Jason Aldean Concert Postponed

Jason Aldean‘s Thursday night concert in Ohio (July 20) has been postponed until September. It’s the second of the first four dates on the Highway Desperado Tour that have had to be pushed to a later date.

Last Saturday (July 15), Aldean started his set in Hartford, Ct., but rushed off the stage midway through and scrapped the rest of the night. He’d later confirm he suffered a heat-related illness and promised to make the date good at a later time.

His concert in Cuyahoga Falls was also moved because of weather. A note from Live Nation says severe thunderstorms in the area have forced a postponement of the concert. The new date for the show at the Blossom Music Center is Sept. 17.

Mitchell Tenpenny and Corey Kent are the opening acts for the Highway Desperado Tour. On Instagram Stories, Kent shared video from the stage that showed heavy rain on a sparse crowd. He indicated that the weather canceled the entire night, not just Aldean’s set. A source tells ToC that storms had knocked power out in the area.

Thursday night’s concert was the first since controversy around Aldean’s song “Try That In a Small Town” erupted with the release of a music video. While Aldean and many fans feel the lyrics to his new single depict the kind of take-care-of-your-own mentality prevalent in small, rural communities, many others have accused him of promoting violence and promoting (or at least ignoring) a message that’s racist.

Related: Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” Lyrics Include a Subtle Gun Rights Message

CMT pulled the music video from rotation, but the song was kept in the final edit for the televised CMA Fest on ABC on Wednesday night (July 19).

On social media, Aldean defended the song and the music video:

“These references are not only meritless, but dangerous,” he says in part. “There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it — and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage — and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music — this one goes too far.”

The next stop on the Highway Desperado Tour is on Friday (July 21) in Cincinnati, Ohio.