Jason Aldean hasn’t yet ascended to the level of one-name country acts like Kenny, Alan and Garth. (That’s Chesney, Jackson and Brooks to those of y’all for whom there are no one-name country acts.) But this Georgia native’s induction into that top tier may be only a matter of time: Last summer he hit the upper reaches of Billboard’s Hot 100 with “Dirt Road Anthem,” and finished 2011 as the artist behind the year’s biggest-selling country album, My Kinda Party. More than any of his previous discs, Party showcases Aldean’s crossover aspirations, with hard-rocking cuts such as “Tattoos on This Town” and a juicy Kelly Clarkson duet, “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” straight out of the early-’80s power-ballad playbook. His pumped-up arena show, too, seems designed to convince you that you’re looking at a star.
Adding more bang for your buck, Aldean hits New Jersey with two worthwhile openers: last year’s big-voiced American Idol runner-up, Lauren Alaina, and Luke Bryan, one of Nashville’s most appealing B-listers. His hit 2011 album, Tailgates & Tanlines, is a virtual object lesson in how to transform the potentially creepy into the oddly endearing, as you’ll likely discover tonight when Bryan commands several thousand country girls to shake it for the birds, shake it for the bees, shake it for the catfish swimming down deep in the creek.—Mikael Wood