Who was sitting next to Trump at the RNC? Jason Aldean, wife Brittany join GOP presidential hopeful

Notice a familiar face sitting next to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump? Here's a hint, he has a bar on Broadway in Nashville.

Country musician Jason Aldean and his wife Brittany Kerr were seated next to Trump in the MAGA friends and family box on the final night of the RNC on Thursday. The seating arrangement came as several speakers talked about the former president's love of music and always being the "DJ" wherever he went.

Aldean is expected to close out the convention for attendees with a private show at the Potawatomi Casino Hotel.

The bar owner and polarizing musician made headlines with his controversial song " Try That in a Small Town," which he dedicated to Trump during a recent concert following an assassination attempt on him at a Saturday rally in Pennsylvania.

“President Trump’s a friend of mine so I want to send this next song out to him,” Aldean said, according to footage of the performance shared on social media. “We all know what’s going to happen come November, so it’s all good. Just goes to show you there’s a lot of (expletive) in the world, and that’s kind of what this song right here was about, so this one goes out to the pres.”

And Aldean has been on the Trump train for a while.

Will Jason Aldean be playing at the RNC?

Reince Priebus, chair of the RNC host committee, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Thursday that the singer would be performing at a party the committee is throwing after the RNC ends Thursday night. It will not be televised.

How does Jason Aldean know Trump?

Aldean has defended and supported Trump on social media multiple times over the past year, including after the former president was convicted on 34 felony counts. And the couple has ties to Trump that go back years; the couple attended his Mar-a-Lago New Year’s Eve party in 2022.

After the shooting in Pennsylvania that left one man dead and three wounded including Trump, Aldean called Trump a "warrior."

“This is what a warrior looks like! This is MY guy,” Aldean wrote on Instagram. “@realdonaldtrump we are thinking about (you) and praying for you and your family. God has a bigger plan for you my friend, and I think we all know what that is by now.”

What is the controversy behind 'Try That in a Small Town'?

Released in May 2023, the song ignited a cultural firestorm with its lyrics and accompanying music video. CMT pulled the music video because it showed graphic clips from recent protests. Aldean defended the “Try it in a Small Town” video, even after some claimed the visual was a "dog whistle" and others labeled it "pro-lynching," according previous Tennessean reporting

Video controversy: Six seconds removed from Jason Aldean's 'Try That In A Small Town' video as controversy, support escalates

"There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it — and there isn't a single video clip that isn't real news footage — and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music, this one goes too far," Aldean wrote in a July 2023 X post.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Jason Aldean, wife Brittany sit next to Trump at RNC. Here's why