Kenny Chesney was already supposed to be on tour by now. The Tennessee native was set to kick off his Chillaxification Tour in April, with Florida Georgia Line and Old Dominion serving as his opening acts, but was forced to postpone the April 18 start date, due to COVID-19. While his tour currently is scheduled to now begin on May 30, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Kenny admits he isn’t entirely sure if he will even be on the road this year, at all.
“I think we’re cautiously optimistic — but like I said, cautiously — about playing music this year,” Kenny told The Tennessean. “But honestly, we play a lot of the venues that the NFL play. We’re just kind of watching what happens with that, and we’ll see.”
Kenny just dropped his 19th studio album, Here and Now, which he planned to celebrate on the road. But even while he is being forced to social distance from his friends and fans, he feels a sense of unity that he is, at least in some ways, grateful to experience.
“It’s such a unique time, and strange,” Kenny noted, “and one of the things it’s forced everyone to do, in an odd way, is reconnect, and connect better.”
Still, the 52-year-old acknowledges that for him, there is no place he feels the most connected, and alive, as during one of his shows.
“The one place I’ve found where I truly live in that moment is when I’m on stage. I don’t know, it may be a little sad to say that,” Kenny said with a laugh, “but I can tell you, that’s where I truly feel like I’m living in the moment.”
While Kenny certainly wishes he was able to perform the songs from Here and Now right now, in some ways he suggests this might be perfect timing for his current project.
“Anything that can occupy our brain and make us feel happy, I think that’s what a lot of these songs do,” Kenny reflected. “A lot of them reminded me to try to live in the moment, live within these songs and be happy. That’s what I think is the true thread of this record, and I feel like it’s a good time for it to come out.”
Purchase Here and Now, and keep track of tour updates, at KennyChesney.com.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of EB Media