Summer is coming early this year for many country music fans this year. Kenny Chesney will be bringing the beach vibes to stadiums across the nation starting this Saturday (April 20). His Sun Goes Down 2024 Tour kicks off in Tampa, Florida at the Raymond James Stadium. He recently revealed that the good vibes he spreads while onstage continue when the show ends.
Chesney recently appeared on Audacy’s Rob + Holly’s Friday Night Takeover. During the chat, he talked about his recent album, Born, and his upcoming tour. While talking about the tour, the East Tennessee native gave some insight into what life is like backstage for him and his tour mates.
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[Kenny Chesney Sun Goes Down Tour: Get Tickets]
Kenny Chesney Believes Touring Should Be Fun, Acts Accordingly
Like many people in a wide array of professional fields, Chesney learned by example. In his case, one of his first tours showed him how he didn’t want to act when he got big enough to headline a tour. “When we started this journey—I’m not going to mention names, obviously—we were out on the road. Being out on the road is hard enough and when you’re out there with people who don’t make it fun, it’s even harder,” he explained.
Chesney didn’t give any details about why that tour wasn’t fun. However, what he said a little later in the conversation may shed some light on the experience. “When you go on the road with people and they’re treated with respect and the fun factor is wonderful it makes for a much better summer,” he explained. “To be able to share that with people has always been a part of what we do. Like I said, it’s hard enough to be out there and not share that,” he added.
[RELATED: Kenny Chesney Burns Up the Charts with His Latest Album ‘Born’]
Chesney Keeps His Ego in Check
Much of the way Kenny Chesney does things behind the scenes has to do with keeping his ego in check. “I’ve got ego up on stage and I think you have to have ego up there to be great, the way we do things,” he said. “But I work really hard on leaving that person up there. I don’t take that person with me backstage or in my everyday life. I’m reminded of him and I’m really glad to see him when I get up there. But I think that’s part of it,” he added.
“It’s always much better when everybody really loves it and there’s a lot of love going around instead of this, I don’t know. If there’s this ‘I belong here and you belong here and this is the way it’s going to be all summer.’ It just sets a weird tone. We’ve never been about that. Ever.”
Looking back on his early days, he said, “I remember being in that moment and going ‘If I ever get to a place where I’m doing this on my own terms, I’m going to do it the way I feel like it should be done.”
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