Kid Rock got an unexpected shout out in Conan O’Brien’s Oscars monologue Sunday night (March 15), but the “Bawitdaba” singer wasn’t too impressed with the jab.

Poking at Rock’s Turning Point USA halftime performance that was staged as an alternative to Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show, O’Brien told the Oscars crowd and viewing audience, “I should warn you tonight could get political. Okay? And if that makes you uncomfortable, there’s an alternate Oscars being hosted by Kid Rock. It’s at the Dave and Busters down the street. Lot of tickets for that.”

What Did Kid Rock Say in Response to Conan O’Brien’s Oscars Joke?

On Monday (March 16), Rock responded via the X platform to being roasted by the Oscars host over his Super Bowl halftime event.

He commented, “I love a good joke, even when I am the butt of it, unfortunately this was not a very good one.”

READ MORE: Kid Rock Teams With RFK Jr. in Shirtless Healthy Workout Video

Rock then used the remainder of his tweet to hype his “Freedom 250” tour, dropping a Ticketmaster link in the social post for good measure.

“Either way, if you want to see a REAL good show this spring / summer that celebrates America and 250 years of Freedom – make sure you buy your tickets from (ugh) Ticketmaster for my Freedom 250 tour – The Road To Nashville. There is a reason for this, TRUST ME!,” commented the singer.

The trek gets underway May 1 in Dallas Texas and runs through June 20 in Burgettstown, Pa. All dates and ticketing info can be found through Rock’s website.

More About Kid Rock’s Turning Point USA Halftime

Kid Rock made headlines earlier this year when he headed up an alternative Super Bowl Halftime performance sponsored by Turning Point USA. The show came about after verbal pushback from President Donald Trump over the selection of Bad Bunny for the halftime performance. The Puerto Rican rapper is one of the best-selling artists in the world, but performs primarily using the Spanish language.

While the Bad Bunny halftime show was estimated to have drawn 135 million viewers, making it the most watched Super Bowl performance in history, the Kid Rock-led “All-American Halftime Show” was said to have garnered 6.4 million viewers via YouTube and Rumble, per the Detroit Free Press.

Kid Rock - Greatest Hits: You Never Saw Coming
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Kid Rock – Greatest Hits: You Never Saw Coming

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Rock also found himself under scrutiny after the performance over lip synching claims. He would later tell Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, “It was out of sync.” He explained that it looked weird because his DJ was not lit up and featured as they traded vocals on the portion of the performance that had people buzzing. He also alluded to a synching issue with the production.

“It was very difficult for the Turning Point production crew — who by the way I can’t say enough good things about — but was very difficult for them,” Kid Rock says. “I’m jumping around the stage like a rabid monkey, rapping my song and I’m taking breaths and my DJ is filling in the other parts of it — I even told them when I saw the rough cut, I was like, ‘You guys got to work on that sync. It’s off.’”

“So it was just a syncing issue that they had and I know they tried to get it right. It was very difficult,” the singer confessed.

Kid Rock + Ticketmaster

Kid Rock has been hyping his his “Freedom 250” tour and Ticketmaster’s involvement after previously testifying against Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation about the company’s escalating ticket prices and ongoing issues with ticket scalping.

Back on Jan. 27 of this year, Rock was testifying on Capitol Hill about the issues with rising ticket costs. During his testimony, Rock reminded the committee that Pearl Jam had testified before them in the ’90s and also recalled that in 2009 they were told that a Live Nation and Ticketmaster merger would benefit artists and fans. Rock reminded the committee that at the time, Live Nation’s CEO had promised that the merger would “increase competition and power artists and lower costs.”

“The economic foundation that supported artists in the past is crumbling. Piracy is threatening their livelihood. Secondary ticketing is driving up prices for the fans with absolutely no benefit to the artist,” Rock added. “Needless to say, that experiment has failed miserably. Independent venues have been crushed. Artists have lost leverage. Fans are paying more than ever and getting blamed for it.”

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Rock implored Congress to subpoena the contracts signed and argued that the deals between artists, promoters, venues, ticketing companies, agencies and vendors would “find mountains of fraud and abuse.”

Fast forward to mid-February when Rock announced that he would be teaming up with Live Nation to utilize Ticketmaster’s Face Value Exchange Policy in an attempt to thwart scalping for the “Freedom 250” dates. In a lengthy video explaining how the ticketing would work, Rock shared, “This isn’t perfect, but it’s a real step to shut down scalpers and protect fans. No extra cost to fans — same tickets, same prices, just fairer access. Bottom line: buy tickets, go to the show and if plans change, sell them the right way so another fan gets in.”

He also credited the ticketing giant for working with him on this solution even after speaking out against them previously over their. ticketing practices. But even as Rock and Ticketmaster had seemingly found common ground, in mid-March private messages from Live Nation’s Slack account were made public in which two of the company’s employees boasted about taking advantage of ticket buyers for a 2022 Kid Rock concert by elevating VIP parking and seating costs. The exchanges were reportedly collected as part of a 2024 antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

Just prior to the leaked messages going public, Live Nation reportedly settled the ongoing antitrust suit.

See Kid Rock among 15 unexpected acts you probably forgot played the Warped Tour in the gallery below.

15 Unexpected Warped Tour Acts You May Have Forgotten

These are not your usual Warped Tour artists. At all. And that’s all part of the fun!

Gallery Credit: Rob Carroll

Linkin Park
Linkin Park

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Linkin Park

Year played: 2014

Other acts on Warped Tour that year: MGK, A Day To Remember, Yellowcard, The Devil Wears Prada

Linkin Park played one date on the 2014 Warped Tour and no one knew they were even on the schedule until that day.

“The idea of playing Warped Tour as a surprise thing at one of the dates sounded so fun,” Mike Shinoda told Rock Sound. “My only reservation was, if we do it, can we have some Warped Tour favorite singers come out and sing with us. How many of them are we going to get? Are they going to be interested? Are they going to be available after they played?”

Linkin Park ended up being joined on stage by someone from another Warped Tour act for every song. Guests included MGK, Ryan Key from Yellowcard and Jeremy McKinnon from A Day to Remember.

Black Eyed Peas
Black Eyed Peas

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Black Eyed Peas

Year played: 1999

Other acts on Warped Tour that year: Blink-182, Suicidal Tendencies, The Vandals

The Warped Tour went heavy on acts that didn’t fit the tour’s typical punk/rock/ska vibe in 1999. One of those was the Black Eyed Peas.

But this was the Black Eyed Peas without Fergie.

And, no, they didn’t meet the future “Fergalicious” singer in the parking lot of a Warped venue that summer as some might have you to believe. Fergie told Paper Mag she was instead invited to sing with the group by a mutual friend.

Katy Perry
Katy Perry

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Katy Perry

Year: 2008

Other acts on Warped Tour that year: Gym Class Heroes, Pennywise, Story of the Year, Everytime I Die

For Katy Perry, playing Warped Tour was all part of the process of being an emerging artist. She was part of the tour in 2008, the same summer her album One of the Boys was released. The single “I Kissed a Girl” became an instant hit.

“Can’t skip the steps, gotta pay your dues,” Perry said in a 2017 Instagram post reflecting on her Warped Tour run.

Papa Roach
Papa Roach

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Papa Roach

Year: 2000

Other acts on Warped Tour that year: Green Day, NOFX, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Papa Roach was out on the Warped Tour the moment “Last Resort” started to be played just about everywhere in 2000. Tour organizers took notice.

“We started on the third stage, worked our way to the second stage. Three weeks into the tour, we’re on the main stage,” Papa Roach vocalist Jacoby Shaddix told Skratch ‘N Sniff radio. “By the end of the tour, we’re headlining this thing right next to Green Day and Weezer.”

Eminem
Eminem

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Eminem

Year played: 1999

Other acts on Warped Tour that year: Blink-182, Black Eyed Peas, Less Than Jake

By the time Warped Tour started in the summer of 1999, Eminem seemed unstoppable as “My Name Is” was just about everywhere.

In fact, not even a fall off the stage during a Warped Tour show that left him with broken ribs could keep Slim Shady from performing and working on new music. He was back in the studio the next day.

“Getting too fucking drunk,” Eminem said the fall in a video that surfaced the following day.

Kid Rock
Kid Rock

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Kid Rock

Year played: 1998

Other acts on Warped Tour that year: NOFX, Deftones, Dropkick Murphys, Cherry Poppin’ Daddies

While Kid Rock’s breakthrough album, Devil Without a Cause, dropped in August 1998, it wasn’t until late in the year that people finally started to take notice.

That meant he could spend the summer flying under the radar as one of the lesser-known acts on the Warped Tour where crowds were likely hearing songs such as “Bawitdaba” and “Cowboy” for the very first time.

Staind
Staind

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Staind

Year: 1998

Other acts on Warped Tour that year: Bad Religion, Rancid, NOFX, Deftones

Staind played a total of eight Warped Tour dates in 1998, including a joint event that saw the traveling music festival combined with Ozzfest in Somerset, Wisconsin on July 18.1998.

Ice-T
Ice-T

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Ice-T

Years played: 1999, 2025

Other acts on Warped Tour those years: Eminem, Black Eyed Peas, Blink-182

Ice-T has played the Warped Tour both as a solo artist and with his band, Body Count. In 1999, he joined the tour and met Eminem for the first time.

“The kids were throwing shit at him,” Ice-T told Alternative Press. The incident led to Ice-T gaining a newfound respect for a fellow rapper performing on a tour that was mostly not rap music.

“Now I was out there rapping, they didn’t have a problem with me… But when he got up there, they felt it was okay to be disrespectful. And I watched him weather that storm.”

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

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Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Years played: 2006, 2018

Other acts on Warped Tour those years: NOFX, AFI, Helmet, Against Me!

There was a period of time when Warped Tour attempted to invite more established punk and rock acts from the ’70s and ’80s. Sure, they may have seemed a little out of place among the bands whose merch was in every Hot Topic, but it was still a nice nod to the past.

The 2006 version of the tour featured both the Buzzcocks and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

“I thought it was going to be a big traveling punk rock circus vibe and that’s exactly what it is,” Jett told the Idaho Press in 2006. “Everybody’s treated us really nice. The camaraderie between bands is awesome. No head trips, no egos. Everyone’s really friendly.”

Dick Dale
Dick Dale

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Dick Dale

Year played: 1996

Other acts on Warped Tour that year: NOFX, Pennywise, Rocket From The Crypt

If you have no idea who Dick Dale is, you at least should at the very least know he is the guy who plays that instrumental surf guitar song from Pulp Fiction.

Dale started his music career in the late 1950s and had a bit of a renaissance after Pulp Fiction came out in 1994. He died 2019 at the age of 81.

So why on earth was he part of the Warped Tour?

“I’m a fan [of Dale’s], and I thought it would be cool to expose him to this group of young kids,” Warped Tour booker Darryl Eaton told the Los Angeles Times.

Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray

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Sugar Ray

Year played: 1997

Other acts on Warped Tour that year: Blink-182, The Offspring, Descendents

The early iteration of Sugar Ray had more of a nu-metal sound (no, really), which wasn’t terribly out of place on the Warped Tour in 1997. But their album that came out that same year, Floored, included a song that sounded like nothing they had done in the past.

“Fly” became a radio hit and moved the band’s sound more in the direction of radio-friendly pop rock on future albums.

Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit

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Limp Bizkit

Years played: 1996, 1997, 2018

Other acts on Warped Tour those years: Blink-182, Pennywise, Lagwagon, Reel Big Fish

Warped Tour must have known something, as the festival booked Limp Bizkit even before their 1997 debut album. They were asked back the following year as Three Dollar Bill, Y’all started to gain momentum.

It would take more than 20 years for Limp Bizkit to play another Warped Tour when they finally returned in 2018.

M.I.A.
M.I.A.

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M.I.A.

Year: 2008

Other acts on Warped Tour that year: Against Me!, Every Time I Die, Gym Class Heroes

The song “Paper Planes” was inescapable the summer of 2008 after it was prominently featured in the stoner comedy, Pineapple Express. British rapper/singer M.I.A. was also popping up just about everywhere that year, including a pair of dates on the Warped Tour.

Weezer
Weezer

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Weezer

Year: 2000

Other acts on Warped Tour that year: Papa Roach, Green Day, AFI

Weezer’s 2000 run on Warped Tour was fairly short, spanning a total of seven dates that year. They did not join the tour outside of California and Arizona.

Waka Flocka Flame
Waka Flocka Flame

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Waka Flocka Flame

Years: 2015, 2016

Other acts on Warped Tour those years: Asking Alexandria, Black Veil Brides, Falling in Reverse, Less Than Jake

Waka Flocka Flame landed on the Warped Tour lineup more than five years after his arguably biggest songs were released. His addition to the 2015 event came just months after he pretended to run for president with a platform of legalizing marijuana.