WORKING IN A STEEL MILL
Kenny Wraps Week of All Teams Rehearsals...
Bringing Surprise Songs, Lights, Video & Band Together
I Go Back 2023 Kicks-Off This Thursday, March 23
at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va.
Photo Credit: Jill Trunnell
Nobody takes locking in a show as seriously as Kenny Chesney, who brought all of his teams together for a week of tweaking video and aligning light cues at the Steel Mill just north of Nashville. For the crew, band and tour staff, the final rehearsals brought all the teams together for the first time since wrapping Chesney’s record-setting Here And Now 2022 Tour with two nights at Foxboro, Mass.’s Gillette Stadium last August.
“It always feels good when we have our road family back together,” Chesney said of the week. “A lot happens over the winter, so we’re catching up. But we’re also figuring out how to put all the pieces together, trying to make it something that’s really special. Obviously last year’s tour rocked harder than anything we’ve done, which is crazy to me, but I wanted to bring that passion and energy to all these special cities where we don’t get to go very often.”
After one of 2022’s biggest tours in any genre – having the fifth biggest tour after only Bad Bunny, Elton John, Motley Crue/Def Leppard and Harry Styles – the songwriter/superstar from East Tennessee wanted to take this music that’s been the soundtrack to coming of age in the 21st century to the fans in those places where it all began.
Named for the No. 1 song that celebrated the way a song can transport you to places that defined who you are and created a time stamp for life, the I Go Back 2023 Tour kicks off this week in Charlottesville, Va. It’s a very special tour for the man the Wall Street Journal deemed “The King of the Road,” who’s committed to ensuring that every person who loved this music and found their life in his songs gets to witness the incredible live experience that made 2022 one incredible summer.
“And there are going to be some real surprises in the set list,” he teases. “A couple songs we’ve not played in a long time... the opportunity to sing our Vocal Event ‘half of my hometown’ with Kelsea makes me happy. And a few songs are being left behind. I spent the months off thinking about how we can change things up. I think we’ve got a lot of the songs people want to hear, but we’re adding a couple that nobody sees coming. I can’t wait to see the response.”
I Go Back 2023 is in many ways a gift to the fans. His Here And Now 2022 Tour, which played to 1.3 million people and broke his personal best at many of the 21 stadium plays, was one for the books. The only country artist to make Billboard’s Top 10 Touring Acts of the Past 25 Years for the last 14, Chesney never forgets who he was or where he came from.
“Getting inside those arenas that we never forgot, playing in some of those cities that were just wild when this started, bringing all the energy we had last year, I can’t imagine how alive it’s gonna be, but I fully intend to find out. The thing about No Shoes Nation I know: they bring us every bit of their heart – so we try to give even more than they do, which is saying something.”
With close to 30 songs on the list – and a few surprises depending on the night, I Go Back 2023 is Chesney as intimate as he’s ever been. But it’s also just as powerful as the biggest venues.
I Go Back 2023, with special guest Kelsea Ballerini, is presented by Blue Chair Bay® Rum.
Kenny Chesney I Go Back 2023 Tour:
March 23 Charlottesville, VA John Paul Jones Arena
March 25 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center
March 30 Wichita, KS INTRUST Bank Arena
April 1 Oklahoma City, OK Paycom Center
April 6 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
April 8 Wilkes-Barre Township, PA Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
April 12 Birmingham, AL Legacy Arena at the BJCC
April 14 Jacksonville, FL Daily’s Place Amphitheater
April 16 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Tortuga Music Festival*
April 22 North Little Rock, AR Simmons Bank Arena
April 25 Lexington, KY Rupp Arena
April 27 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena
April 29 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
May 4 Moline, IL Vibrant Arena at The Mark
May 6 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
May 9 Grand Forks, ND Alerus Center
May 11 Sioux Falls, SD Denny Sanford Premier Center
May 13 Lincoln, NE Pinnacle Bank Arena
May 18 Fort Wayne, IN Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
May 20 Evansville, IN Ford Center
May 25 Charleston, SC Credit One Stadium
May 27 Orange Beach, AL The Wharf
June 23 Endicott, NY En-Joie Golf Course*
July 22 Des Moines, IA Hy-Vee Indy Race*
*festival / one-off show dates