The songwriters who penned Jason Aldean‘s controversial hit “Try That in a Small Town” — Kurt Allison, Neil Thrasher, Kelly Lovelace and Tully Kennedy — have launched a podcast inspired by the song.

The Try That in a Small Town podcast “reinforces the traditional principles that historically shaped our nation,” according to its website. It promises to feature guests who are “catalysts for positive change, working towards unifying our nation.”

Early guests include Aldean himself, along with his wife Brittany, plus episodes that feature country singer-songwriter Jeffrey Steele and retired U.S. Navy SEAL Jason Redman.

When it first came out in late 2023, “Try That in a Small Town” drew backlash for what many listeners perceived as racist sentiments and the glorification of gun-based vigilante justice.

Its writers largely declined interviews about the song at the time, but with the launch of the Try That in a Small Town podcast, they’re offering up a response to the criticism that surrounded it.

“We were stunned by how people’s sensitivities made them so [antagonistic toward] something very simple that we were trying to convey,” Kennedy tells the Tennessean in a new interview. He went on to say that they intended the song as a celebration of a “common-sense idea” that people should value tight-knit communities where neighbors take care of neighbors, especially in the face of crime or violence.

Related: Jason Aldean’s “Small Town” Video Pulled From CMT Amid Outrage

The writers also indicate that “Try That in a Small Town”  was partially inspired by the mass shooting that occurred at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in 2017, an incident that remains the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman in U.S. history. Aldean — as well as multiple “Small Town” co-writers, who play in his live band — were onstage when that shooting broke out. In fact, Kennedy, who is Aldean’s bassist, was so close to the shooting that a bullet hit his instrument and lodged in it, likely saving him from harm.

Kennedy also draws a comparison between “Try That in a Small Town” and songs like Toby Keith‘s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),” in terms of its response to a historical event. (Keith wrote “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” in 2001, partially as an answer to that year’s Sept. 11 attacks on the United States).

“Just like Toby, we don’t try to write politically charged songs,” Kurt Allison explains.

“It’s an odd time in the music industry,” Kennedy comments, “because great artists used just to be able to sing songs they believed in and loved that reflected what was on their minds. It would be unfortunate if we ever lost that.”

Why Was Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” So Controversial?

• Many listeners criticized the song’s lyrics as racist dog-whistling and glorification of “sundown towns,” a term that refers to towns or neighborhoods that practice racial discrimination via local laws or outright intimidation and violence.
• Specifically, listeners took issue with the “Small Town” music video, much of which was shot in front of the Maury Courthouse in Columbia, Tenn.
• In 1927, a Black man named Henry Choate was hung in front of that courthouse after being lynched and killed by a mob.
• Critics also felt that, especially due to his proximity to the Route 91 shooting, it was inappropriate for Aldean to release a song with pro-Second Amendment lyrics that seem to glorify gun-based vigilante justice.
• Aldean released a statement responding to the backlash denying the accusations of racism against him, and stating that the song speaks to “a feeling of community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief.”

Carena Liptak is an Associate Editor and staff writer at Taste of Country. She specializes in breaking country music news, interviews and lists. In particular, she’s got a soft spot for sad songs — check out her roundup of the 50 Saddest Country Songs of All Time!