SUMMERFEST REVIEWS Aldean gives fans, country and otherwise, what they want
Jason Aldean headlines the American Family Insurance Amphitheater for Summerfest’s opening night on Thursday, June 23.
With more than 20 million albums sold and tours that sell out stadiums, country superstar Jason Aldean has withstood fickle tastes in the genre for more than 15 years.
By skillfully blending hip-hop, R&B, and hard rock with soulful country music, Aldean has crossed over to the mainstream.
He may not have the movie-star looks of fellow country stars Brad Paisley and Luke Bryan, but he exudes vulnerability and sincerity. Aldean’s persona is of a quintessential Southern guy, singing about heartbreak, demon whiskey and modern-day cowboys. And fans love him for it.
At his concert at Summerfest’s American Family Insurance Amphitheater Thursday night, a stop on his Rock N’ Roll Cowboy Tour, the 45-yearold Aldean gave fans exactly what they wanted — a mix of songs from his latest release, the double album “Macon, Georgia,” and his earlier hits.
He kicked his set off with the hardrocking “Crazy Town,” complete with a visual backdrop of wild horses and orange lights, and “Take a Little Ride.” After that, the show took a softer, more easygoing vibe with romantic ballads such as “When She Says Baby,” the hip-hop influenced, Auto-Tuned “Burnin’ It Down” and a cover of Jon Pardi’s “Don’t Blame It on Whiskey.”
Aldean’s set even included “I Didn’t Love You,” his duet with Carrie Underwood (complete with a hologram of Underwood singing).
The last third of his set Thursday night veered into hard rock, and a little hard drinking. Aldean took a shot of bourbon before announcing that he was about to “kick this (expletive) into overdrive” and launching into “My Kinda Party,” and “She’s Country.” The crowd went bananas when, to end the show, he slammed a beer and flung the dripping foam into the audience.
The singer, wearing low-slung blue jeans and a T-shirt printed with “Black Sheep of the Family,” was completely at ease on stage, shaking his hips and the microphone back and forth.
The amphitheater was nearly packed to capacity; audience members of all ages wearing cowboy hats, boots and American flag-themed apparel, swayed to the music and belted out lyrics.
“There’s one thing I know about people from Wisconsin, and that’s that you love to drink your ass off,” Aldean said, after thanking his wildly enthusiastic fans for coming out to the concert.”
He wasn’t wrong — nearly every audience member seemed to have a plastic beer cup in their hand.
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