Country superstar Jason Aldean displayed his true colors the moment fans entered Grand Casino Arena on Saturday in St. Paul: There was a booth and a QR code for Patriot Mobile, sponsor of Aldean’s Full Throttle Tour.
In the seating arena of the newly rebranded arena, formerly known as Xcel Energy Center, videos of Aldean played on big screens touting Patriot Mobile as “the Christian conservative provider.”
If there ever was a question where Aldean stood, he was proud to honor the red, white and blue with his stars-and-stripes guitar strap.
That was a difference stance compared to when Aldean last appeared in the area in 2023 as his controversial “Try That in a Small Town” was at the top of country charts and the cultural conversation. Two years ago, he played in front of 16,000 people at Treasure Island Casino amphitheater in Welch, Minn., which is so tiny it’s often listed as Red Wing, which is 14 miles away. He gave the song a two-minute introduction back then.
On Saturday, Aldean reprised that tune in a big town — St. Paul — without any introduction. In the lyrics, he threatens gun violence to anyone who comes to his small town and carjacks an old lady, cusses a cop and stomps on a flag. He promises that he and other citizens will take the law into their own hands with “a gun that my granddad gave me.”
That song was like a rally cry for nearly 13,000 fans Saturday at the Grand, whether they lived in a small town, big city or nondescript suburb. They went wild and sang along like it was drinking song.
Here are five other takeaways from Aldean’s first concert in the Twin Cities proper since 2020 (and his fifth appearance at the St. Paul arena since 2010).
**1**. Lots of country singers fall back on tropes. For some, it’s trucks or beer or dirt roads. For Aldean, 48, it’s small-town values and sensibilities. Four of Saturday’s selections had the word “town” in their title, and the notion certainly cropped up in other tunes, as well. There was “Hicktown,” “Crazy Town,” “Tattoos on This Town” and, of course, “Try That in a Small Town.” Never mind that Aldean is from Macon, Ga., a metro area of 235,000.