Of all the current country-pop stars who've come along in the recent past, Jake Owen impressed me quite a bit — mostly because of his middle-of-the-bill slot in support of Jason Aldean a few years back. Owen and his band worked relentlessly hard, and I've subsequently heard he's always on and never mails it in — which means his show Friday in the Grand Theater at Foxwoods will probably entertain in huge fashion.

Now 12 years into his career as a major label artist, Owen is lumped into that category called (in less-than-complimentary fashion) "bro country." Few of them like it, even though it does rather capture the lyrical propensity to exult on Saturday night fun in Young Country Person Land.

But while Owen's latest single, "Real Life," lyrically riffs on this stereotype — acknowledging that, while some of the themes are accurate, a lot more aren't — the most interesting aspect about "Real Life" is its similarity to Robert Earl Keen's "Farm Fresh Onions." Indeed, compare and contrast the verse chord stepdown and playful spoken word delivery. I'm not saying it's litigious, but there's definitely an eerie quality. At the same time, if Owen's going to borrow from someone in the country music world, it's hard to get better than Keen — and definitely better than, oh, Florida Georgia Line.

Jake Owen, 8 p.m. Friday, Grand Theater, Foxwoods; with Kristian Bush of Sugarland; $39.50, $79.50; 1-800-200-2882.