No Kenny Chesney this year
The country artist postpones his 2021 tour, including a date at American Family Field.
No shoes and, for the straight summer, no show.
Country star Kenny Chesney announced Monday that he’s postponing his entire 2021 summer stadium “Chillaxification” tour, which had included a May 8 concert at American Family Field, until 2022.
The tour had first been scheduled for April 2020 but was shut down when COVID-19 cases spiked nationwide. The show was then rescheduled for this spring, with a supporting lineup including Florida Georgia Line, Old Dominion and Michael Franti & Spearhead. Monday’s announcement says the 2020 show will have a “new lineup.”
New dates will be unveiled later this year. Tickets for the 2021 show, and the 2020 concert that had been the original-original date, will be honored at next year’s concert, the Milwaukee Brewers said online Monday.
In a note to fans, dubbed No Shoes Nation, Chesney said:
“With all the progress being made around the pandemic, there is still too much unknown. What we’re hearing changes daily … anything is possible … But if we can only do two-thirds of the audience? Who decides who doesn’t get to come to the show we’ve all been waiting for? If we have to have social distancing measures, how far apart will you be?”
The 2022 concert, a statement said, will be “a completely new show with a new name, new lineup, lots of new music and plenty of the songs people come to hear.”
Chesney’s “Chillaxification” tour was the first big concert scheduled for American Family Field this season. The only other concert still officially on
second tap at the ballpark formerly known as Miller Park this season is an Aug. 28 show with Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. That show, too, was rescheduled from its original date of Aug. 18, 2020.
The Brewers play their home opener on April 1 at American Family Field against the Minnesota Twins. Under an agreement with the Milwaukee Health Department, the stadium will be at 25% capacity, meaning just 11,000 to 12,000 fans will be on hand, with no tailgating or food and beverage carry-ins.
Brewers officials hope that, if the pandemic eases and vaccinations continue to rise, that capacity level will be allowed to rise, too.
The Chesney concert is the first major outdoor concert in Milwaukee to be pulled off this summer’s schedule completely. Summerfest fled its original dates, over three weekends in June and July, and moved to Sept. 2 to 4, 9 to 11 and 16 to 18. But five rescheduled amphitheater shows outside of Summerfest — featuring KISS, Maroon 5, Hall & Oates, the Black Crowes and Santana with Earth, Wind and Fire — are still on the books for July through September.
Many major outdoor events that fall early in summer in Milwaukee — including PrideFest, German Fest and Festa Italiana — have been canceled for 2021.