candidate had agreed to come. The timeline below shows every date since 2021.

Deters revived the 2023 festival after speakers and members of the public asked for it. Because the first cancellation came only weeks earlier, his team struggled to book food trucks, tents, and lighting. By email, the organiser told supporters, 'I refuse to put on a lousy event.' In 2024, the festival returned and ran for three days. Its programme listed a music night, a Saturday of speeches, and a church service.

The 2026 Funding Plan

For the 2026 festival, Deters planned to keep general admission and parking free. He hoped to cover the costs by selling $1,000 (about £748) VIP tickets to about 100 people he deals with regularly. Six of them bought one. That figure came from the Facebook video in which Deters announced the cancellation. Kid Rock led a speaker list that also named Republican U.S. Representative James Comer of Kentucky and Duane 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' Chapman, the reality television figure.

In that first recording, Deters blamed wealthy contacts who ignored his requests or offered excuses. He said those contacts, after years of favours from him, would never receive another. A second livestream followed on Monday evening. In it, Deters rejected reports blaming weak public support for the decision, saying the only problem was paying for a festival he gives away for free. The organiser also said, 'That cancellation had absolutely nothing to do with Kid Rock.'

The End of an Annual Plan

In 2022, Deters said he meant to hold the rally every year on the Saturday closest to Patriot Day, observed on 11 September to commemorate the 2001 attacks. After the double cancellation in 2023, he emailed supporters to promise a bigger festival for the following year. This week Deters ended both pledges: 'I am never ever, ever, ever, ever doing this event again.'

The festival began on the Morning View farm in 2021, and Deters said a year later that 8,000 people came and that he expected a larger crowd that year. Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Kimberly Guilfoyle, and the conservative commentator Candace Owens have all spoken at the farm. No rally will take place there on Saturday, 26 September.