I saw Jason Aldean perform at Nats Park in 2014 (read that blog post here), and I was supposed to see him a few years before COVID, but my friend and I totally forgot and didn't go! So when I saw he was coming back to Merriweather Post Pavilion, I knew I had to buy tickets. I was going to go with my go-to country concert friend, but he couldn't make it, so I was scrambling to find someone. Then I remembered that a neighbor's daughter, who's home from college for the summer, is a country music fan. I texted her about going with me, and she responded, "OMG SHUT UP YES," so I found a new country concert buddy! So we went last week and had a blast!
Corey Kent was the show's opener. His name didn't sound familiar, but I did know a song or two of his:
Something's Gonna Kill Me (maybe my favorite of his for the night)
He also did a cover of the Beatles' Come Together:
Up next was Mitchell Tenpenny! I saw him perform at the Fillmore in Silver Spring early in 2019 (read that blog post here); I almost had the chance to see him backstage! I particularly love two of his songs (the first two listed below), so I was excited to see him again.
Drunk Me (although it wasn't as good live as I had hoped; kind of like when I saw Brett Eldridge sing Drunk on Your Love)
We Got History (He has experienced a lot of heartbreak, clearly!)
Bitches (He had a drawing of a hand flipping the bird with the word "bitches" on the knuckles on T-shirts, his drum set, etc. I didn't necessarily find it offensive, but just kind of impolite. I think he's a talented song writer, so is this really the best he can do?)
During Tenpenny's set it rained a little bit, and I almost wondered if it was going to pour and we'd have to leave (since we had lawn seats). But the rain held out, so we could still see our headliner! Aldean has so many hits, so I understand that he can't sing them all. But Burnin' It Down is one of my favorite songs of his (as is Night Train), and he didn't play it! So I was bummed about that. But here are a bunch of ones he did play, from the old stuff to his newest song, and everything in between:
Dirt Road Anthem (I thought Eric Church sang this song... Woops!)
Got What I Got (so romantic!)
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| While Carrie Underwood wasn't there, she was a hologram singing along with Aldean, just like they did with Kelly Clarkson the last time I saw him when he sang Don't You Wanna Stay. |
Try That in a Small Town (This song and its music video have gotten a lot of press, mainly because of the lyrics mentioning guns and the video includes news clips of violence particularly related to large riots/protests. I don't think the video or song are racist, but I am confused as to the message of the song. Is he promoting violence, saying that if you do something wrong in the small town, there will be hell to pay? Or is he trying to prevent violence, saying that if we all had the sense of community like one might in a small town, and you cared about your neighbors, you wouldn't commit acts of violence in the first place? The music video shows a lot of footage of police in riot gear, and again I couldn't tell if Aldean was pro-police or not; police have committed a lot of violence against innocent people, both in big cities and small towns, but police have also been attacked unnecessarily at times. So I'm mostly just confused.)
She's Country (This was my friend's favorite song, and he saved it for last!)
It was a really good concert! And now I get to see the Chicks later this week! Stay tuned for that blog post!
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