MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — The smile on Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger’s face stretched a country mile just a handful of songs into his band’s Sunday show at Shoreline Amphitheatre.

The band is in the early stages of its tour for new album Get Rollin’ alongside country acts Brantley Gilbert and Josh Ross.

“It’s so great to be back; it’s been five years since we’ve done this,” Kroeger said.

The order of the day was fairly simple: Have fun and don’t take yourself too seriously. Nickelback rolled into town with a set full of crowdpleasers and singalongs, for which the Bay Area crowd obliged. While the band played a mix of mid-tempo power ballads and upbeat rockers, the aggression was left at home.

The headlights on the front of the drum riser lit up. The show was loosely centered on a roadtrip. Charging through the riffs of the opener “San Quentin,” a pair of percussive blasts cracked in the final notes. From there, it was onto the anthemic “Savin’ Me” and “Far Away.”

“I’d say this one’s for the ladies, but I see enough guys singing along that I guess I can’t,” Kroeger said, teeing up “Far Away.”

The secret sauce of Nickelback is that the band understands how it’s viewed by music fans and peers, but doesn’t care. It’s in on the joke, with Kroeger making self-deprecating jokes and references along the way.

“If we’d have recorded and released this song in 2023, they’d definitely have canceled us,” he quipped before launching into “Figured You Out.” “But they’ve been trying to cancel us for 20 years and can’t seem to fuckin’ do it.”

A welcome addition to the Canadian quartet’s set was guitarist Ryan Peake singing lead on a number of tracks, most notably all of deep cut “Worthy to Say,” from one of Nickelback’s earliest albums, The State. Peake also chipped in on “Figured You Out” and took Josey Scott’s vocal parts on “Hero.”

Kroeger and Peake went back and forth often between songs. They have a natural camaraderie from being on the road all these years. Drummer Daniel Adair and bassist Mike Kroeger expertly held down the rhythm section. Adair in particular showed off his immense abilities in subtle ways.

Openers Gilbert and Ross joined the headliners for a cover of Steve Earle’s “Copperhead Road” before smoke filled the stage for the aptly titled “High Time.” Kroeger again made a self-referential joke about the band’s most meme-able material.

“Depending on what generation you’re from, this song means something very different to you,” he said, leading into a stripped-down and surprisingly subtle rendition of “Photograph.” The mostly acoustic take allowed the three-part harmonization between Kroeger, Peake and Adair to really cut loose, and ample opportunity for the crowd to sing along.

The band brought up a fan to sing on “Rock Star,” as it’s done for years. That fan, Tori, did an admirable job of throwing her nerves to the side.

“You’ve got that bedazzled hat and Daisy Dukes, you’ve got this,” Kroeger said.

Nickelback tapped into Silver Side Up for one of its earliest hits, “Too Bad,” the only serious hard rock song of the night. Kroeger acknowledged the impact of the record, which was released more than two decades ago.

“It feels like we put that record out 10 years ago,” he deadpanned. “We didn’t.”

The band concluded the main set with “Those Days” and “How You Remind Me.” After a quick break, the four returned to light up the sky on “Gotta Be Somebody” and the fiery “Burn It to the Ground.”

Tourmate Brantley Gilbert acknowledged the obvious toward the end of his stellar hourlong set.

“I’m sure all you saw your tickets and thought what the hell is Nickelback doing taking Brantley out with them,” he said.

Ironically, Gilbert, who’s toured with Five Finger Death Punch, was a perfect fit, offering up country with a hard Southern rock edge, rivaling the heaviness of the headliner. Opening with the aggressive “Kick It in the Sticks,” he made clear that he too, was, there for the party. While he was a commanding presence, he also had a quick-witted sense of humor.

“I’m sick of all these keyboard warriors,” Gilbert said before “Bury Me Upside Down,” adding, “I was all ready to respond to somebody once, then realized I don’t have any of the passwords to my social media accounts.”

His 17-song, hourlong set fused his material with songs he’s penned for others (like Colt Ford’s “Dirt Road Anthem”), performed with others (Five Finger Death Punch’s cover of Kenny Wayne Shepard’s “Blue on Black”) and songs that have influenced him (Godsmack’s “Whatever” and Collective Soul’s “Shine”).

The singer signed hats for some fans near the front of the stage during ballad “One Hell of an Amen,” honored active service members and acknowledged his sobriety—though he encouraged fans to enjoy themselves and said he’d join them with a celebratory smoke after he was done.

“I learned that I’m allergic to alcohol,” he said. “It makes me break out in handcuffs and bad decisions.”

Gilbert closed his set with ferocious takes on “Take It Outside” and “Read Me My Rights.”

Country upstart Josh Ross opened the show. The Canadian singer, in the midst of his first American tour, delivered a strong set that offered up anthemic and memorable tracks.

Ross thanked the crowd a number of times for arriving early and braving a little extra sun. Opening with “Tall Boys,” he played eight songs in 30 minutes, mixing in a cover of Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris.”

Follow writer Mike DeWald at Twitter.com/mike_dewald.