Kenny Chesney photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.
Kenny Chesney didn’t do a major tour in 2010, but it was just a one-summer vacation.
He’s mapping out another big concert schedule for 2011 and it includes nine stadium dates that pair him with Zac Brown Band, according to the Associated Press.
The first of the announced dates is March 19 when they play Tampa.
Kenny Chesney photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.
Kenny Chesney’s new CD, Hemingway’s Whiskey, got off to a great start — it’s at No. 1 on both the Billboard Country Albums chart and the all-genre Billboard 200.
The top of the country list is a place Kenny’s very familiar with. It marks the tenth time he has had a No. 1 country album.
But it’s also a bit of a different market than it once was. Kenny sold 183,000 copies of Hemingway in the album’s first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and those numbers are good enough to make it the fourth best-selling album of the entire third quarter, even though it was available for only the final week of that period. Still, there were other times in his career that Kenny sold more than half a million in his debut week.
The 48th Annual ASCAP Country Music Awards were handed out on September 14, 2010 at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium. Pictured (l-r): Dierks Bentley, Artist/Songwriter of the Year; Josh Kear Song of the Year for “Need You Now,”; Chris DuBois, Publisher of the Year, Sea Gayle Music ; Brett James, Songwriter of the Year and Tim DuBois, ASCAP vice-president and managing executive, Nashville. Photo by Kay Williams.
Dierks Bentley won Songwriter/Artist of the Year, Josh Kear took Song of the Year for co-writing “Need You Now” with Lady Antebellum, and Brett James walked off with Songwriter of the Year during the star-studded ASCAP Country Music Awards for songwriters Tuesday at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium.
Dierks picked up the Songwriter/Artist trophy after two of his songs — “Sideways” and “I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes” — were recognized among the performing rights agency’s most performed songs of the year.
Dierks played a bluegrass version of “Sideways” during the two-hour presentation in which each of ASCAP’s Top 5 songs was rendered live. Chris Young sang “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song),” songwriter David Lee Murphy played “Big Green Tractor,” Darius Rucker offered “Alright” and Josh Kear teamed with Lady A for a dramatic acoustic version of “Need You Now.” Josh was cheered heavily by the songwriting community when he sang some of the lines that Charles Kelley usually sings — Josh proved he was an admirable singer in addition to being an ace songwriter.
Kenny Chesney photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.
With a holiday on the calendar for Sunday, it’s party time for lots of folks, and that includes Kenny Chesney, who’s headed to Las Vegas for the Fourth of July weekend.
Kenny’s taken the year off from his typical summer stadium concerts, but he’s still sprinkled his datebook with a handful of shows, including performances at The Joint in Vegas on Friday and Saturday. The venue only holds 4,000 people — a big difference from the tens of thousands that pack the NFL sites he’s played over the last few years — but potentially millions can hear the Friday show live on Kenny’s web-based No Shoes Radio.
Kenny Chesney (l) photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville; Dave Matthews photo courtesy of Red Light Management.
When Kenny Chesney performs at The 43rd Annual CMA Awards on Nov. 11, he’ll share the mic with rock artist Dave Matthews on their new duet, “I’m Alive.” Kenny and Dave recorded the song for Kenny’s Lucky Old Sun album and it’s also the current single from Kenny’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 CD.
“I’m Alive” was originally recorded by Willie Nelson for Willie’s 2008 album, Moment Of Forever (which was produced by Kenny).
Other performers already announced include Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Billy Currington, Vince Gill and Daughtry, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Zac Brown Band. Continue Reading
Kenny Chesney photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.
Kenny Chesney’s collaboration with Dave Matthews, “I’m Alive,” hit No. 12 last week on the Country Aircheck singles chart. It’s an achievement that’s four years in the making, going back to the first time they met at Farm Aid in 2005.
“I had already written ‘I’m Alive,’ and Dave told me he loved that ‘I’m Alive’ song and that he felt like that would be something that would fit on one of his records to stand alone,” Kenny recalls. “I said ‘Well, why don’t we try doin’ it?’ Continue Reading
Kenny Chesney photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.
Kenny Chesney’s known for having a good time onstage and on the islands. But in his new video for “I’m Alive,” he shows a deeper side.
“Somebody said to me that it’s been a long time since anyone’s seen my soul in one of these clips,” says Kenny. “And you know, they may be right – because you get so caught up in the energy, in the show, in the good times of these songs, why would you go there? But for this song, well, it just seemed like the right thing to do – and Shaun [director Shaun Silva] and his guys really captured the essence of who I am.”
Kenny’s self-penned “I’m Alive” originally appeared on Willie Nelson’s Moment of Forever album. This time, Kenny welcomed his good friend, Dave Matthews on the song. Continue Reading
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