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Country singer Tracy Lawrence is calling out the growing political divide in America — and urging fans to keep it out of country music.
In a candid moment, the longtime country artist took aim at what he sees as a deep divide in the nation and shared his hope for a return to a simpler, more inclusive society.
“Our journeys are all unique into themselves, but we all share a passion and a love of music,” he said during his conversation with Morgan Evans on the “TL’s Road House” podcast.
“What I love about it, and I wish we could get back to more of this,” Lawrence continued. “With all the divisive stuff going on with politics and the world… music is supposed to be the thing that unites us.”
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Tracy Lawrence performs at the Ryman Auditorium on May 18, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
The “Time Marches On” singer, known for his traditional country roots and decades-long career, emphasized that music has historically served as a place where people could connect without the weight of political identity.
“I wish people would get the politics out of all this stuff,” he continued, “where we could just get back — and it doesn’t matter what color you are or where you come from.”
His frustration may reflect a broader tension across the entertainment industry, where artists are often pulled into political debates whether they want to be or not.
Tracy Lawrence said music should bring people together. (Scott Dudelson)
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“I think music is supposed to be one of those things that brings us all together,” he added. “Because it used to be that — and I’d love to see that happen more again.”
In February, the country star revisited a harrowing chapter from more than three decades ago, when he was shot four times during a brutal mugging in Nashville.
Photo of singer Tracy Lawrence who was shot four times by unknown assailants. (Will & Deni McIntyre)
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“I was angry back then,” Lawrence exclusively told Fox News Digital. “I felt like… they were trying to take my opportunity away from me, and I didn’t get the mental help that I needed. I’m much more aware of the consequences, whether it’s, you know, if you go through a physical altercation or family trauma or whatever those things are.”
Tracy Lawrence says music should bring people together as his 2026 No Alibis Tour gets underway. (Scott Dudelson)
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Instead of processing the trauma, Lawrence said he buried it.
“I’m a big believer in taking care of your mental health these days, and I didn’t do that at the time. That was a very traumatic experience for me.”
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“I just suppressed it and shoved it down, and it caused me a lot of problems in my personal relationships, problems in my career.”
The aftermath forced him to reshape how he saw himself.
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“When you overcome a life-altering experience like that, I think there’s a little bit of a God complex that comes with it when you survive something that you probably shouldn’t have,” Lawrence said. “It caused me to push things to the edge a lot more than I would have if that had not had happened to me.”
Lawrence’s 2026 “No Alibis Tour” kicked off in March and will run through August, as the country star plans to stop in his hometown of Nashville at the Ryman Auditorium.