3 Doors Down Plays At The Inauguration Welcome

Despite having a notably tough time locking down musical performances for his inauguration, president-elect Donald Trump secured a pretty popular band. Oh wait, no — I had that wrong. A pretty popular band from the early aughts, sorry. At the inauguration welcome concert on Thursday, 3 Doors Down performed for Trump and his family. The pairing, be it either odd or perfect (jury's still out), shouldn't come as a surprise. Throughout the arduous process of finding performers for this event 3 Doors Down has remained steadfast, even despite backlash. But, why?

Actually, given their background, everybody should've seen the band's willingness to support Trump from miles away. On Wednesday, it was made even clearer when Vice interviewed the band's manager, Angus Vail. He was able to shed some light on the band's decision to be a part of this divisive day — a part that would bring them eye rolls, at the very least, and at the very worst, internet vitriol. As Vail simply put it, the band members are conservative. "Well, 3 Doors actually played George W. Bush's inauguration," he said before explaining more about their upbringing. Oh, people must have ceased to remember that event.

"They are good Mississippi and Alabama boys — they come from conservative families," Vail continued in his Vice interview. "You know, they're really good guys, but they have very different political beliefs. Because they played both Bush's inaugurations, they've obviously been on the conservative radar." It might not be what a large majority of America believes in — conservative or not — but it appears that 3 Doors Down has (and will) stand behind their party. No matter the circumstance.

The band's frontman, Brad Arnold, hasn't backed down or appeared embarrassed, or even somewhat conflicted, to align himself with Trump. He told TMZ that 3 Doors Down "loves America" and revealed that, for him, the inauguration is a "great experience" and a “great honor.”

In that same Vice interview, Vail boiled the band's intentions down to simple alternating viewpoints. (From what he told the publication, it sounds like Vail skews liberal.) "It's their right to play wherever and they have a particular view of Trump and the Republican Party and conservatism in general, and it's really interesting for me to see," he shared. "A lot of people think like, how can you be associated with them? Whereas I just think they have a very different view of the world from me."

It's disappointing 3 Doors Down probably isn't rushing to agree with that sentiment, but considering that the band hasn't been popular in almost 20 years, that might not be such a blow for the group.