Kenny Chesney’s Big Revival Tour, featuring Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert, Cole Swindell, and Old Dominion, rolled into the Rose Bowl and rocked it. Country music fans are devoted, yet rarely do they get a non-festival ticket featuring five bands with songs on the charts.
Old Dominion started the day, and of all the countless concerts I’ve been to, it was the first time I’d seen an opening act use the whole stage, including a giant T-shaped platform protruding into the crowd—typically reserved for headliners. Not today.
Cole Swindell followed, and he and his band also took advantage of the extended stage. The crowd, already primed from quality tailgating, was into the music. Aided by the short set time of an opening act, he delivered a setlist full of radio hits. The crowd loved it.
Brantley Gilbert came next, having paid his dues writing songs that became hits for others before blowing up as a performer. His band was as diverse as they come: Gilbert sported a muscular build and tatted sleeve, the lead guitarist had dreads, the drummer rocked a bleached Mohawk, and another guitarist had the hipster beard look. This was a country concert, yet not a cowboy hat in sight—though it didn’t matter. Gilbert’s band didn’t just look like rock stars; they played like it, riffing through classic rock hooks between songs. Gilbert’s brass knuckles attached to his microphone stand were as badass as it gets, and his pyrotechnics were an unexpected treat from an opener.
Jason Aldean is really a co-headliner. With a decade of hits under his belt, some fans felt he should have headlined. Aldean opened with “Hick Town,” and from there, it was a bombardment of hits. His use of the stage was masterful, with mics positioned all over, especially on the T-shaped protrusion, which he used extensively. Hits like “Dirt Road Anthem” and “My Kinda Party,” originally written by Gilbert, still had Aldean’s distinct touch. His songs, mostly love songs, are relatable, and Aldean’s style makes you feel like you’re part of them. From covering Tom Petty’s “Won’t Back Down” to closing with “She’s Country,” Aldean’s set left the crowd fully satisfied, though it was almost hard to believe more was still to come.
Kenny Chesney, determined not to be outdone, appeared on a platform suspended above the stadium, zig-zagging over the crowd for his opening number, “Drink It Up.” Chesney’s music personifies summer, and he brings a breezy, laid-back vibe even on a muggy Pasadena night. Early in the show, he told the crowd, “For the next two hours, your ass is mine,” but it was he who gave himself to the audience. His set was packed with hits, ranging from early songs like “How Forever Feels” and “I Go Back,” to more recent ones like “American Kids” and “Til It’s Gone.” He slowed things down just enough with tracks like “You and Tequila” and “Anything But Mine,” showing that even his ballads can rock. Chesney’s encore featured Aldean, starting with “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” and John Cougar Mellencamp’s “Hurt So Good.” They even performed Aldean’s “The Only Way I Know,” an unprecedented encore move for a prior act. They closed with Bryan Adams’s “Summer of ’69,” officially rocking everyone’s socks off (though many were wearing boots or flip-flops).
Seeing these five bands together was my kinda party, a night of country music that just doesn’t happen twice.
Los Angeles, US