Jason Aldean’s courthouse location for ‘Small Town’ music video defended by production company
The production company TackleBox cited other films and music videos that were shot at Tennessee’s Maury County Courthouse, including ‘Hannah Montana: The Movie’
Jason Aldean is facing backlash after the music video for his song “Try That in a Small Town” was released Friday — and now the production company behind the project is defending its position. its mind. filming location.
The country music star’s detractors have criticized the song’s lyrics, which some say have racial undertones and promote a “pro-lynching” message, but the singer has strongly denied these claims . Critics also criticized Aldean for the music video, which was largely filmed at the Tennessee courthouse where a 1927 lynching and a 1946 race riot took place.
However, TackleBox, the music video production company, told Fox News Digital that the courthouse is a “famous filming location outside of Nashville” that has been featured in several music videos and films. Additionally, TackleBox notes that the five-time Grammy nominee “didn’t choose the location.”
“Any alternative narrative suggesting the music video’s location decision is false,” TackleBox wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Scenes from the music video were shot outside the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where an 18-year-old Black man named Henry Choate was lynched in 1927. The courthouse was also a pivotal site during the Columbia race riot in 1946.
News footage of looting and fires that was taken during the 2020 riots was also projected on the courthouse during the music video.
In its statement, TackleBox cited several music videos and movies that have been filmed at the courthouse, including most recently the 2022 Lifetime Original television movie “Steppin’ into the Holiday” starring Mario Lopez and Jana Kramer.
TackleBox also notes that the location was featured in the Runaway June music video for their 2019 song “We Were Rich,” Paramount’s 2022 holiday movie “A Nashville Country Christmas,” and the movie Tanya Tucker and Miley Cyrus’s 2009 “Hannah Montana: The Movie.”
A Country Music Television (CMT) spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that the network has pulled the “Try That in a Small Town” music video from circulation.