EDMONTON - Call it Big Valley Jamboree Jr. or the Grand Ole Opry for the Facebook crowd, but last night's Kenny Chesney/Taylor Swift concert was the city's country music event of the year.

Not just one, but two platinum-selling heavyweights braved the unseasonably low temperatures and blew through Commonwealth Stadium on a horse made of euphonic pop cheese.

Ah yes, this is not your grandpappy's country music; it is now the music du jour for your sister and mom.

The sooner you can get over the fact that Nashville's finest no longer howl over honky-tonk while sucking back moonshine, the more fun you'll have.

Not quite a sold-out audience gave the no-fun mafia the bird last night and embraced those good times.

The ticket stub may have had Kenny Chesney listed as the headliner, but in many fans' eyes it was all about Taylor Swift.

The biggest star to hit country since Shania Twain, the 19-year-old Swift has ratcheted over four million copies sold of her two albums and was the biggest-selling artist in America last year -- and she can't even legally order a beer in her home town of Wyomissing, Pa.

It's her brand of confessional tear-jerker that propositioned her as a hero to teenaged girls everywhere.

Swift's legion of peroxide-blond fans were out in strong force last night, chanting along to her hits White Horse and Tears on My Guitar.

And thank God they were singing along or otherwise the audience couldn't understand what she was singing, the venue's sound was that murky.

But it wasn't Swift's fault -- she gave it her all. While she wasn't a rough-and-tumble coal miner's daughter, Swift does not play the victim in her songs.

In Should've Said No she confronts her cheating ex with tiny balls of fists ready to strike, ditto with Picture to Burn, threatening to tell the world that her ex-boyfriend is gay if he continues talking jive about her.

Stone-cold-fox Swift stalked the stage with confidence in a shimmery dress, short skirt and knee-high boots.

Her tiny frame gestured this way and that, while behind her a videoscreen flashed images of butterflies and oh-so-evil boys, the kind that break hearts.

A woman of many talents, Swift posed with her acoustic guitar and straddled a grand piano like a PMS-ing Axl Rose.

She even whipped out giant drumsticks during Should've Said No and beat the living hell out of some rusty oil drums while guitars screeched and shredded.

How often does a country concert resemble a Pink Floyd show in entertainment value?

Now, if there was a bitter bone in Kenny Chesney's body, it would've come from a rancid margarita, because all his fans know Mr. Good Times only cries when he spills his beer.

His "no shoes, no shirt" wardrobe may have made him the enemy of convenience store clerks everywhere, but the audience at Commonwealth treated him like their favourite visiting cousin, the kind who likes to wear flip-flops and suck back socia-bles.

Chesney has developed himself into a Jimmy Buffet for the pickup-truck-driving set that's generated him enough money over his career to keep him permanently soused on some boat out in the ocean for the rest of his life.

Chesney strolled out onstage in a sleeveless shirt and devil-may-care attitude to the cold weather, sending the eager crowd to its feet.

Thankfully, someone figured out how to beat the vast echo in Commonwealth's concrete bowels in time for his set and it sounded marginally better than Swift's.

Chesney's summertime songs such as Beer in Mexico and I Went Out Last Night started the party and he took it to the next level by snatching a fan's Canadian flag and waving it like Bono at a redneck peace rally.

Right before he kicked into his signature tune No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem (which unfortunately initiated too many male audience members to doff their tops), Chesney made an observation that this crowd was here to party.

As the Edmonton skyline shone behind him from the setting sun, the crowd cuddled close to their loved ones, staying warm and pleased as punch a Nashville superstar would travel up to our neck of the woods.

Oh, but Chesney brought the schmaltz, busting out in Me and You with nothing but a spotlight and saxophone. Thankfully, he followed it up with the high-paced Living In Fast Forward to keep the crowd from napping.

Keith Urban-wannabe Jake Owen kicked off the festivities with a steady set of generic country/rock that would not even offend your grandmother.

Following him was Canadian Idol runner-up and Alberta native Jaydee Bixby with his Kidz Bop country songs soundtracking the crowds' wait at the beer stands.

Overall, despite the chill and bad sound, country music proves once again that with enough alcohol and good tunes, you could transport yourself to your happy place where good times are plenty and buzz-killing reality doesn't exist.

Sun Rating: 3.5 out of 5