Maybe it was the No Shoes Nation flotilla – eight and ten boats deep on the North Shore – that had dropped anchor over two weeks ago. Perhaps it was the convergence of the 50th Three Rivers Arts Festival, the Pride Parade and Comicon. Or just the anticipation of Kenny Chesney’s Sun Goes Down 2024 Tour, which has broken personal records since kicking off to unprecedented numbers in Tampa. For whatever reason, love was in the air, spirits were high and the weather beautiful when Chesney hit the stage with a blistering “Living in Fast Forward.”
The only show at the storied Acrisure Stadium according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the high energy performer’s 12thappearance at the iconic football stadium was one for the books. With the stage pushed all the way back to the end zone wall and more chairs on the floor than ever, No Shoes Nation was on their feet and singing the songs they love and live so loud Chesney let them take whole choruses of “American Kids,” “Anything But Mine,” and “There Goes My Life.”
“They call it Steel Town for a reason,” Chesney said after. “They came to see with a purpose! Those hearts are so strong and true: you could hear it when they sang, and looking out, you could see it in the way they waved their arms side-to-side. They were on their feet and had their hands in the air the entire show. I knew I was going to do ‘There Goes My Life’ when I woke up, but seeing the entire stadium lit up with their lights? It’s one of the most beautiful memories of my life.”
Wall Street Journal crowned Chesney “King of the Road” for his legendary stadium tours, and it’s been a summer of unmatched excitement as several cities have sold out months ahead – and new tickets had to be found to meet the demand. As importantly, the 8-time Entertainer of the Year is finding new heights in both his newer songs and the classics being rotated in.
“When you hear how much No Shoes Nation brings to these songs when they’re singing them with us, it almost makes me stop in my tracks,” Chesney begins. “They’ve been rocking since noon; you’d expect them to be worn out, but I can hear the caring, the investment in everything we’re playing. These aren’t just hits, it feels like they’re sharing their lives with us, too.”
For a very big day where the Allegheny, the Monongahela and the Ohio Rivers meet, the sun shone, then stars came out. Uncle Kracker emerged for their six-week No. 1 “When The Sun Goes Down” and “Drift Away” much to the crowd’s delight. Megan Moroney, leading Academy of Country Music Awards’ female nominee, romped out in cut-offs for a spirited “All The Pretty Girls” that elicited all the sorority friskiness in the teen and 20-somethings in the house.
“Build it with friendship and love, and something really special happens,” marvels Chesney. “The band is white hot and so tight, you can feel how much fun they’re having with every solo and jam – and the audience picks up on that! It was an undeniably incredible night, and as much as people thought we were crazy doing this in Pittsburgh in 2005, I can say absolutely, No Shoes Nation always shows up and delivers. They lifted us again to new heights.”
Presented by Blue Chair Bay® Rum, it’s all about the friends, high energy and songs people know by heart. In Pittsburgh, that means 622,882 faces fill with good vibes, joy and music.
“...because everything gets hotter when the sun goes down...”
Photo Credit: Ash Summerford