CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — A defiant Jason Aldean played a sold-out show last night to more than 20,000 faithful at Blossom Music Center.
Nearly two months after a rain storm washed out the scheduled “Highway Desperado Tour” date, a storm of a different kind surrounds the superstar country singer and his controversial country music hit “Try That in a Small Town,” which has been called everything from a racist dog whistle to a paean to traditional values since its release earlier this year.
Related: Jason Aldean brings the culture wars and his controversial ‘Small Town’ hit to Blossom on Sunday
Donning a cowboy hat with an Allman Brothers Band t-shirt, the combative Aldean turned in an anthemic 90-minute set his fans won’t soon forget.
Before launching into his crowd-favorite “Fly Over States,” the country music rock star said, “Well, we tried to reschedule as soon as possible. You never know how many will show up, but everybody showed up, so thank you.
“This is always a cool place. I’m glad we got the chance to come back. There’s a lot to talk about. A lot of (expletive) happened since the last time I saw you guys.”
The original video for the controversial No. 1 tune compared country life to urban life with clips of “Black Lives Matter” protests, which were later removed.
“I’m pretty sure that video came out the weekend we were supposed to play here the first time,” Aldean said. “So let’s just say this turned into a huge (expletive) storm the media came up with and it was pretty wild to see, honestly.
“I think anybody with common sense knows where I was coming from. I think there are people of all races that are tired with all of this (expletive) going on.”
After blasting the media for flipping the narrative and making “it something that it wasn’t supposed to be,” the singer added, “I guess their thing was that I would be super apologetic, but clearly they don’t know my ass very well.
“I stand by the video, I stand by the song…By the looks of it, there are a lot of people here who agree with me. My dad always said, ‘Say what you mean and mean what you say.’ I meant every damn word of the song and the video.”
As for the rest of the set, Aldean turned in pretty faithful renditions of his rocking, chart-topping catalog, including the dueling guitar-heavy “Rearview Town,” ballad “Got What I Got,” rhythmic “Lights Come On” and steel-guitar driven “Amarillo Sky.”
“How many of you have to be at work tomorrow?” Aldean asked his spirited and rowdy audience before launching into the upbeat “Crazy Town.” “Yeah, that sucks.”
While Aldean’s fans patiently waited for his return to Northeast Ohio, the postponement was extra difficult for one little girl.
Mogadore resident Kristina Biggie said her daughter, Helena, 7, was all set to attend her first concert — a birthday present — before the wet July night.
“I was sad when it was canceled,” said Helena, wearing a snazzy hat. “I’m a fan of ‘She’s Country’ because I’m from South Carolina.”
As for the vibe of the July rescheduling, Biggie said, “It was pandemonium. Just drunk people everywhere.”
Let’s just say yesterday’s audience continued the theme. Day-drinking all day, they dropped the tailgate, watched the corn (hole) and couldn’t wait for the sun to go down.
The show opened with rising Mitchell Tenpenny and his ubiquitous one-finger salute.
After a brief cover of Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” the rising Music City star ended on a high note with his calling card sing-along “B******.”
“This is a song about calling b****** b******,” he clarified. “Take care of one another.”
It’s the latter that the Aldean crowd did for each other and their favorite star all night long.
