Jason Aldean Tour Is a ‘Party’ and a Great Workout!

Jason Aldean returns to his My Kinda Party tour this week after taking a detour for the Grammys last weekend. The singer is playing to sold-out venues at nearly every turn, and is excited to see the reaction to his tour. The 'Dirt Road' kinda guy is pleased to see that his fans are loving the show, because he thought of them at nearly every stage of the planning of it.

"We wanted to do something different this year, so when we designed our stage and production we kept in mind that we might need to be able to sell it 360 [degrees]," Jason tells The Boot. "For me, that's a new configuration because I've never had fans who wrapped all around us like that. It's a challenge to make sure those people behind you are as involved as everyone else is.

"There are mics set up all over the stage," Jason continues, "so I can move to each one and get up close and personal with all the people. It's cool, but it was something I didn't know how it would go until we had the first show. After the first couple shows I got used to it."

Jason adds with a laugh, "I'll probably be in best shape of my life after this tour, because there's a lot of running around going on. That's good, because I need the exercise!"

The singer is also mindful of his fans when it comes to ticket prices. He says he has always tried to keep them low enough so that a family can come out to see him without breaking the budget. My Kinda Party tour ticket prices are in the $25 to $55 range.

"I don't think anybody knows what it is that makes people go buy a record or a ticket to your show," he muses. "If there was one answer to that, we'd all be multi-platinum-selling artists and we'd be selling out every show. With a record, it boils down to the impact the songs make that you have on each record. As far as selling tickets to a show, the biggest thing right now is keeping tickets priced where it's not a ridiculous amount for people to spend.

"If a family goes to a show, they don't want to spend $500," Jason continues, adding, "I wouldn't go see Elvis for 500 bucks! If you want to bring your family, it's not going to break you. We've always done that and we still try to do it, especially with the economy the way it is. People are a little tighter with their money and when they do spend money to come do a show, you want them to feel it was money well spent. That means picking the right opening acts all the way to the end of our show. You want them to be entertained from the minute they get there to the minute they leave. That's part of the experience we try to give them, and so far so good."

Jason is in his second year of playing arenas and amphitheaters, so he's not looking to make any major moves into other areas at the moment. "You've got room to grow if that's where you want to take it," the singer says, using Kenny Chesney as an example. "I look at guys like Kenny. He was selling out arenas, so he moved into stadiums.You can't rush that move; you can't predict it. You just know when it's time. We knew it was time to move out of little theaters and into arenas, because our tickets were starting to sell out. I remember when Kenny started going in and selling out two nights at a place. We are starting to do that now. I bring Kenny up because I think he's had the biggest tour around for a long time. If you're gonna pattern your touring career after someone, he's the guy."

Jason by no means thinks he's on Kenny's level ... but he's striving to get there and doing so fast. "We just started doing the big arenas, so we're still relatively new at this game," concedes the Georgia native. "It's a learning process for us. After this year we'll have a better understanding, so I'll have to get back to you on what's coming up for us next!"

Jason and his special guests Luke Bryan and Lauren Alaina will be in Green Bay, Wis. on Feb. 16; St. Paul, Minn. on Feb. 17; and Cedar Falls, Iowa on Feb. 18. See his full list of tour dates here.