by Peggy Kilpatrick

“Where do all these people come from?” That was what I kept asking myself as I walked around the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for the gigantic combo pack of Kenny Chesney’s Big Revival Tour and Jason Aldean’s Burn It Down Tour.

And as Old Dominion, Cole Swindell and Brantley Gilbert played their opening sets, I marveled at the size of the crowd. I’ve lived in L.A. for five years now, and I constantly feel like I’m one of the only people who even knows a country song, let alone would go to a country concert out here. But 60k or so people came out for this show, wearing short jeans shorts, cowboy boots and a questionable amount of flannel on the 90-degree day to drink too many Coors Lights, smoke a little smoke, and sing along.

Brantley Gilbert must have been doing something right, with his rock and roll bad-boy music, because I witnessed more girls being carted away on stretchers during his set than any other. Sure, the heat and drinking too much were probably main factors, but watching Brantley sing his sultry “Bottoms Up” and the bad ass “Kick It In The Sticks” would make any girl lose her shit.

As he played, Brantley was just hours away from having a #1 song with “One Hell of an Amen.” It must have been an emotional set for him, as his grandfather passed away while he was one his honeymoon a week or so ago, and he just rejoined the tour in Vegas this week.

And then there’s Jason. Jason Aldean never disappoints, with his skin-tight blue jeans, black shirt and white cowboy hat. He opened his headlining set with the sun setting over the mountains and an incredible pyrotechnics display. No longer is a country concert just watching the artist play his guitar and sing his broken heart out. Now it’s all about the show. The fireballs coming from the stage. The fireworks. It was a full-blown production—and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

As Jason sang all of his hit songs—“Hick Town,” “My Kind of Party,” “Tattoos on This Town” and an oldie but a goodie, “Amarillo Sky”—dozens of beach balls bounced around the crowd as guys and girls alike sang along with beers in their hands. The minute the guitar riff started for “Big Green Tractor,” the girls. went. wild. Their shrill screams filled the air until he went into the last songs of his set, including “Flyover States” and, finally, my favorite: the Brantley Gilbert-written “Dirt Road Anthem.”

My favorite thing about country music these days is how much of a variety we have. Brantley is the bad boy. Jason is the ultimate cowboy. And Kenny? He’s simultaneously the Bruce Springsteen and the Jimmy Buffet of country music. His fun, beachy, high-energy music promises a good time, while delivering the traditional values that country fans are used to. He’s the perfect mix of cowboy and cowabunga. Kenny bounced around the stage in his sleeveless shirt, tight jeans and cowboy hat, but no shoes—befitting the No Shoes Nation motto, blasted on black flags complete with a skull and crossbones. “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems” lit up the crowd as all 60k people sang it back to him. He played his old hits, his new hits, and everything in between, including “I Go Back,” “Wild Child,” “Somewhere With You” and “American Kids.” Kenny works the crowd masterfully; the guy runs around constantly, keeping the crowd energized during the entire set. They never stopped tapping their boots, dancing around, and partying with one of the kings of country.

The best part of the night for me was the funky beginning of “Summertime,” which made the hot July night feel complete. The sun had finally set, the air cooled a little, and we sang along: “It’s a smile, it’s a kiss, it’s a sip of wine, it’s summertime, sweet summertime.”

Sweet summertime indeed.