Jason Aldean’s Off-Camera New Year’s Eve Performance Sparks Fresh Debate Over “Try That In A Small Town”

You know the rule about not believing everything you read online.

Even though the new year is barely underway, people are still debating CBS’s New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash. The show, hosted by HARDY and Bert Kreischer, featured performances from artists like Jason Aldean, Lainey Wilson, Bailey Zimmerman, and others.

The broadcast included a mix of live performances from Bicentennial Park in Nashville, a second stage at Luke Combs’ Category 10 bar, and several pre-recorded performances that were filmed months earlier.

What sparked controversy wasn’t something that aired on TV — it was a performance that didn’t.

TikTok videos began circulating claiming that CBS “banned” Jason Aldean from performing his song “Try That In A Small Town.” The claim was based solely on the fact that Aldean played the song live, but it wasn’t shown during the broadcast.

However, there’s no real evidence to support that narrative.

Aldean never mentioned being restricted by CBS during his set, and he hasn’t said anything about it on social media before or after the show. The only reason people assumed the song was banned is because it didn’t air live — which ignores how televised events like this actually work.

Several artists performed songs that weren’t included in the broadcast. The show constantly switched between live stages, pre-recorded segments, and different locations. While Aldean continued performing for the live audience, the broadcast cut away to Riley Green and then Keith Urban in pre-recorded performances before returning to the live show.

@ladysavage7890 CBS banned Jason Aldean from performing this song during the Nashville new years eve bash… so he said a big f u and still performed it during commercial 🤣🙌👏 #concert #newyearseve #momsoftiktok #fyp #jasonaldean ♬ original sound – ✨️Savage✨️SAHM Fitness Journey

@bestdeals_tiktok He performed this on the commercial break…. @Jason Aldean #countrymusic #jasonaldean ♬ original sound – The concert tiktok

@shashagirl77 #jasonaldean #nashvillenye #nashvillesbigbash #bigbash #fyp @Jason Aldean ♬ original sound – 🅝🅐🅣🅐🅢🅗🅐

Pausing the concert itself simply isn’t an option — the audience in attendance still gets a full show regardless of what airs on television.

Major New Year’s broadcasts are tightly scripted down to the second. Between commercial breaks, licensing considerations, and syncing everything perfectly with the midnight countdown, not every performance makes it on air. This happens every year at events like Times Square, too.

An attempt was made to contact CBS for clarification, but no response had been received at the time of writing. As of now, there’s no indication that Aldean was ever told he couldn’t perform the song.

In short, there’s no proof that CBS banned anything. The rumor appears to be nothing more than people jumping to conclusions and trying to create controversy where none exists.