Confederate Railroad dropped from fair due to band name; Charlie Daniels blames “political correctness”

In case you aren’t familiar, Atlanta country/Southern rock band Confederate Railroad have been established for a long time — they formed in 1987, started out as a backing band for David Allan Coe and Johnny Paycheck, released several charting albums on Atlantic Records and had several charting singles and countless big-name collaborations with fellow outlaws like Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, George Jones and many more, were nominated for a Grammy, and more — but their band name is a bit of a head-turner in 2019 (not to mention the flags in their logo still appearing on their album covers as recently as 3 years ago), and they’ve just now run into some trouble because of it. They were supposed to perform at the Du Quoin State Fair in Illinois, as part of “90s Country ReLoaded Day,” but after people started to question their name on website Capital Fax, they were removed from the lineup.

Lead singer Danny Shirley posted a statement saying that the Illinois Department of Agriculture removed them from the fest “because of the name of our band.” The full statement reads:

As many of you know, we were scheduled to perform at the Illinois State Fair in Du Quoin, Illinois on August 27, along with our friends Restless Heart and Shenandoah. We have since been removed from that show by the Illinois Department of Agriculture because of the name of our band. This was very disappointing as we have played this fair before and enjoyed it very much. The outpouring of support from Confederate Railroad fans, fans of other acts, and the public in general, has been both overwhelming and very much appreciated. I would also like to thank the actors, athletes and fellow country music artists who have spoken out in support. It has been brought to my attention that several people have asked both Restless Heart and Shenandoah to cancel their shows in protest of our cancellation. I have spoken to both acts and encouraged them to perform as scheduled. Live concerts are how we pay our bills and feed our families. I would never want to see another act lose a payday because of this. Please go out to hear these two great bands. As I have said many times onstage, I am by no means a saint but, I am a man of faith and I have faith that God will see us through this as well as whatever comes next! Thank you for your support.

Other country musicians have spoken about the band’s removal from the festival too. Charlie Daniels (of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” and famous Trump fan fame) tweeted, “This political correctness thing is totally out of control. When a fair cancels the Confederate Railroad band because of their name its giving in to facism, plain and simple and our freedom disappears piece by piece. Sick of it.” Joe Bonsall of country/gospel quartet The Oak Ridge Boys has been tweeting a lot about it: “I have played the @DuQuoinFair many times over the decades … however, I must say that canceling @ConfederateRR JUST because their name is CONFEDERATE RAILROAD is a crock of crap!!! These are good men singing good songs… God please help us all …”

Du Quoin State Fair manager Josh Gross first acknowledged the band’s removal from the fest in a statement, which reads: “The Illinois Department of Agriculture has removed Confederate Railroad from our 2019 Du Quoin State Fair Grandstand lineup. While every artist has a right to expression, we believe this decision is in the best interest of serving all of the people in our state.”