Tim McGraw Camden concert includes hits and new tunes

He likes it, he loves, he brought some more of it to Camden, New Jersey’s Susquehanna Bank Center Saturday evening. Country superstar sensation Tim McGraw unleashed his high-spirited performance on this venue on the banks of the Delaware for a two-hour show that displayed the 48-year-old’s virtuosity with not only his music genre of choice but also in the sub-variances within country — and his reaching out beyond the confines of country music itself.

After thrilling opening sets from Chase Bryant and Billy Currington—the latter including a stirring cover rendition of the radio megahit “Uptown Funk” — Louisiana native Mr. McGraw took the stage backed by his eight-piece band, whom he referred to during the show as “the best in the world.” Mr. McGraw rocked an extremely receptive Garden State and from-across-the-river Philadelphia crowd with an opening one-two punch of “Truck Stop” and “Something Like That,” which includes the signature line “I got a BBQ stain on my white T-shirt.”

During “Southern Girl,” Mr. McGraw paid tribute to his wife and fellow musician, Faith Hill, by adding, “though I’m partial to Mississippi girls” after the line “Ain’t nothing in the whole wide world like a Southern girl.” Miss Hill, 47, who has been married to Mr. McGraw since 1996 — and with whom she has three children — is a native of the Magnolia State.

Mr. McGraw’s set was a mixture of old favorites with newer tunes from his most recent album, “Sundown Heaven Town,” which includes the song “Shotgun Rider,” the track that also lent its name to his current tour. While the audience largely knew all of the words, “Shotgun Rider” was a rare moment of down-energy in the evening’s proceedings.

Mr. McGraw took a moment during a set break to recognize a member of the U.S. Army in the audience, dedicating the next song to her and to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces around the world who fight for the freedoms Americans enjoy, “no matter if you’re gay or straight, Northern or Southern,” Mr. McGraw said, to enthusiastic reception.

The members of Mr. McGraw’s band took turns at center stage, each displaying an exceptionalism with his respective instrument — or instruments.

Mr. McGraw brought openers Mr. Bryant and Mr. Currington back to join him for “Felt Good on My Lips” and “I Like It, I Love It,” respectively. Unlike some openers, the Jersey crowd was as enthusiastic for Mr. Bryant’s and Mr. Currington’s sets as for the main act himself.

Mr. McGraw closed out his set with “The Cowboy in Me” before returning for a rocking encore that commenced with a chilling cover of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer,” which Mr. McGraw included as part of his 2002 album “Tim McGraw and the Dancehall Doctors.” The country superstar finished out his nearly two-hour performance with “Mexicoma,” “Indian Outlaw” and “Live Like You Were Dying.”

The packed Susquehanna Bank Center throng proves again that country music’s influence and appeal has — and continues to — reached far beyond its traditional Dixie roots, climbing well up into Yankee territory and beyond.

Mr. McGraw was earlier this year named by Time magazine one of the “100 Most Influential People,” and he has sold over 40 million records throughout his career.