FOXBOROUGH — Before Friday, it had been four years since Kenny Chesney last played a show at Gillette Stadium — the longest gap between visits to Foxborough by the beach-loving country mogul since 2005. His tour-closing shows there have become a rite of passage for the end of New England summers since 2011, with the sunglasses-required optimism and catchy choruses that dominate Chesney’s setlists allowing concertgoers to savor (and create) their memories of the winding-down season. Friday’s show, which also featured performances by country-pop spitfire Carly Pearce, raucous rockers Old Dominion, and modern vocal duo Dan + Shay, was a resounding return to that annual ritual.
The storms that streaked through Massachusetts that afternoon delayed Chesney’s return to the Gillette Stadium stage a bit — the Tennessee-born singer went onstage around 9:30 p.m. — but they only seemed to heighten the excitement from the crowd as well as from Chesney and his brawny backing band. Opening with the sprightly yet ruminative “Beer In Mexico,” Chesney, clad in a red tank top, jeans, and a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, was all energy, his sturdy voice leading the crowd in enthusiastic singalongs and prodigiously thanking everyone in attendance throughout the evening.
Chesney’s shows at Gillette are always boisterous affairs, but the length of time between Friday’s show and his last appearance in Foxborough gave his set an extra urgency. Cuts like the digital-world-weary “Noise” and the Americana snapshot “Summertime” were crisp and punchy, while the tracks that particularly resonate with the Gillette crowd, including the New England expatriate character study “Boston” and the salute to football “Boys of Fall,” received a rapturous response. Bassist Harmoni Kelley showed off her impressive wail on a cover of AC/DC’s classic “Whole Lotta Rosie” and Chesney’s own “Setting the World on Fire” (which, on record, is a duet with pop philosopher P!nk). There was even a new song in the mix — ”Beer With My Friends,” a sweetly swaggering collaboration with Old Dominion that had been surprise-released on Thursday.
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Since releasing his debut album in 1994, Chesney has become one of country’s biggest artists, although his sound and aesthetic are defined as much by pumping arena rock and beachside bliss as much as they are country-jukebox ideals (although the saucy show closer “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” definitely falls into that category). His return to Gillette this weekend was a homecoming of sorts, the crowd welcoming its hero with wide-stretched arms — and the night was energized by that gratitude being mutual.
Maura Johnston can be reached at maura@maura.com.
KENNY CHESNEY
With Dan + Shay, Old Dominion, and Carly Pearce. At Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Friday (repeats Saturday)