THREE GUESTS, SURPRISE SONGS: Kenny Rocks LA's SoFi Stadium

Twenty-four shows into a summer that’s seen the songwriter/superstar from East Tennessee shattering attendance records, besting his own numbers and often moving his stage all the way to the back wall, Kenny Chesney hit Los Angeles like a favorite son come home. Without missing a beat, he moved from a high velocity “Living in Fast Forward” to a surging medley of “Beer In Mexico,” “Keg In The Closet” and guitar-forward “KC/DC,” then a double time “Here And Now” as he returned to SoFi Stadium. The only country act – and second overall to the Rolling Stones – to bring two tours through the Inglewood, Calif.-based venue, the crowd was up and ready for whatever the night might hold.
 
“You can tell when you hit the stage,” reflected the eight-time Entertainer of the Year, “when an audience is ready to bring everything they’ve got. No Shoes Nation more than showed up at SoFi; they sang hard, were on their feet from the beginning and really leaning into songs that set a positive vibe for living life in the moment.”
 
Beyond multiple week No. 1s “Summertime,” “Get Along,” “American Kids” and “Save It For A Rainy Day,” the man the Wall Street Journal called “The King of the Road” blazed through fan favorites “Somewhere With You,” “Never Wanted Nothing More,” “How Forever Feels” and “Young.” Even more thrilling: three special guests, who each joined Chesney for a pair of songs.
 
First up was Uncle Kracker, who romped through the pair’s five week No. 1, double-Platinum smash “When The Sun Goes Down,” followed by sharing Mentor Williams’ “Drift Away,” which Kracker took to No. 1 for 28 weeks on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. That turned straight into a euphoric rendition of “All The Pretty Girls” with Megan Moroney, rolling into a romping rendition of “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.”
 
But the evening’s biggest surprise was Kelsea Ballerini, who the stadium-sized headliner hadn’t realized was in California. Surprising him Saturday with an ask to come sing, the pair dueted on their Country Music Association award-winning “half of my hometown,” as well as a yearning rendition of Chesney’s Grace Potter pairing “You & Tequila.”
 
“The beauty of music, especially live music, is that every day is different, and every day it will surprise you,” he said after the show. “If you’re in-the-moment of it, you can sing with three really good friends in the same show, and know that will never happen again…”
 
Certainly, for an audience who bestowed Chesney with license plates invoking song titles from Arizona (DOWNDRD), California (LYKWEDO) and Nevada (1MRSNST), it was a night where music set the tone and delivered a kind of rapture that saw the crowd waving their arms from side-to-side song-after-song and taking chorus-after-chorus along with Chesney and band.
 
“It’s fun when my friends come out and sing with me,” Chesney says of the night’s collaborations. “It makes the music seem alive. It’s like hearing No Shoes Nation: that’s when all the happy and the magic come together.”
 
Presented by Blue Chair Bay® Rum, it’s all about the friends, high energy and songs people know by heart.
 

“...because everything gets hotter when the sun goes down...”

Kenny Chesney Performs at SoFi Stadium on Saturday, July 20, 2024 | Photo Credit: Ash Summerford

Kenny Chesney’s Sun Goes Down 2024 Tour Remaining Dates
with Zac Brown Band, Megan Moroney & Uncle Kracker
July 24            Phoenix, Ariz.  ||  Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre^
July 27            Denver, Colo.  ||  Empower Field at Mile High Stadium
Aug. 3             Nashville, Tenn.  ||  Nissan Stadium
Aug. 8             Columbus, Ohio  ||  Historic Crew Stadium*
Aug. 10           Detroit, Mich.  ||  Ford Field
Aug. 15           Bangor, Maine  ||  Maine Savings Amphitheater^
Aug. 17           East Rutherford, N.J.  ||  MetLife Stadium
Aug. 23           Foxborough, Mass.  ||  Gillette Stadium
Aug. 24           Foxborough, Mass.  ||  Gillette Stadium
Aug. 25           Foxborough, Mass.  ||  Gillette Stadium
* Megan Moroney and Uncle Kracker only
^ Megan Moroney only

Kenny Chesney's I GO BACK Ends w/ KCDC, Surprise Songs + A Letterman Jacket

And Then It Was Finished...
Kenny Chesney Wraps “Intimate” I Go Back 2023
2nd Night at The Wharf Saw Audible Calls, Band Covers, KCDC
-- and A Letterman Jacket

Kenny Chesney presented I Go Back 2023 Tour special guest Kelsea Ballerini w/ letterman jacket. | Photo Credit: Allister Ann

Even before Kenny Chesney hit The Wharf’s stage, it was fixing to be one of those kinds of tour-enders as the East Tennessee songwriter/superstar dropped by the legendary Flora-Bama® Lounge, Package & Oyster Bar to surprise the Blue Chair Bay® Rum pop up event being broadcast on No Shoes Radio. Then he called a final meeting of everyone on the road, from riggers and sound guys to truck drivers and caterers to offer thank yous and praise for the very special, great energy tour they were wrapping up.
 
“People hear it’s not stadiums and they think it’s smaller,” Chesney said backstage. “But it was intense, intimate, fun, wild, free – and it could change from night-to-night. Plus, with the people who were out this year, it was a blast from start to finish. What an amazing way to start summer!”
 
From the first liquid notes of “‘Til It’s Gone,” it was obvious everyone had come to wring every moment out of Chesney’s final set of his I Go Back 2023 Tour. Designed to return to those places that were part of the 8-time Entertainer of the Year meteoric rise, the tour has seen Chesney revisit classics including “There Goes My Life,” “The Good Stuff” and “Old Blue Chair.”
 
For his second night in Orange Beach, local favorite “Flora-Bama” was again sung with the crowd singing along in full voice, as well as the whirling tropical “Guitars and Tiki Bars” and “Coastal.” But even more fun was seeing bass player Harmoni Kelley crush AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie,” guitarist Danny Rader sweeping up Tom Petty’s classic “Listen To Her Heart” and multi-instrumentalist Jon Conley went hard with the Rolling Stones’ blistering “Start Me Up.”
 
“Beyond going back to the places where it all started, this band is so much fun to play with, I really wanted to share them with the people beyond the stadium cities – and places we play on those tours,” Chesney offered. “They’re so good, so alive up there. For the last night, I wanted to let the band put the pedal down a little bit, so I could show’em off more than just the KC/DC vamp we play at the end of ‘Beer In Mexico.’ We picked some of our favorites, and they took care of the rest.”
 
In keeping with the places it all got started, Chesney presented special guest Kelsea Ballerini with a gift that brought tears to her eyes. After the pair stomped through “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” two men emerged from the wings. One had Chesney’s Gibbs High letterman’s jacket from when he was in school; the other had a red and black Central High jacket customized for the Academy of Country Music Female Vocalist of the Year nominee.

“Part of why Kelsea drunk texted me to sing ‘half of my hometown’ was because we went to rival high schools, but basically come from the same place,” Chesney laughs. “When it was time to get something to remember the I Go Back Tour by, what better gift? Hard to believe mine still fits, but it did. So, for one night in Orange Beach, the Gibbs Eagles and Central Bobcats represented for a whole lot of people.”
 
A lot of ground since Charlottesville, Virginia’s kick-off, I Go Back 2023 – presented by Blue Chair Bay® Rum – as he ventured through State College, PA., Greensboro, NC, Grand Rapids, MI, Grand Forks, ND, Sioux Falls, SD, Jacksonville, FL, Fort Wayne, IN, Lexington, KY, the Tortuga Music Festival and Lincoln, NE where the paper opined “Chesney blows the doors off arena in best-ever Lincoln show.”
 
Stepping in at both June’s Gulf Coast Jam and Carolina Country Music Fest, there are a few more chances to see Chesney this summer. In addition, he will play Endicott, NY’s En-Joie Golf Club June 23 and Newton, IO’s Iowa Speedway July 22.
 
“What a way to start my summer,” he says with a smile.  “Some really great memories were made.”

Old Dominion, Kelsea Ballerini + Surprises as Kenny Chesney Winds Down I GO BACK 2023

As the only country artist in Billboard’s Top 10 Touring Acts of the Last 25 Years for the last 14 years, doing a tour of arenas in markets where he got his start shows how much Kenny Chesney is about taking his music to the people. But it’s also been a demi-bucket list return to the intimacy and passion that defined No Shoes Nation from the beginning. And as the tour winds down, Evansville, Indiana proved it’s not the size of the audience, but the heart.
 
After a solid 60 seconds of cheers following “I Go Back,” it was obvious NSN had come for the music – and they were going to leave everything they had on the floor of the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. Almost a decade since his last appearance at the basketball-centric venue, Chesney pulled out rarities, including “The Good Stuff” and “There Goes My Life,” which saw the fans deliver those songs back to the 8-time Entertainer of the Year like a prayer.
 
“You forget how much power those songs have – until you play them and feel the emotions they pull out of people,” Chesney says. “You can be so quiet you can feel your heart beat – and hear how palpable those feelings are that people have tucked up in your songs. It takes your breath away.”
 
Palpable, indeed. But that heightened emotionalism didn’t dampen the high spirits. Whether a second chorus of “American Kids,” after the song was over, the coming-of-age anthem “Young” or the full-tilt “Big Star” dedicated “to any girls out there who have a dream,” Chesney and his band were bringing it as hard as the audience was throwing it back.
 
And being so close to tour end, the pranks and surprises have already started. With a few nights off before their two-night stand at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre, 6-time Academy of Country Music, 5-time Country Music Association Vocal Group of the Year and Chesney tour vets Old Dominion ambled onstage during the intro to “Save It For A Rainy Day” to surprise the clearly shocked headliner. Laughing at their still pulling pranks, it’s the first time that leader Matthew Ramsey was seen off his cane; he was enjoying the fun as the collected group also threw down a jubilant take on the Eagles “Take It Easy.”
 
“Nobody pulls one over on me,” Chesney laughed after. “My band and my crew can’t keep secrets, but they kept this one! And it was so good seeing those guys, having Matt and Brad (Tursi) who wrote ‘Save It’ up there with us. It shows what road family means, doesn’t it? They took a night off to prank us!”
 
Kelsea Ballerini, who’s spent the tour as Chesney’s special guest and performing their CMA and ACM Award-winning “half of my hometown” with him nightly, was also the recipient of some tour ending high jinks. Having given long time encore/play-off “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” a break for most of the I Go Back 2023 Tour, Chesney put it in for some playful vamping with the young woman who grew up in the same hometown Chesney did for a little bit of karaoke dreams come true.
 
Even more fun was the christening of Ballerini’s nickname, which appeared on a sign that was beamed to the packed arena. Half set-up for the next song, half good-natured teasing of a little sister, Chesney told the crowd how much Kelsea loves tequila – and then told the delighted crowd, “Her nickname is now ‘TeKelsea.’”; to which the young woman laughed and replied, “Well, I guess it’s gonna be a thing now.”
 
Highlights and good vibes permeated the evening. With 28 songs, including a few surprises, Chesney kept the crowd on their feet for over two hours. What just started is already winding down for the man who usually spends his summers in NFL stadiums across the country – the reason Variety called him “a stadium-sized superstar” – and every last moment feels like a memory to last a lifetime.
 
Presented by Blue Chair Bay® Rum, I Go Back heads to Charleston, South Carolina then Orange Beach, Alabama. That final show at the Wharf is now a double, with tickets for Friday going on-sale 5/22 at 10 a.m. local time.

Old Dominion's Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen and Brad Tursi surprise Chesney in Evansville, Indiana on Saturday, May 20, 2023. | Photo Credit: Courtesy of Kizzi Barazetti, I Go Back 2023 Tour

Kenny Chesney Drops Surprises on 1st Night of “I Go Back Tour”

KENNY CHESNEY’S I GO BACK 2023 TOUR IS ON…

Plays to 13,017 at John Paul Jones Arena
 
Kelsea Ballerini Joins 8-Time Entertainer of the Year for “Wild Child”
& Their Award-Winning “half of my hometown”

When Kenny Chesney walked onstage at John Paul Jones Arena, it was one of the smallest venues he’s played in the past several years. But he rocked the 13,017 people as hard as any stadium show he’s played. Emerging to the sweeping “Til It’s Gone,” Chesney took the capacity crowd through 29 songs over the course of two-plus hours with all the energy and intensity that he’s built his career on.
 
By the fifth song – “Reality” – he had the crowd singing along at full volume, but the chorus of “everybody needs to break free” became a liberating mantra for families, young couples, teens at their first show and a few fans who’d been there for decades. The songwriter/superstar told the people he’d last played the venue when he opened the John Paul Jones Arena in 2006.
 
“It was a crazy thing,” he said backstage prior to the concert. “We pulled up and all of the Statler Brothers were there, and they watched the entire show from the third row. Charlottesville is that kind of place: the very best of who they are come out and just live in the music. I can’t believe we’ve been away this long.”
 
For Chesney, his I Go Back 2023 Tour is an opportunity to revisit many of the places, faces and memories he made along the way. Beyond putting some No Shoes Nation favorites back into his no holding back set – the ACM Single of the Year “The Good Stuff,” “Don’t Happen Twice” and “Beer Can Chicken” as a mash-up – Chesney spent the night moving back and forth across the T-shaped stage, high-fiving fans, leaning into his musicians and letting the players shine.
 
After a ferocious bass/drum trade-off by Harmoni Kelley and Nick Buda on “All The Pretty Girls” tumbled into an aggressive “Living In Fast Forward,” “Young” and “Noise,” Chesney cooled the crowd down by sliding into the chilled D-Sharp groove of “Wild Child.” As the chorus-swelled, special guest Kelsea Ballerini emerged from the wings in a red fringed top with matching red fringed stiletto knee high boots to sing Grace Potter’s signature ethereal harmonies.
 
Beyond some repartee about how they came to record the CMA Musical Event and Video winner “half of my hometown,” the chemistry between the two kids from Knox County showed the audience the power of common roots. Clearly enamored with the small towns they came from, both are examples to the power of dreams chased and realized.
 
“I wanted to bring all the power and all of the passion that we have at those stadium shows,” Chesney said post-show. “I want every single person who’s in the room to know how much we love them, to feel as good as they’ve ever felt and to go home hoarse from the cheering and singing. Charlottesville, Virginia sure made the opening night feel like the biggest stadiums.”
 
After one of 2022’s biggest tours in any genre – having the fifth biggest tour after Bad Bunny, Elton John, Mötley Crüe/Def Leppard and Harry Styles – Chesney believes in the collective energy of No Shoes Nation, wherever they are! Having hit No Shoes Radio live at 3 pm for their Live from the Tour Kick-Off remote, he was all in – and never stopped.
 
I Go Back 2023, with special guest Kelsea Ballerini, is presented by Blue Chair Bay® Rum.

Kenny Chesney and Kelsea Ballerini perform in Charlottesville, Va. on March 23. | Photo Credit: Allister Ann

Kenny Chesney I Go Back 2023 Tour:
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

Kenny Chesney + Kelsea Ballerini: Pop Goes the iHeart Noms

“half of my hometown” Is Up for Best Collaboration, Country Collab
Bringing the Full-On East Tennessee I Go Back 2023 Tour Mates to the Awards

Multiple CMA Award Winner Takes on All-Genres for the First Time

They have won the Country Music Association Vocal Event and Video of the Year for “half of my hometown,” as well as being nominated for the CMA Single of the Year, but Kelsea Ballerini and her East Tennessee influence Kenny Chesney never expected to see themselves nominated alongside Elton John and Dua Lipa, Post Malone featuring Doja Cat, Lil Nas-X and Jack Harlow, Post Malone and The Weeknd, Megan Thee Stallion and Dua Lipa, Sam Smith and Kim Petras, Future featuring Drake and Tems, Elle King and Miranda Lambert or Doja Cat featuring the Weeknd. But that’s right where their heart-rending “half of my hometown” has ended up with this morning’s iHeartRadio Music Awards nomination announcements.
 
With the I Go Back 2023 Tour mates starting to get ready for their March 25 kick-off at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa., it was a surprise they didn’t see coming. But it’s also a distinction they’re honored to have received for a song that says a lot about coming up outside the major cities.
 
“Until you leave, you don’t really understand the pull of where you’re from,” reflected Ballerini, also a quadruple Grammy nominee, including for this year’s Best Country Solo Performance. “It’s a song that’s so much where I’m from – and as much as I’ve explored a lot of genres with so many interesting artists – I think that feeling of being torn is something people, especially ones with big dreams, know regardless of what kind of music they listen to.”
 
“Post Malone? Dua Lipa? The Weeknd? Doja Cat?” Chesney marveled. “That is both amazing company and a testament to the truth a good song can contain. Remembering the way I felt driving down I-40 West, chasing the dream, I knew as soon as I heard that first chorus when Kelsea texted it to me that this song had every last drop of how much you miss where you’re from, but all the reasons you have to keep going. I love that iHeart recognized the power of that emotion and that song. It makes me wonder how many of the other nominees know just how ‘half of my hometown’ feels, too.”
 
“Music has taken me so many incredible places,” Ballerini added. “It’s brought so many people into my life from pop, alternative and contemporary music, but singing with Kenny is going home. I love that people could hear what I heard. He was the only voice for ‘half of my hometown,’ and when he comes in, it’s just like hitting the Knoxville city limits.”
 
With “Better Version,” her steamy collaboration with FLETCHER, already making waves, the Platinum-certified Ballerini continues exploring the myriad styles of music, while retaining her strong commitment to being a woman whose songs reflect life as she and her peers live them. That candor and willingness to share her hurt, hopes and moments has made her one of Nashville’s most sought-after voices.
 
Having played to over 1.3 million fans on his Here And Now 2022 Tour, including 21 NFL stadium plays, Chesney embodies the ability to connect with others. Recognizing Ballerini’s willingness to be true to herself when he was seeking a special guest for a very special tour that returns him to the kinds of towns both grew up in, she was the natural choice. 
 
Since taking her debut “Love Me Like You Me It,” follow-up “Dibs” and “Peter Pan” all to No. 1 on the country charts, a trifecta that matches Wynonna Judd’s solo emergence in the ‘90s, the fresh-faced and fashion-forward songwriter/vocalist has drawn on her own coming of age for some of modern music’s most personal songs, songs so true they transcend labels – and are now side-by-side with pop’s biggest names.
 
Written with Ross Copperman, Nicolle Galyon, Shane McAnally and Jimmy Robbins, “half of my hometown” reflects Ballerini’s journey, but also so many young people’s way of seeing the world around them.
 
The I Go Back 2023 Tour is presented by Blue Chair Bay Rum. Tickets are on sale now via KennyChesney.com.

I Go Back Tour Dates:
March 25       State College, 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 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                         The 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

Kenny Taps Kelsea Ballerini for I GO BACK 2023

KENNY CHESNEY WELCOMES KELSEA BALLERINI
AS SPECIAL GUEST FOR HIS UPCOMING TOUR

Having Won Multiple CMA Awards for “Half of My Hometown,”
It’s A Full-On Taste of East Tennessee for the I Go Back 2023 Tour

Having won the 2021 Country Music Association Vocal Event and Video of the Year for “Half of My Hometown,” as well as being nominated for 2022 CMA Single of the Year, there was only one choice for Kenny Chesney’s I Go Back 2023 Tour: triple GRAMMY nominee Kelsea Ballerini, the songwriter/dreamer from Mascot, Tennessee.

“Kelsea understands everything about where I come from, because she’s from there, too,” Chesney says. “She knows how hard it is to leave, how much you miss all those things that make you who you are... but also how the only way to chase the kind of dream she has is to do just that. It’s a tough call when you love home the way we both do, but for kids like us, there was never really a choice.

“When she texted me to sing on the song she’d written with some of our friends, I said, ‘Let me hear it,’ knowing she knew everything about who I was,” Chesney continued. “As soon as I heard that first verse, I was in. And I have been one of Kelsea’s biggest fans ever since. She’s a writer, a girl who sings from her heart and isn’t afraid to honor where she comes from. To me, there was no other choice for this tour.”

Having played to over 1.3 million fans on 2022’s Here And Now Tour, including breaking his personal best at many of the 21 NFL stadium plays, Chesney knew he wanted to take his music to the people who live beyond the major markets. Always committed to bringing the best musical experience, his choice of Ballerini recognizes an artist who has a strong sense of roots, but it also invested in pushing where country music can go.

“Music has taken me so many incredible places,” Ballerini says. “Around the world, singing with some of my heroes in pop, alternative and contemporary music, but singing with Kenny is going home. He was the only voice I heard on ‘half of my hometown,’ and when he comes in, it’s just like hitting the Knoxville city limits. So to be able to go out to those cities like the place he and I grew up with an artist who’s accomplished what he has, it’s a lot like going home.”

Like Chesney, Ballerini has caused a sensation since taking her debut “Love Me Like You Mean It,” follow-up “Dibs” and “Peter Pan” all to No. 1 on the country charts, a trifecta that matches her with Wynonna’s solo emergence in the ‘90s; it helped earn the honeyed alto a Best New Artist GRAMMY nomination. Fresh-faced and fashion-forward, she’s drawn on her own young woman coming of age in today’s world for some of modern country’s most personal songs.

“half of my hometown,” written with Ross Copperman, Nicolle Galyon, Shane McAnally and Jimmy Robbins, reflects Ballerini’s journey, but also both artists’ way of seeing the world around them. It’s that passion for taking risks, but remembering where one comes from, the desire to have big dreams and never lose the ability to enjoy the simplest kinds of fun and friendship.

I Go Back 2023 is Presented by Blue Chair Bay Rum. American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets in select markets before the general public beginning Wednesday, November 23 at 10 a.m. local time through Thursday, December 1 at 10 p.m. local time. Tickets on sale December 2 at 10 a.m. local time at KennyChesney.com.

Kenny Chesney I Go Back Tour:
March 25 State College, 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*
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 The 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
July 22 Des Moines, IA Hy-Vee Indy Race*
*previously announced

Kenny Chesney Breaks Record, Duets w/ Kelsea Ballerini

Photo Credit: Catherine Powell/Getty Images

When Kenny Chesney got on the highway “with a head full of dreams and a heart full of songs,” he was carrying the torch for every kid just like him. Singing about life in the flyover, capturing the small moments, the real thrills, the revelations, he forged a bond with his audience – ultimately named the No Shoes Nation – Chesney became the only country artist on Billboard’s Top 10 Touring Acts of the Last 25 Years every year for the last thirteen.

Onstage at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium that love was more than apparent – with the audience singing extra choruses of “American Kids,” “Young” and “Anything But Mine.” With perfect weather, the audience helped lift Chesney to a new high in what has been a summer of pitch perfect shows; giving the audience back the innocence and beauty of a simpler world before touring stadiums became an impossible proposition.

Bringing out Old Dominion’s Matt Ramsey and Brad Tursi for “Save It For A Rainy Day,” it was a master class in maintaining one’s perspective on those days that try people’s reality. But the real emotional center came when Kelsea Ballerini, dressed in jeans, a red t-shirt and sparkle high tops, was introduced to sing their No. 1 hit “Half of My Hometown.”

Having grown up in the same part of Tennessee, Chesney told the audience, “I grew up in East Tennessee and she grew up in East Tennessee. We drove down some of the same roads together. We went to a lot of the same places to eat with our families. We listened to the same radio station, and listened to a lot of people tell us we couldn’t do certain things that have dreamed of all our life...”

For Ballerini, the Country Music Association Vocal Event and Video of the Year Award winner spoke to the realities one must transcend to get where she had dreamed of since she was a child. Though people don’t always understand or buy in, there is only love for where you come from. Partway through the second verse, she broke down sobbing – and as Chesney pulled her into a hug, the audience burst into applause.

Back on the road after three years unable to play stadiums, Chesney has found a new gear as an entertainer: bringing passion and recognition of how actual people live into a much more powerful truth. “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” “Don’t Happen Twice,” “Pirate Flag” and “Beer In Mexico” offered an exuberance that rippled through the audience during the two-plus hour set.

“Being here in Nashville where so many dreams came true, seeing Kelsea on the verge of making the same kind of mark, it made me realize how strong this connection is. It’s not just fun or hooks or guitar riffs, it’s one massive heart that we all share,” Chesney said after the show. “To have that is the greatest gift, greatest reason for doing this – and tonight really hit me in the soul.”

Here And Now 2022 Tour is presented by Blue Chair Bay Rum and fueled by MARATHON.