Jason Aldean is one of the biggest names in country music at the moment and, with country music having a huge resurgence in Australia, Aldean is the latest artist to do an Australian tour to take advantage of the increased popularity of the genre at the moment.

One of the great things about country music tours is that the support acts are usually fantastic. For this tour, Aldean was supported by Corey Kent, who performed a fantastic 45-minute set of some classic country and some of his new songs, including the unreleased “Empty Words”, which resonated well with the crowd along with his smash hit “Wild as Her”, which was a great way to kick start the night, Kent had a magnetic stage presence, and there’s no doubt that it won’t be long before he’s back doing his own solo tours.

The crowd was surprisingly quite sparse for this concert, with the top layers of Qudos Bank Arena cordoned off and even the sections that were sold only half filled but this mattered little for the fans who were there, who welcomed Aldean onto the stage with great appreciation as he gratefully took the applause from the crowd. Commencing with “Hicktown”, the country superstar showed off his rich vocals from the start, with some fantastic up-tempo numbers before moving into some unreleased music off his album, which will be released in April, with “Anytime Soon” feeling like a classic country hit that the crowd very much enjoyed.

Aldean then performed some of his biggest hits with “Night Train” and “Burnin’ It Down” really energising the crowd as Aldean moved through his discography. As he worked through the set, the breadth of Aldean’s discography over his 20-year career was quite apparent, with the energetic “Big Green Tractor” being another favourite of the crowd.

“It’s been 10 years since we’ve last been in Australia,” said Aldean. “And we’re so happy to be back.”

While the classic ‘bro country’ anthems were of course incredibly well received by the crowd, it was actually when Aldean performed some of his slower numbers that the concert was at its best. Aldean introduced “My Truth” as a classic country song and it was very well-received by the audience, with the richness of Aldean’s tone shining through for the audience. It was somewhat of a shame that there weren’t more of these moments to break up the anthems as they provided a little bit of heart to the show. 

While at times it felt like the show needed a little more variety and Aldean was a little bit frustrated with the lack of crowd reaction at times during the show, frequently telling them to get up and to show more energy, it was still a very passionate group that were in attendance. After some convincing throughout the show and a lot of remarks about how Australians don’t seem to like standing up at concerts, Aldean succeeded in getting the audience on their feet for the end of the set.  

Aldean did interact well with the crowd outside of those moments though, often taking fans’ phones to take selfies during the night. It was clear that his fan base, especially in the moshpit, were delighted to have the opportunity to see him in Australia after so long and as he moved towards the end of the set with his biggest hits, it was clear that Aldean was keen to repay that joy. 

To close out the night, Aldean performed his smash hit “You Make It Easy” before following it up with “Dirt Road Anthem” before he finished his set with the rocking “She’s Country”. With no encore, as Aldean felt that it simply “wasted everyone’s time,” it was quite a sudden ending but was a great way to finish off a fantastic display of country music. 

Overall, this was a solid show from one of the biggest names in country music. Aldean performed all of his hits and the crowd was clearly happy to see Aldean in Australia for the first time in so long. While the show did lack some variety at times and it didn’t always feel like the engagement was at its peak, this was still a great opportunity for Aldean to reacquaint himself with Australia and he made it clear that he would be back very soon. 

Rating: ★★★★

Jason Aldean – Qudos Bank Arena – 26 February 2026

Photo credit: Brian Higbee