How Jason Aldean Cashed In On The Changing Landscape Of Country

Road Warrior: Country star Jason Aldean has been banking the bulk of his bucks from a rock-tinged live show. Photo: David Yellen for Forbes.

The sun has just set over Hartford, Connecticut, but the night is about to explode with light–of a solar sort of intensity.

As the drums and electric guitars kick in at the Xfinity Theatre, animated flames engulf the jumbotron overhead. Real flames shoot skyward in a carefully choreographed bunchbelow, making everyone in the front rows feel as though the...