Kenny Chesney has spent a lot of years on the road. The country music hitmaker embarked on his first headlining tour in 1998, making him one of the longest-running touring acts in country music. Because of his longevity, Chesney is by now a seasoned performer every time he takes the stage, as are his band members.
“One of the things I’m very proud of on the road is that we’ve got a — I’m very thankful for this –is that we’ve got a catalog of music that spans over a lot of years,” Chesney boasts. “We’re able to be in the moment, take songs out of the set or add them into the set. I have this thing called a 911 mic where I can hit a button, and I can do an audible in the middle of the previous song. And say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna skip this next song, and we’re gonna put another song in.’”
Chesney is currently on his Sun Goes Down Tour, playing in stadiums all over the country. It’s a feat the says is possible largely because of his band, and their impressive talent.
“I never take my band for granted,” Chesney says. “When we get into rehearsals and the massive amounts of sound start bouncing off the walls, it just makes you stop and take it in. After all these years, there’s nothing like hearing Kenny or John or Danny taking a solo, and nobody plays drums like Nick Buda. Harmoni and Wyatt, the way they fill in harmonies? It’s a sound unlike any other, and I get to listen to them for the rest of the summer!”
Chesney also has an eye for detail, and with decades of experience, knows what does and doesn’t work in a live show.
“I’ve always been very particular, if that’s the right word,” Chesney tells CBS News. “I’m particular about how I like things. I’m particular about how that stage looks. People ask me a lot, they go, ‘How do you do this every night on stage? How are you so detail-oriented in the middle of all of it?’ and ‘How you keep going like this?’”
The Tennessee native has a Top 5 hit with “Take Her Home,” the debut single from his latest BORN album, out now. The song was written by HARDY, Hunter Phelps and Zach Abend, and written with him in mind.
“You hear that a lot when people send you songs. ‘We wrote a song with you in mind.,’” Chesney says on Audacy’s Superstar Power Hour (via American Songwriter). “Sometimes it resonates and sometimes it don’t.”
Fortunately, this time it worked, and Chesney knew as soon as he heard it that he wanted to include it on his new record.
“I went, ‘Wow! I’ve been looking for this for a while,’” Chesney remembers. “It’s one of those life-moment songs. I just felt like, in my head, I knew that it was very well done … I knew that there would be a part of this song that would really resonate with [my fans].”
“I drove around in my car and I listened to it over and over,” he continues. “I bet I listened to it 15 times in a row. And, I said ‘If I hear this on the radio by someone else, I’m gonna be really mad at myself.’”
Chesney is joined on tour by Zac Brown Band, Megan Moroney and Uncle Kracker serving as his opening acts. Find “Take Her Home” and all of Chesney’s music and upcoming shows at KennyChesney.com.