Kenny Chesney’s feeling ‘a little lost’
It’s been a year since one of music’s biggest live acts enjoyed a night in his natural habitat.
On May 25, 2019, Kenny Chesney played Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to finish off his tour behind the previous summer’s “Songs for the Saints” album.
But that outdoor megaconcert wasn’t actually his last show before the livemusic business shut down.
“I can’t believe I’m telling you this, but I did a wedding in Florida at the beginning of March,” said Chesney, ranked at No. 18 on Pollstar’s list of the top touring artists of the previous decade with ticket sales of more than $600 million. “And I don’t play weddings. But it was worth it,” he added with a laugh.
Because someone close to him was getting married? “Nope,” he replied. “Just somebody that really wanted me to play his daughter’s wedding.”
Now the memories from that gig will have to sustain him for a while: In March, Chesney, 52, postponed the first set of dates on his latest tour, which had been set to open April 18 at AT&T Stadium near Dallas; further dates are almost certain to be delayed as officials figure out when it might be safe for tens of thousands of people to gather in one place.
“It’s one day at a time, trying to make plans,” said Chesney’s longtime concert promoter, Louis Messina. “My answer to everything is: ‘I don’t know.’ ”
The uncertainty hits especially hard for Chesney, whose muscular yet laid-back music — think Jimmy Buffett meets Bruce Springsteen — has made his show an annual rite of summer for the devoted fans who call themselves the No Shoes Nation. This year, an estimated 1.4 million of them were expected to see him play across 22 stadium concerts and an additional 18 gigs at amphitheaters throughout the U.S.; in 2018, Pollstar says, Chesney played 19 stadiums and 23 amphitheaters and grossed $114 million.
As a live draw, Messina puts the singer in “that superstar category” alongside the Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift (both of whom have called off all 2020 dates), and Chesney admits he has found it difficult to roll with the cancellations given how accustomed his “body clock” is to being on the road this time of year.
“I feel a little lost, honestly,” he said the other day over the phone from his home in Tennessee, where he has been “bouncing off the walls like everybody else” during lockdown.
Chesney got some brighter news this month when his latest album, “Here and Now,” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, giving him his ninth chart-topper. Chesney’s 19th studio disc overall, “Here and Now” — full of characteristic feel-good anthems as well as a romantic ballad co-written by Ed Sheeran — moved the sales-and-streams equivalent of 233,000 copies in its first week, according to Nielsen Music, edging out the latest project from rapper Drake.
“This fall is gonna say a lot,” Chesney said. “I’ve got a lot of friends in the NFL, and I’m keeping my eyes on what they do, because it directly reflects what I do. But I’m confident we’re gonna play music somewhere.”