Review: Kenny Chesney plays request for Jaguars coach Doug Pederson at Jacksonville show

Big news for country music fans: Kenny Chesney's tractor apparently isn't sexy any more.

Chesney ran through 28 songs during a packed-to-the-rafters show at Daily's Place on Friday, but his setlist was notable for what wasn't on it. "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" has been a staple of his show for years, usually as the encore, but when he and his band walked off stage at the end of the show Friday night, it hadn't been played.

Not that anyone complained. Chesney instead dug into his songbook to bring back some old favorites that fans haven't heard in years — "The Good Stuff," "Old Blue Chair," "Guitars, Tiki Bars." He even played a special request — "Boys of Fall" — for Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Pederson.

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Chesney's tour last year played at football stadiums, drawing 1.3 million fans, and it's easy to see how songs like "I Go Back," "All the Pretty Girls," "Summertime" and "Young" would work in a big environment like that. But at Daily's Place, which seats about 5,500 and is the smallest venue on Chesney's 2023 tour by a wide margin, the songs came at point-blank range, making for a special show.

Chesney, a four-time country music entertainer of the year, is an infectious sort of performer. Three decades into his career, the self-professed hillbilly rock star still puts everything into his show. He spent the entire show on the move, slapping hands and dancing backward from one end of the stage to the other, and the crowd gave the energy right back to Chesney all night long. Just about every song he does has a big shout-along chorus, and Daily's was about as loud as it ever gets for much of the night.

He's backed by a strong band that, eight shows into the tour, felt tight and well-rehearsed, running seamlessly from song to song to song for the first hour or so of the show, never giving anyone a chance to catch their breath. The band's three guitar players — Danny Rader, Jon Conley and Kenny Greenberg — particularly stood out. Any one of them could step forward, and on songs like "Beer in Mexico" and "Living in Fast Forward," they took the place over.

Chesney has been selling out concerts in Jacksonville for so long that many of the venues he played are long gone or have changed names (Jacksonville Coliseum, Freebird Live, Crazy Horse Saloon, Alltel Stadium). So he certainly didn't need to bring along one of the hottest young names in Nashville, Kelsea Ballerini, as an opening act.

Ballerini started her opening set sporting a long ponytail, dressed in fuschia and orange and playing a cartoon-blue guitar and singing into a glittery microphone, giving off a definite Barbie vibe. But make no mistake, the lady can sing. There's a whole lot of Tennessee in her voice, but she's got a second gear that can really blow your hair back. She closed a pretty version of "Penthouse" with one of the longest notes you'll ever hear outside an opera house.

Just about every seat in the house was filled when she started, unusual for an opening act, and she had the crowd in her hands by the second song. She packed a lot into a 48-minute set and was a real favorite of the ladies, particularly on "Love is a Cowboy," "You're Drunk, Go Home" and scorching "Miss Me More."

She came back on during Chesney's set for "Wild Child" and "Half of My Hometown."

Daily's Place shows in 2023

Here's what else is scheduled at Daily's Place this year:

• Jacksonville Taco & Margarita Fest, 11 a.m. Saturday, April 22, $10-$90.

• Old Dominion, with Frank Ray, Kassi Ashton and Greylan James, 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 5, $29-$69.

• Cody Jinks, with Charles Wesley Godwin and Erin Viancourt, 6 p.m. Saturday, May 20, $35-$225.

• Charlie Puth, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 1, $25-$89.50.

• Walker Hayes, with Ingrid Andress and Ray Fulcher, 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 9, $25-$55.

• Logic, with Juicy J, 8 p.m. Sunday, June 11. $29.50-$59.50.

• Tedeschi Trucks Band, with Neil Emerson, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 22, $29.50-$139.50.

• Matchbox Twenty, with Ben Rector, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 5, $50.25-$145.75.

• Taking Back Sunday, with the Maine, PVRIS, Hot Mulligan, Mom Jeans, Stand Atlantic, L.S. Dunes and Cliffdiver, 2 p.m. Thursday, July 6, $29.50-$69.50.

• Dierks Bentley, with Jordan Davis and Caylee Hammack, 7 p.m. Thursday, July 13, $39.50-$99.50.

• Darius Rucker, with Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors, 8 p.m. Thursday, July 20, $19.75-$89.75.

• Yellowcard, with Mayday Parade, Story of the Year, This Wild Life and Emo Night Brooklyn, 7 p.m. Friday, July 21 (sold out), and Saturday, July 22, $19.50-$89.50.

• Pentatonix, with Lauren Alaina, 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9, $19.50-$119.50.

• Ghost, with Amon Amarth, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 30, $39.50-$119.50.

• Slightly Stoopid, with Sublime with Rome, Atmosphere and the Movement, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, $29.50-$79.50.

• 3 Doors Down, with Candlebox, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, $19.50-$89.50.

• Wu-Tang Clan, with Nas, 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23, $49.50-$149.50.

• Jon Pardi, with Midland and Ella Langley, 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, $29.75-$89.75.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Kenny Chesney, Kelsea Ballerini deliver hits in Jacksonville concert