Friday night, we were lucky enough to attend arguably the most anticipated concert of the summer here in New England- Jason Aldean with Florida Georgia Line and Tyler Farr.
The 6-time Academy of Country Music award winner continues to bring huge shows while drawing sell out crowds to the New England area including with fellow Georgia native, Luke Bryan, in 2012 and with Miranda Lambert, Jake Owen, and Thomas Rhett in 2013 at Fenway Park. And Aldean didn’t disappoint this year by bringing with him, the most successful act in country music since the beginning of 2013, Florida Georgia Line, and up-and-coming country star, Tyler Farr. Tickets for this show were sold quicker than possibly any show in New England as of recently. General public ticket sales went on sale on Friday, March 21st and tickets were already sold out on that Wednesday- 48 hours before tickets to the general public went on sale. Many fans were disappointed with the unavailability of tickets and I am sure many were further disappointed when seeing the resale value on the secondary market with lawn seats being sold for as much as $200 and more. Ticket sales company, TiqIq, tells us that the average ticket price on the secondary market for this show was $287.74 and the high point was on June 16th when the average ticket price was $381.48. The show in Mansfield was actually the 4th most expensive show on his 2014 tour. But for many fans, the price did not stop them- New England packed the Xfinity Center for this incredible show.
It was a gorgeous Friday night for a tailgate and concert in Mansfield with the sun out and the temperature in the mid to high 70’s. It was great to see the grills out (or in our case, our pizza oven), cornhole boards, and the radios blaring. Everyone was excited to be back on the tailgating scene and enjoying the weather. We even caught Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard enjoying the tailgate scene- scooting around the Xfinity Center parking lots on his scooter.
Who knows, he may have been checking out the Dalton and the Sheriffs parking lot party concert. We did!
The Redneck Crazy star, Tyler Farr, opened the night. Unfortunately, we did not get to see Tyler perform as we had an opportunity to meet Jason Aldean- which we, of course, attended.
Unlike many shows, it seemed like the parking lots had emptied and the amphitheater was packed in time for the second opening act. But that wasn’t a surprise with it being Florida Georgia Line. They began their 10-song set by coming out to a loud and lively crowd of nearly 20,000 fans with It’z Just What We Do and it didn’t stop there. They continued with Party People and platinum hits, Get Your Shine On and Round Here. One of my favorite moments of the night was at the end of Round Here where Tyler was playing the guitar acoustically and the crowd was singing the lyrics. I think Mansfield really showed these guys the love they deserved.
Photo courtesy of @BrittanyLBang
FGL then did a fantastic cover of Bruno Mars’ Grenade before platinum hits Stay and This Is How We Roll. We then got to experience the guys sing their newest single, Dirt, just days after it was released to the public.( I don’t know about y’all but I love this song! Gives me goosebumps!) The fans’ love for the song was also pretty apparent with nearly everyone singing along to the duo’s mid-tempo ballad.
And there was only way for Tyler and Brian to end their night in Mansfield… ‘baby you a song, you make me wanna roll my windows down, and Cruise!’
After a short intermission, the Xfinity Center went black only before a giant letter ‘A’ with fiery computer generated graphics and some pyrotechnics. The point of the ‘A’ lowered to reveal the man of the hour, Jason Aldean, ready to rock and starting his 18 song set with Hicktown.
Photo courtesy of @love_hannahh96
Aldean went on to sing a couple of his hits from his 2010 album, ‘My Kinda Party,’ including the single titled after the album, My Kinda Party, and Tattoos On This Town. Aldean then turned the clock back with Amarillo Sky from his 2005 self-titled album and his 2009 number one single, Big Green Tractor. He continued his stretch of successful singles from his older albums with Johnny Cash and another former number one hit, The Truth, before singing some of his more recent hits from his 2012 ‘Night Train’ album such as Take a Little Ride, When She Says Baby, 1994, and Night Train. During When She Says Baby, Jason had to stop at one point, and regain his composure after smiling when hearing the crowd singing along.
Photo courtesy of @LaurenMazz80.
Photo courest of @BrittanyLBang.
In between, the country star mixed in some Flyover States (to which he personalized with a mention of Massachusetts, which brought a roar from the sold out crowd) and fan favorite, Don’t You Wanna Stay, that included the infamous video contribution from Kelly Clarkson to the duet. (We are always glad to see that Jason never confuses several members of the crowd like another country star seemingly does with a hologram of Carrie Underwood.)
Florida Georgia Line returned to the stage to join Jason Aldean for The Only Way I Know which is generally sung by Aldean, Luke Bryan, and Eric Church. But the boys from FGL did not disappoint in their contribution from the hit from the ‘Night Train’ album.
Photo courtesy of @Lorraine416.
Before finishing his main set with Dirt Road Anthem and Crazy Town, Aldean took the stage to do a rendition of Bryan Adams 1983 hit, Heaven. It seemed that the sold out crowd knew every word of this classic 80’s jam and sang along with him.
Jason finished the night, just like it started. With an encore full of fire and pyrotechnics. His one song encore of She’s Country left the fans wanting more from Aldean… But that would be it. We will just have to wait for his return to Massachusetts next summer.
Photo courtesy of @Kelly_Gizzo.
Photo courtesy of @dbassss.
He even set his microphone stand on fire.
Jason Aldean brought the Burn It Down tour to Mansfield in more ways than one. He gave Mansfield an amazing show- no matter how much you spent to get in. It will be interesting to see who will accompany Jason on his next tour- but I am sure that New England will not be disappointed.
If you didn’t make it to the show, no worries! Here’s our full-length compilation summary video of the night, which can also be found on our YouTube channel.
We also have a much shorter version as well. Check it out!
Tyler Farr, Florida Georgia Line, and Jason Aldean bring the Burn it Down tour back to the New England area on August 2nd in Hartford, CT and also on August 31st in Bangor, ME.
For tickets to the last two shows on the Burn It Down tour in New England, and at much more reasonable prices, check out the links below.
August 2nd- Hartford, CT
August 31st- Bangor, ME