Review: Patriotic Jason Aldean waves his small-town, conservative flag in a big city

Country superstar Jason Aldean displayed his true colors the moment fans entered Grand Casino Arena on Saturday in St. Paul: There was a booth and a QR code for Patriot Mobile, sponsor of Aldean’s Full Throttle Tour.

In the seating arena of the newly rebranded arena, formerly known as Xcel Energy Center, videos of Aldean played on big screens touting Patriot Mobile as “the Christian conservative provider.”

If there ever was a question where Aldean stood, he was proud to honor the red, white and blue with his stars-and-stripes guitar strap.

That was a difference stance compared to when Aldean last appeared in the area in 2023 as his controversial “Try That in a Small Town” was at the top of country charts and the cultural conversation. Two years ago, he played in front of 16,000 people at Treasure Island Casino amphitheater in Welch, Minn., which is so tiny it’s often listed as Red Wing, which is 14 miles away. He gave the song a two-minute introduction back then.

On Saturday, Aldean reprised that tune in a big town — St. Paul — without any introduction. In the lyrics, he threatens gun violence to anyone who comes to his small town and carjacks an old lady, cusses a cop and stomps on a flag. He promises that he and other citizens will take the law into their own hands with “a gun that my granddad gave me.”

That song was like a rally cry for nearly 13,000 fans Saturday at the Grand, whether they lived in a small town, big city or nondescript suburb. They went wild and sang along like it was drinking song.

Here are five other takeaways from Aldean’s first concert in the Twin Cities proper since 2020 (and his fifth appearance at the St. Paul arena since 2010).

2. Aldean doesn’t write or cowrite his songs. He just finds songs that he can relate to, that support his conservative stances (“Amarillo Sky,” “Dirt Road Anthem”) and “redneck Romeo” lifestyle (in “My Kinda Party”).

He sang with a stuffed nasal voice that sets him apart on country radio because it sounds like he needs to blow his nose. Near the end of Saturday’s 95-minute performance, he apologized for his voice not being in top shape.

3. Pacing has always been an issue for Aldean concerts, as he acknowledged before his closing bangers “My Kinda Party” and “She’s Country.”

Ballads and medium-tempo tunes may sound just right on the radio but they don’t carry an arena show. Aldean smartly tried to spice up the ballad “Trouble with a Heartbreak” with a chiming guitar flourish at the end but then followed with another ballad, “The Truth.”

Factor in that Aldean, who admitted that he doesn’t talk much onstage or have “TikTok dancers,” doesn’t have the gravitas or larger-than-life personality of Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton or Keith Urban, all of whom, like Aldean, emerged in the ‘00s.

At least he brought the energy, bounding about a stage with a short runway (not even 10 yards long), sort of like Kenny Chesney-lite.

4. Part of Aldean’s continued success — he’s had more than two-dozen No. 1 Nashville songs — can be attributed to his assimilating all kinds of sounds in his music.

“She’s Country,” the encore, had AC/DC undertones. “Big Green Tractor” sounded so ‘90s. “Tattoos on This Town” was stamped with pseudo-psychedelic guitars. Several songs, including the opening “Hicktown” and “My Kinda Party,” were spiked with ‘80s stadium-rock guitar riffs and thundering drums a la Def Leppard. (Coincidentally, Aldean was wearing a Def Leppard T-shirt.) Even though “Burnin’ It Down” namechecked Jack Daniels and the band Alabama, it had electronic beats and a distinctive R&B vibe.

5. Opening the concert were RaeLynn, a former contestant on NBC’s “The Voice,” and Nate Smith, a bit of a late bloomer who released his debut album in 2023 at age 37.

RaeLynn, 31, who performed Aldean’s “She’s Country” on “The Voice,” offered a rushed half-hour Saturday of some stompin’ rock/country like her new single “Long Live Country Music.” The highlight, though, was when RaeLynn returned after her set to have the crowd sing ‘Happy Birthday” to her 4-year-old daughter Daisy.