I just couldn’t start this one off without mentioning something right off the bat because it was going to be a big deal for me. Originally, a friend who was looking forward to attending his first country show with me was going to be my partner in crime for this one. However, he unexpectedly passed away a few days before the show. I had been looking forward to this day for quite a while but as it may, it turned out to be something totally different. I’d like to say RIP always to an old, and close friend. Thanks for the good times, the friendship and the memories, Johnny Mascioli. You will be missed.

I managed to grab another friend even with the shorter notice and we headed to the venue to hang out and tailgate for a few hours before the show. This is always one of my favorite things about attending concerts, especially country concerts, at Pine Knob Music Theater. We met up with John Reasoner, our photographer and a couple other friends.  We fully enjoyed the perfect summer day as we waited for the concert to get started that night. This would be my fourth year in a row covering a Jason Aldean tour stop in Michigan and as I’ve known for quite a while now, it was about to be a crazy tonight.

Earlier this week, I had done some research on John Morgan and I saw that he had been writing songs for bit and was a big part of writing the hits ‘If I Didn’t Love You’ and ‘Trouble With A Heartbreak’ for Jason Aldean so I definitely wanted to get in and catch this guy. I really enjoyed John’s performance and I liked his voice and the fact that he really didn’t sound like anyone else currently out there. I think his latest single ‘Good With Goodbye’ is going to do a fine job of getting his name out there and gaining some new fans. I wish I could have gotten there earlier to see more of his set.

Next up was Gabby Barret. I was definitely familiar with her and several of her songs that have been played on the radio the last few years, but this would be my first time seeing her live. I don’t follow everybody as close as others, so I was quite surprised to see that she was very pregnant when her and the band took to the stage. I think she said she was coming up on six months, but that didn’t stop her from putting on an incredible show. Great stage show, great band and her voice was better than I expected it to be live. I was very impressed with what I was seeing and hearing as she and the band went through her set for the night including fan favorites ‘Pick Me Up’, ‘I Hope’ and ‘The Good Ones’, as well as an excellent version of Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believin’, which had the crowd singing so loud that she really didn’t even need to sing. I can see why Gabby is getting more and more popular and I think she’s going to be around for many years to come. 

The sun was pretty much out of sight, the lights went out and the crowd went crazy as Jason Aldean and the band came out on stage. Jason was wearing a specially made ‘Aldean’ Detroit Tigers jersey with the number 50, for Pine Knob celebrating 50 years, and his bass player was wearing a Stone Temple Pilots t-shirt giving a nod to current STP singer, Detroit’s own Jeff Gutt. Jason eventually took off the Tiger’s jersey but was still showing some Detroit love with a Bob Seger t-shirt underneath. Song after song, hit after hit, the crowd remained loud and frenzied and Jason and the boys kept doing their thing. Starting the show with ‘Light’s Come On’ just works so perfect and it always blows me away just how many hits and overall great songs he has. The band was on fire, Jason looked and sounded great and he was fully energized as the crowd was just not letting up, neither was he. I always love when a crowd and an artist feed off of each other. It’s part of the whole ‘Let me know you’re into this and I’ll give you all that I’ve got’ thing that singers and audience members have been doing for years. The whole show was great as usual and he played just about 90 minutes, but I always look forward to hearing him do ‘Fly Over States’, ‘Tattoos On This Town’, ‘We Back’ and ‘Dirt Road Anthem’ live. As you sit back and watch his show, enjoy the chemistry and talent from the incredible musicians in his band, and notice just how much he loves performing live, you begin to understand why he’s made it so long and still remains one of the most popular country music artists in the world. 

Another picture-perfect Jason Aldean experience. From the tailgate hangs before, to the opening and supporting bands and the interactions with many of those in the audience. You always meet good people at a Jason Aldean show and you’re always guaranteed to be entertained by some incredible talent. I look forward to covering his tours each year and hope it’s something I can do for years to come. It makes it that much better when you know it’s going to be something special every time, guaranteed. Until the next one.

-Howie