MARIETTA, Ga. (WVLA) – Country music legend Travis Tritt announced Monday that he is cancelling several shows at venues with COVID safety measures, calling mandatory vaccines and test results discrimination against his fans.

Tritt is cancelling four shows in the cities listed below because they are requiring “proof of COVID vaccination, mask mandates, or testing.”

  • Muncie, Indiana on Oct. 23
  • Philadelphia, Mississippi on November 6
  • Peoria, Illinois on Nov 11
  • Louisville, Kentucky on Nov. 13

“This is a sacrifice that I’m willing to make to stand up for the freedoms that generations of Americans have enjoyed for their entire lifetimes,” said Tritt. “I’m sorry for any inconvenience this situation creates for anyone who had purchased tickets to these shows. We will try to reschedule unrestricted shows in these areas as soon as we can.”

Shows that do not have mandates will continue as scheduled.

Late on Monday night, Tritt went on Twitter and told people to “hold the line.”

Tritt has received nine Grammy nominations in his career and won the award twice.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and greater medical community have found that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and side effects are rare.

The country star is making his stand against COVID-19 safety protocols amid a global pandemic that has killed more than 726,000 people in the U.S. and led to over 45 million cases.

Meantime, the delta variant continues to spread quickly as patients – an overwhelming number of them unvaccinated – are being hospitalized and dying in cities across the country.

Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, believes a rejection of vaccine mandates is largely politically motivated.

“There is an aspect to this now that has to do with our country being so divided,” said Sharfstein. “This has become so politicized that people can’t see the value of a vaccination that can save their lives. Our own divisions are preventing us from ending a pandemic.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.