Beyond the obvious, there’s the essence of old Key West – a place where poets, pirates, painters and passionistas live and dream. For Kenny Chesney, infused with the magic of the writers’ haven by no less than Jimmy Buffett, it’s the characters, old bars, dusty streets and often unseen places that have drawn him to the storied town for years.
And after locking down the entire country radio panel in its very first week, “Carry On,” a sweeping single that invokes Schooner Wharf, an open-air bar on William Street’s historic Harbor Walk, needed an equally historic video. So, the songwriter/superstar from East Tennessee decided to show people seeking freedom, joy or just an escape what makes classic Key West so magnetic. Working alongside longtime collaborator Shaun Silva, the pair created a set of performance “Polaroids” intercut with those side streets and disappearing moments.
“Key West isn’t about who you are,” Chesney explains, “but what’s in your soul. It’s the great equalizer, with wisdom to be found just about anywhere if you listen. I knew I wanted this video to show people that heart – beyond what tourists see – and give them a sense of what this song’s really reaching into in terms of how to live.”
Whether on his bicycle, making his way through local neighborhoods, a boat out on the ocean or holding down the bar at Schooner Wharf, Chesney delivers a to-the-camera performance that creates a link to every dreamer playing for tips in a city where Ernest Hemingway, Shel Silverstein, Thomas McGuane, Jerry Jeff Walker, Tennessee Williams and, yes, Jimmy Buffett drew inspiration. As much an homage to the young man he once was as a reminder to not miss the lessons that are scattered in your daily journey, “Carry On” was shot to double down on the shoot your shot, savor the moment approach to life that’s defined Chesney and No Shoes Nation.
“It’s a different kind of freedom,” Chesney offers. “People here aren’t running after anything, but letting go of all that – and hanging onto what makes them happy. That’s the deal, really. It’s what I wanted this video to represent, and what I think reflects how this song hits me.”
Three minutes of feel good groovage that offers some bartender wisdom over moments of reggae undertow, bluegrass harmonies and a summer anthem chorus, “Carry On” became only the third single in Mediabase history to close out the panel in its first week. It celebrates noted artist/sailor and musician David Wegman, who first captured people’s imaginations in Heart Life Music, Chesney’s No. 1 New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction and Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction debut.
“If you want to understand making the most of every day, of filling your time with creativity and laughter and adventure, David Wegman is all of that, and more,” Chesney enthuses of his special guest star. “When we started filming, I wanted him to be part of this, so people could see what ‘Carry On’ draws from. We had the best day shooting at his place, where you never know if you’ll find painters, musicians on tour or just friends from somewhere around the world… But that’s what makes it so awesome. Open your arms and just welcome what life brings you.”
With 158 stations out of 158 stations buying in, “Carry On” embodies everything great about who and what Kenny Chesney is. After all, if it feels good, do it… feels like a full-tilt summer refrain.
Kenny Chesney Carries On & LOCKS Country Radio 1st Week
Kenny Chesney has built a career on finding songs that hit people right where they live. For his HEY NOW Records debut, the high energy force of music knew he wanted something that exponentiated his embrace of total positive energy. “Carry On,” the three minute feel good package of bartender wisdom that packs bits of reggae undertow, bluegrass harmonies and a summer anthem chorus, was just the thing.
For his first single in two years…his first for the brand new and fiercely independent HEY NOW Records…his return to what he does best, lifting people up no matter what their state of life…the 2025 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee notches a pair of firsts: his highest ever add day and closing the panel with every station delivering “Carry On” to listeners across the country.
“The world’s overwhelming,” Chesney says, “between our phones and the news, it’s a lot. But the truth is: our lives are right now, and we need to remember – no matter what – that we gotta find the joy and happiness wherever, however, because that’s the only thing we can control.”
“Carry On” locking the panel on week one marks only the third time in Mediabase history this has happened. Garth Brooks achieved the feat in 1997 and Post Malone with Morgan Wallen delivered 100% of the reporters in 2024. Whether a sign of the times or merely Chesney delivering another year’s Song of Summer, “Carry On” has struck a chord.
“Some songs just hit you in the heart,” Chesney explains. “When I heard it, I was right there at the end of the bar at Schooner Wharf, which is such old Key West. I could see it, hear it, taste it – and the more I listened to songs, and I’ve heard some unbelievable songs this time around, the more I knew I wanted to find a song that would not just make people happy, but give them permission to live their life so in the moment and free…
“Based on the response from radio, I’m not the only one looking to be empowered, inspired, lifted up. Like the bridge says, ‘If it feels good do it, if it doesn’t then don’t…’ Nothing could be simpler, but man, isn’t that everything life comes down to?”
More than a musical cocktail that delivers a face your life but just keep loving and living every single moment sentiment, “Carry On” offers something musical that matches the message. With a melody that cascades, electric guitars that are bright and bold and a rhythm that moves from the islands to the stadiums, songwriters Chase McGill, Jessi Alexander and Matt Jenkins created the perfect distillation of everything the East Tennessee songwriter/superstar has come to represent.
Dropping a summer anthem that sparks people to turn it up, drive faster, laugh louder, stay a little longer and then get up and seize the day the morning after, “Carry On” reminds everyone how glorious being alive can be. Instantly ready for arms-around-friends shout-alongs during days on the beach, chasing the night with friends and tailgates everywhere, the chorus delivers everything to get you through a Tuesday morning ride to work or a white-hot Saturday night.
One hundred fifty-eight stations out of 158 stations can’t be wrong. After all, if it feels good, do it… For Kenny Chesney, brand new HEY NOW Records and music fans everywhere, what a way to return with new music.
Kenny Chesney Can't Wait for "Carry On," Drops at Midnight Tonight
If Kenny Chesney waits two years to drop new music, you know he’s on the hunt for something specific. Always one to lead with positive energy, bringing people together and a musical cocktail that merges his own vast musical taste, the songwriter/superstar from East Tennessee wanted a song that lifted you up, offered empowering perspective and delivered a chorus you could carry around like a lucky charm.
Turns out, he had the song all along! “Carry On,” capturing a bar stool conversation with a salty barmaid on a slow afternoon, was originally slated for Chesney’s next songwriter-driven island project. But the chorus kept rising up, and the more the man the LA Times called “the People’s Superstar” listened, the more he realized its message – the common sense wisdom and bridge that admonishes “If it feels good, do it, if doesn’t then don’t…” – was everything he wanted to say.
“Sometimes you lock in, thinking a song is supposed to be one place,” Chesney offers, “and you miss where it might fit better. But the more I looked, the more I kept coming back to ‘Carry On,’ because even more stripped down and acoustic, you couldn’t miss what that chorus was saying. Like ‘American Kids’ or ‘Get Along,’ this is one of those songs that no matter what’s happening in your life, it lifts you up higher and tells you to get out there and really live.”
Having created a catalog of hits that believe the glass is half full, Chesney’s “Carry On” puts his signature tradition on blast. Electric guitars cascade into an intoxicating melody that offers a little bit of the tropics, a little bit of the bluegrass where Billboard’s Top Country Artist of the 21st Century was raised. But mostly, it delivers that spark meant to be chanted, howled or sung top volume.
Begging for arms-around-each-other shout-alongs during days on the water, nights out with friends and tailgates everywhere, the chorus delivers everything people need on a Tuesday morning ride to work or a white-hot Saturday night:
“Carry on karaoke, it don’t matter if you can’t/carry a tune in a bucket anyways
Carry on, who cares what the naysayers say/if it’s Saturday night get carried away
Carry on, carry on, you can’t carry nothing with you and it won’t be long…
til it’s six carrying you home… til then you gotta carry on…”
As much blessing as benediction, it’s the kind of summer anthem that urges people to turn it up, drive a little faster, laugh a little louder, stay a little longer and then get up and seize the day.
Co-producing with Buddy Cannon, Chesney returned to the studio, put their recording back on – and decided to ramp up the guitars, dig the groove a little deeper – and have even more fun with it. As he explains, “Once I realized what ‘Carry On’ could be, the song fell into place… Some songs are just fun to cut. As much as I loved what it was, when we started tracking, I realized this was the song I’d been looking for, the one that captures everything about how I try to live my life – and the way I think all the people who love these songs live their lives, too.”
Designed to inspire through tough times, good times and all the other times in between, “Carry On” is classic Chesney with a twist. Conjuring a slow afternoon with a barmaid who’d done some living, it’s a character sketch, a life lesson and a Polaroid from the kind of sandy bar that remains Chesney’s native habitat.
PC Allister Ann
Kenny Chesney Drops New Music: Life-Affirming "Carry On" May 8
Nobody mixes genres, rhythms and postcards from life like Kenny Chesney. Just listening to “Carry On,” the ebullient cocktail of iconic bartender wisdom from the man the Los Angeles Times called “The People’s Superstar,” one is served a masterclass in the things that matter, the joy that should be harvested no matter what else is going on and the choices we’re given on a daily, even hourly, basis.
After spending 2025 as the first solo headliner and first country artist to play Vegas’ Sphere, two No. 1 New York Times best-seller list debuts for Heart Life Music, which was deemed “a love letter to the journey,” and induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the East Tennessee songwriter/superstar returns to music with new waves of inspiration and passion for the laidback magic of being completely, unabashedly alive.
Quick to empower people to see the glass as half full, Chesney serves “Carry On,” where electric guitars cascade into a molasses melody and the lyrics capture a picture-perfect polaroid of a barmaid who’s figured out the secret of life. Sixty-nine, smoking hot and pouring drinks at Key West’s legendary Schooner Wharf, the heroine who “kissed Elvis” and had stories that “would make Penny Lane jealous” knew how to shake off what didn’t matter – with a bridge that declares, “If it feels good do it, if it doesn’t, then don’t…”
“It felt great in the studio,” explains Billboard’s Top Country Artist of the 21st Century. “Sometimes when you’re running down a song, it all just falls into place because it just feels good. ‘Carry On’ was fun, because of all the different genres we drew from. Plus, I love a chorus that throws life wide open – and reminds you how to find the light no matter what’s happening.”
Crystalizing that truth, the chorus – which begs for arms-around-each-other shout-alongs – offers a benediction that delivers everything you need on a Tuesday morning or a white-hot Saturday night. Warm baritone forward, he leans into the declaration with gusto:
“Carry on karaoke, it don’t matter if you can’t/carry a tune in a bucket anyways
Carry on, who cares what the naysayers say/if it’s Saturday night get carried away
Carry on, carry on, you can’t carry nothing with you and it won’t be long…
til it’s six carrying you home… til then you gotta carry on…”
Co-producing with Buddy Cannon, Chesney reaches – as always – for the hardcore positive vibes that define his outlook and what his songs are made of. In the same vein as the multiple-week No. 1s “American Kids,” “Save It for a Rainy Day” and “Get Along,” “Carry On” is a road map to inspire through tough times, good times and all the other times in between.
“Nothing lifts a mood like music. It’s something people can find their attitude adjustment in without doing too much work,” Chesney says. “I love that this song says, ‘Get out there and sing, even if you can’t carry a tune in a bucket – because that’s real. We don’t care how you sound, we just wanna see everybody with their hands up, singing along with everything they’ve got. Those songs that change your energy are everything.”
Mixing his 20th studio release, Chesney’s focus remains great songs, pushing boundaries without betraying who he is and finding hits that open up possibilities for what feeling good sounds like.
MUSHROOMHEAD to Reveal Cinematic “Shroomhouse” Double Feature, Including Epic New Music Videos for “Carry On” & “Madness Within”
The Madness Begins this Sunday, February 14 at 12 PM EST / 6 PM CET!
It’s known throughout the heavy metal universe and beyond that MUSHROOMHEAD are the leaders of self-produced cinematic music videos – the band has delivered countless high-budget film quality music videos to their fans over the course of their career, garnering millions upon millions of views and turning the heads of horror buffs outside the musical realm. This Valentine’s “Slay” Sunday, don’t let lockdown’s closure of movie theaters get you down – MUSHROOMHEAD are kicking things into high gear with the reveal of their first ever grindhouse-style “Shroomhouse” double feature: a 25-minute trip inside the minds of the masked madmen featuring two extravagant new music videos for recent fan favorites “Carry On” and “Madness Within”.
Premiering alongside a livechat via MUSHROOMHEAD’s YouTube channel on Sunday, February 14 at 12 PM EST / 6 PM CET (livechat kicks off at 11:30 AM EST / 5:30 PM CET), the “Shroomhouse” double feature will not only include the aforementioned music videos, but also twisted film trailers, cinema featurettes and more, all produced by the distorted minds of MUSHROOMHEAD themselves.
Occult mystery, gore galore, epic scenery, meticulous costumes, eeriness and fun abound – witness it all with the “Shroomhouse” double feature!
During the livestream, fans can also enter the YouTube chatroom for a chance to win special MUSHROOMHEAD prizes, including a limited “Shroomhouse” lithograph, unique merchandise, and more. Tune into the livestream for details and make sure to brush up on your MUSHROOMHEAD facts – or else!
Witness additional music videos from MUSHROOMHEAD’s latest release, A Wonderful Life, below & order the album HERE
MUSHROOMHEAD is:
Mr. Rauckhorst - Vocals
J Mann - Vocals
Ms. Jackie - Vocals
Dr. F - Keyboards & Bass guitar
Tankx - Guitar
Stitch - Keyboards & Samples
Diablo - Drums/Percussion
Skinny - Drums/Percussion
Adventure Rockers HÄLLAS Reveal New Official Video for “Carry On”
Check out "Conundrum": Order CD / Vinyl here: https://smarturl.it/Conundrum-NPR | Digital Available now: https://smarturl.it/Hallas-ConundrumDirector & DOP- ...
Nominated for P3 Guld Adward in the
Rock/Metal Category
Acclaimed Latest Album, Conundrum, Out Now via Napalm Records
Order the CD / Vinyl HERE
Swedish psychedelic adventure rock quintet HÄLLAS have been turning heads and taking names in the scene for years, but 2020 saw their undisputed breakout with the stunning album Conundrum, out now via Napalm Records.
One of the album’s catchiest tracks, "Carry On" – featuring a timeless, stardust-like scattering of infectious guitar lines and booming, yet haunting vocal performances – can now be experienced in a whole new light via a brand new music video. Straight from the studio, this new video showcases the band up close and personal, providing a window into their passion and unique musical insight. Get ready for another cosmic journey through their vintage-inspired sound spectrum!
The release of Conundrum showcased the band as one to watch, and now, their acclaim and success has been cemented even further: HÄLLAS were recently nominated for a P3 Guld Award in the Rock/Metal category! Initiated by Swedish radio stations, P3 Guld is THE Swedish award, highlighting the most standout talent in Swedish popular music every year. You can vote for HÄLLAS HERE
Conundrum is the final installment of HÄLLAS’ mysterious trilogy of albums, inviting listeners on a cosmic ride through a parallel world! The band flexes their sonic muscles amid massive soundscapes and spacey 70’s rock riffs, channeling influences ranging from Pink Floyd to The Devils Blood. HÄLLAS evokes a bizarre, intriguing world that reincarnates elements of progressive art rock and psychedelic prog and folk, but in an entirely authentic way. HÄLLAS invites listeners into a cosmic adventure accompanied by music forged on tales of sorcery and courage.
Catch HÄLLAS on their European Tour!
HÄLLAS are ready to conquer your mind (and Europe!) with a full headline tour, hitting many major cities and beginning in autumn 2021. See below for all dates.
HÄLLAS European tour:
19.11.2021 Hanover (GER), Chez Heinz
20.11.2021 Berlin (GER), Cassiopeia
22.11.2021 Amsterdam (NL), Melkweg
23.11.2021 Aarschot (BE), De Klinker
24.11.2021 Leipzig (GER), UT Connewitz
25.11.2021 Nuremberg (GER), Der Cult
26.11.2021 Munich (GER), Strom
27.11.2021 Vienna (AT), Arena
28.11.2021 Prague (CZ), Strahov 007
29.11.2021 Cologne (GER), Club Volta
30.11.2021 Paris (FR), La Maroquinerie
01.12.2021 Lyon (FR), Rock 'N Eat Live
02.12.2021 Tilburg (NL), Little Devil
03.12.2021 Wiesbaden (GER), Kesselhaus
04.12.2021 Stuttgart (GER), Club Zentral
HÄLLAS are:
Tommy Alexandersson: vocals / bass
Marcus Petersson : guitar
Kasper Eriksson: drums / percussion
Nicklas Malmquist: organ / synthesizer
Alexander Moraitis: guitar