Kenny Chesney and Zac Brown Band light up Acrisure Stadium

”The spirit of Jimmy Buffett is here with us tonight,” remarked Zac Brown of the Zac Brown Band, Saturday night at Acrisure Stadium.

He was absolutely right. With Kenny Chesney, the leader of “No Shoes Nation,” headlining the “Sun Goes Down Tour,” the Buffett-esque beach vibes were out in full force. Many see Chesney as the spiritual successor to Buffett, but Zac Brown Band has a decent shot at the throne, as well.

Joining Chesney and Zac Brown Band at Saturday night’s show were Uncle Kracker, who played a short but energetic set of his hits and some well-chosen covers, as well as Megan Moroney, a talented young singer and songwriter who gave an enticing preview of her new album coming out this July. The thread of summer ran through their song choices, with Uncle Kracker covering Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long” and Moroney doing a spirited version of Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ‘69.”

Zac Brown Band did even more covers, not nearly as thematic but almost all as well-chosen. After opening with their songs “Keep Me in Mind” and “Toes,” they played an incredible quickfire cover of the Charlie Daniels Band’s “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” that left no doubt who would win the battle for Johnny’s soul. They also gave a surprising shot at “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which was tons of fun with the audience singing along to every word. And they struck just the right note with segments of Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic,” Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” and the Eagles’ “Take It To the Limit” woven in with some of their own songs.

They also played a countrified version of “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones with some mean fiddling, and they somehow even managed to pull off the Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage.”

In between, they played plenty of their own tunes, some laid-back and beachy and some with a little bit more pep in their step. After fan favorite “Chicken Fried,” they brought new Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson onstage, to roaring cheers from the whole stadium, and he gifted a jersey to Zac Brown.

Appropriately, as the sun was completing its descent, the headliner of the “Sun Goes Down Tour” got set to take the stage. After an intro montage video of relaxed members of “No Shoes Nation,” Chesney bounded onto the stage in a black tank top with gold piping, jeans and a white cowboy hat. He was tanned and exuberant, smiling easily the entire night.

Chesney has been around awhile — he commented Saturday night that the first time he’d been in that particular stadium was in 2005, and this was his 12th time there, but he’s been touring almost a decade longer than that, and his debut album came out 30 years ago. Chesney’s fans are well-known for partying when he comes to town, and positivity was the name of the game throughout his entire set inside the stadium.

After starting the night with a run of high-energy party songs, including “Living in Fast Forward,” “Beer in Mexico,” “Keg in the Closet” and “Here and Now,” Chesney called out over the screaming crowd, “What a beautiful day, what a beautiful night!”

Chesney’s blend of country, rock and chilled-out beach music makes for a great Saturday night party. He was having a blast and it was infectious; he jumped around the stage and urged the crowd to clap along, and his band played every song like it could be the evening’s finale.

He didn’t do it alone, either. For “When The Sun Goes Down,” he brought Uncle Kracker back out onstage in a T.J. Watt Steeler jersey, and they followed that song up with a duet of “Drift Away,” a cover that scored Uncle Kracker a hit in 2003.

After, the stadium went quieter as he said, “I haven’t done this song all year,” and sang the heartfelt ballad “There Goes My Life,” accompanied by keys and the flashlights of thousands of cellphones.

Chesney’s voice is deep and twangy, pairing smoothly with rockier house party jams and beach anthems alike, but he can make it wistful and emotive when the right ballad calls for it.

He also brought out a beaming Megan Moroney to sing with him on the rocking “All The Pretty Girls.” Both she and Uncle Kracker earned huge hugs from the headliner.

Following that, he continued into the John Mellencamp-esque “Young” and the actually-referencing-John-Mellencamp “American Kids.” After a fiery performance of “Setting The World On Fire,” he sang the sunshiney “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” and ended the regular set with “How Forever Feels.”

Coming back for the encore, he slowed it down with “Anything But Mine,” a really lovely ballad that his band absolutely ran away with in a whirlwind of bass and guitar before transitioning to a perfect cap on the evening, “Don’t Happen Twice.” As the musicians around him jammed harder and faster at the song’s close, Chesney took some time to sign an assortment of items for fans up front before wishing a final farewell, just around two hours after taking the stage.

Many of Chesney’s songs are about escapism or nostalgia, but that fits summer perfectly — his lyrics evoke days at amusement parks and evenings at drive-ins, or dancing on the beach with a rum cocktail in hand. Perfect for June 1, just when another summer season is gearing up.