The Full Throttle Tour came to Harrison and went “Burnin’ It Down!”
Country music superstar and reigning Academy of Country Music Artist of the Decade Jason Aldean brought his headline tour to Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison Friday night, Oct. 10, to a rowdy crowd who were ready for a night of Aldean’s hits and country music staples.
Openers Lauren Gottshall, Chase McDaniel and the quickly rising Warren Zeiders, who has recently begun his own headline tour, got the crowd going early while the rest of the attendees in their cowboy boots, Wrangler jeans and flannels continued to file into the stadium, preparing for a night of action.
Aldean, who on the same day released his “30 Number One Hits” compilation album celebrating his two-decade run at the top of country music, played a thunderous 20-song country rock setlist, which marked the first concert at the stadium since last year’s name change from Red Bull Arena. Aldean’s concert was also only the second in the entire history of the stadium, as previously, the indie rock band Dispatch played there in July 2011.
Aldean kicked off his set with his 2005 country rock “Hicktown,” and the energy only kept building from there. Other high notes included Aldean fan favorites, including his 2010 biggest hit to date, “Dirt Road Anthem,” “Big Green Tractor,” the controversial and polarizing “Try That In A Small Town,”“My Kinda Party” and his energy-filled closing song “She’s Country,” which ended with him shooting off T-shirts into the crowd.
While this was the first concert at the stadium in over 14 years, do not be surprised if it’s the last. The Aldean concert was a clear success, and it should be expected that more concerts and good times will follow in the future.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.