California just ran off one of country music's most respected voices.
Tracy Lawrence didn't just lose his taste for the Golden State, he ran the numbers.
What he told his podcast host next put Gavin Newsom's entire California economy on trial.
How California's Economy Killed Tracy Lawrence's Acting Career
Tracy Lawrence spent years building something rare for a Nashville legend – a side career in Hollywood.
The "Sticks and Stones" singer worked with acting coaches and made regular trips to Los Angeles.
He had a real project lined up – a role in the upcoming Netflix thriller Heartland alongside Academy Award-winner Jessica Chastain.
Then California's policies made it not worth his time.
"I had a couple of different acting coaches that I was working with over the last several years, but I mean, it's just weird going out to California these days, man," Lawrence told Like a Farmer podcast host Pat Spinosa. "It's kind of … it's disheartening. I just kind of pulled the plug on all that stuff."
A man with 30 years and 18 number-one singles doesn't pull the plug over a bad trip.
He pulled it because the numbers don't work.
Lawrence still has a three-week run of California dates in August and September, and he is not looking forward to it.
California Gas Prices Hit $10 a Gallon on the No Alibis Tour
Moving a fleet of buses and trucks across California isn't just expensive – it's a financial ambush.
"Man, we're looking at $10 a gallon just for gas," Lawrence said. "You know, take a fleet of buses out there and your trucks and stuff and go out there and try to promote shows."
He didn't mince words about what Gavin Newsom's state does to working musicians: "They tax you to death."
California earned that description honestly.
The state's excise tax on gasoline rose to 63.4 cents per gallon on July 1 – the highest in the nation – with the total tax and fee burden hitting $1.15 per gallon when all state levies are included, according to California's Republican congressional delegation in a letter to Newsom.
Diesel carries its own excise rate of 48.2 cents per gallon, also the highest diesel tax in the country, on top of the same cap-and-trade and Low Carbon Fuel Standard fees that drive up every gallon sold in the state.
"The economy out there is awful," Lawrence said. "You know, the price of fuel and just getting in and out of the states, tremendous."
The Gavin Newsom Gas Tax Comparison That No California Democrat Can Answer
Lawrence didn't stop there.
He said touring California is now "basically as difficult and as unprofitable as going into Canada right now."
Doing business in Canada has headaches comparable to a foreign country with international tax complications, border logistics, and currency exchange issues.
California used to be a crown jewel on any American tour.
Lawrence wasn't fighting a culture war.
He was talking about diesel receipts, crew costs, and a profit margin that Gavin Newsom's Sacramento has spent years picking apart one tax and fee at a time.
California closed two major refineries in the last two years – one-fifth of the state's fuel supply, gone – and then kept piling on environmental fees that no other state charges.
Truckers on the I-5 corridor plan fuel stops in Nevada just to avoid California prices.
Tracy Lawrence and the California Exodus Every Nashville Artist Understands
The California talent flight is real, but the media covers it wrong.
The story isn't celebrities buying ranches in Austin or recording studios opening in Nashville.
Working professionals – artists, crew, truckers, small operators – are running the numbers every quarter and walking away.
Lawrence will still show up for his California fans this fall, because that's what 30 years in the business looks like.
But a man who survived being shot four times during a Nashville mugging in 1991, rebuilt his career from nothing, and spent three decades navigating every obstacle the music industry threw at him – that man just told America that Gavin Newsom's California broke his will to show up.
Calling a state "disheartening" isn't a political statement when it comes from a man who survived all of that – it's a verdict.
Sacramento built this economy, Democrats keep voting to protect it, and artists like Tracy Lawrence are paying for it every time they fill up a tank.
Sources:
- Lori A. Bashian, "Country star Tracy Lawrence slams California, reveals why he pulled the plug on acting in LA," Fox News, July 30, 2026.
- "California gas tax set to rise Wednesday, remaining highest in US," Fox 11 Los Angeles, June 30, 2026.
- "Newsom under fire as California gas tax hike sends pump prices even higher," Fox News, June 29, 2026.