TPUSA All-American Halftime Show features plenty of Americana, religion, and un-family-friendly content

The Turning Point USA All-American Halftime Show aired on Sunday during Super Bowl LX halftime, which in itself feels like an achievement given how janky the rollout has been since it was announced.

Despite being announced in October, the organization refused to reveal who would perform until a week before the Super Bowl, easing concerns that it might not actually happen, though a lineup featuring Kid Rock and three niche country performers might not have brought the wow factor needed to truly compete with Bad Bunny.

Even though crises seemed to have been averted, things got off to a foreboding start for the alternative halftime show when TPUSA announced 30 minutes before the Super Bowl that, due to licensing restrictions, they would not be able to broadcast it on X. Such a last-minute issue seemed to back up the notion that event planning had been a bit slapdash in the months leading up to it.

Still, the show went on. It opened with a guitarist’s rendition of the national anthem while flimsy fireworks fired off behind him.

One of the musical performers followed, though it was initially unclear if this was Brantly Gilbert, Lee Brice, or some hybrid version of them. Whoever it was, their initial song opened with “Welcome to the land of the free, home of the brave.”

It eventually became clear that this was Brantley Gilbert when “Brantley Gilbert” flashed in large letters on the stage. For his second song, Gilbert went into a rap-rock style that was ill-advised even when that was popular.

It became clear during Gilbert’s performance that the show was pre-recorded, as the segues between songs moved far too fast to allow time for the bands and performers to come and go.

Interesting, his grand finale features several instances where he was about to say a curse word, but then stopped. An odd choice for what had been billed as a family-friendly presentation.

Next up was Gabby Barrett, who offered several perfectly fine, innocuous, and unmemorable songs.

That brought Lee Brice to the stage, where he immediately started singing about being proud to be part of “the drinking class.” Again, family-friendly?

Having not listened to Gilbert or Brice before this, it was staggering how many of their songs were just the Bo Burnham country music bit. Cold beer, trucks, guns, America, and backing the blue were in great supply throughout the show.

Brice then offered a shoutout to Charlie Kirk before launching into a song about how “It ain’t easy being country in this country nowadays,” an ironic, victim-y stance given the current political leadership and the massive appeal of TPUSA and the show he’s currently on.

“I just want to catch my fish, drive my truck, drink my beer,” said Brice, who eventually veered into lyrics noting disappointment over the existence of transgender girls, which garnered applause from the crowd.

Brice followed that song with another one about how he’s hard to love. You don’t say.

Finally, Kid Rock took the stage to do half a version of “Bawitdaba,” including lyrics about topless dancers (again, family-friendly??). It appeared that he was lip-syncing.

Kid’s (or Rock’s) performance was cut short, giving way to a cellist and violinist performing what might have been the longest song of the evening. The Super Bowl’s second half was about to begin, leaving audiences to wonder if Mr. Rock just showed up to do half a song.

However, Rock returned in his Chris Gaines-like “Robert Ritchie” mode, in which he performed what I can honestly say was one of the most unpleasantly sung songs I’ve ever heard. The Super Bowl had resumed while this song continued, revealing itself to be a call to action to read your bible.

As that performance ended, so did the halftime show with an infomercial about Charlie Kirk and his message. And with that, TPUSA’s All-American Halftime Show came to an end.

Not the outright disaster it could have been, given all the issues leading up to it, the show was exactly what you’d have expected it to be. A melange of Americana, religion, and conservative values delivered in trite, underbaked lyrics.

In many ways, Kid Rock ended up being the perfect headliner for the event. Once a mainstream success, he’s spent years sacrificing authenticity to chase financial rewards over artistic pride. More loud than impactful, he’s currently navigating a landscape where no one wants to be around him while he attempts to appeal to whatever sticks in this moment in the midst of a movement built on grift.