Aldean Heats Up Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena

Jason Aldean played his last domestic show until the end of March on Saturday (Feb. 21) at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, before heading across the pond for a series of dates.

For die-hard Aldean fans, there probably wasn’t any doubt the 2015 Burn It Down Tour would continue to live up to its name. The country megastar has made a reputation for himself over the past two years, turning up the heat in arenas and stadiums, some he christened for the first time as a musical guest. Flamethrowers and pyrotechnics were obviously scaled back for Nashville’s indoor fire codes but still offered plenty of bang. Lighting and staging rose and descended to accentuate each title in the flawlessly performed set.

It has been 10 years since “Hicktown” put the Broken Bow Records star on the map. On Saturday, Aldean told the audience, “We wanted to get that music video on TV as much as possible because we thought we would be one-hit and done.”

Of course fate had much more planned for Aldean with country radio and the ticket-buying public. His sixth studio album, Old Boots, New Dirt was the fourth best-selling country album of 2014 and was the only country album released in 2014 that gained Platinum certification last year. Google Play is offering the album for free this week, donating $1 for each download to Aldean’s 10th Annual Susan G. Komen Concert For The Cure, to be held in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Oct. 24.

Some of that new music was touted by Aldean, including his upcoming single “Tonight Looks Good On You” alongside “Two Night Town,” “Just Gettin’ Started,” and “Sweet Little Something.”

But where Aldean has really etched his mark is with great songs. Fifteen No. 1s to be exact. Those radiated and sparkled even more intensely than the inferno of special effects. Songs like “Tattoos On This Town,” “Amarillo Sky,” “The Truth,” “Fly Over States,” “When She Says Baby,” or “Crazy Town.”

Such star power attracted an even bigger star, namely Randy Owen of the legendary band Alabama. Owen took the stage for a rendition of “Tennessee River” before playing “My Home’s In Alabama,” a title Aldean noted he learned to perform at a young age, while turning to his father in the audience.

Alabama’s Randy Owen and Aldean

For “The Only Way I Know,” a song recorded with Eric Church and Luke Bryan, Aldean invited his tourmates Cole Swindell and Tyler Farr to the stage.

Earlier in the evening Farr donned form-fitting camo pants on stage while the audience surged in appreciation for titles including “Whiskey In My Water,” “A Guy Walks Into A Bar,” and a new single expected for April “Going Through Withdrawls.”

Swindell sold the audience with his smile and aw-shucks charm, reminiscent of pal Luke Bryan. Swindell, a co-writer of Bryan’s hit “Roller Coaster,” led the audience in a performance of the song.

The show was a much-improved hometown set for the Warner Nashville artist, who sang himself hoarse. The set boasted the Bryan and Florida Georgia Line hit “This Is How We Roll,” also penned by Swindell. Additional ear candy included “Hey Y’all,” “Chillin It,” “Lonely Tonight,” and “You Ain’t Worth The Whiskey.”

Every performer proved their value to country music, but none with quite as big of a bang as Aldean.

Aldean meets with press backstage before show.