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Post by yoohoo on Jul 2, 2008 11:17:05 GMT -5
Kenny Chesney's Near Miss
July 1, 2008 — One of the most-common mistakes people make in the music industry is over-thinking things, and Kenny Chesney almost did that on what turned out to be one of the biggest hits of his career.
Kenny released "Don’t Blink" last August, and it spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Country Aircheck singles chart. It also finished at No. 15 on GAC’s year-end countdown of the top videos of the year, even though it had only about three months to rack up votes. And yet?
"I almost didn’t record ‘Don’t Blink,’" Kenny told WSIX-FM in Nashville yesterday, "because I’ve never really liked songs that preached to people."
Its message about the temporary nature of life is one that could be fairly heavy-handed were it written another way, but it’s a universal issue, and it certainly hit home with Kenny when "Don’t Blink" got presented to him.
"I was in some kind of personal funk when I heard that song," he confessed. "It reminded me that we should take every day and thank God for it and get the most out of life that we possibly can. That’s why I recorded that song."
Kenny’s appearance on WSIX came as he promotes this Saturday’s concert at Nashville’s LP Field. It’s part of his Poets & Pirates summer tour, and the bill also features Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Sammy Hagar and Gary Allan.
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Post by yoohoo on Jul 2, 2008 11:18:22 GMT -5
High prices not keeping Chesney fans away
By Andrew Dowd Leader-Telegram staff Katie Bohatta made a large poster with "We Party 7-3 3-11 11-7" spelled out in bottle caps and pasted it to the trailer at her Country Fest campsite.
The poster is a reference to Kenny Chesney's song, "Shiftwork" which is about working long days at blue-collar jobs and then ditching work to party all day long.
Chesney's fans likely had to spend a few extra hours working to pay to see him and spend time partying at Country Fest.
Festival promoters agreed in June 2007, to pay $1 million for the country music star to make his return performance to the rural Cadott music festival after appearing there in 2003 for $325,000.
The hefty paycheck and its impact on ticket prices got mixed reviews from some of his fans who were at the festival Friday afternoon.
Ruth Ann Kobs, 26, of New Richmond said she's glad the festival got Chesney but thought the one-day ticket holders got hit with a hefty increase.
"That a lot, $130," she said.
A general admission ticket for Thursday, Friday or Sunday cost $87.50, but to see tonight's lineup, including Chesney, fans have to fork over $129. With VIP tickets sold out early this year, the increase didn't appear to deter country fans.
Kobs and Bohatta, 24, of New Richmond had four-day admission tickets and saw a smaller increase of $30 over last year for $15 bumps in ticket and camping prices.
A 10-year veteran of Country Fest, Bohatta said she noticed the increase but did not hesitate to get tickets.
Even though she was a little bummed about the price hike, Kobs also said she was excited to see Chesney.
"I love Kenny. I love his music," she said.
Crystal Byers, 22, of Eau Claire has seen Chesney's concerts on TV and expected him to put on a good show tonight that would pack the festival grounds.
"It's gonna be crazy," she said.
Her friend, Margo Larson, 22, of Eau Claire said young people are drawn to Chesney because he's one of the biggest rising stars in country, whereas other acts at the festival are known for their older hits.
"He's the newer one," she said.
However, the two Eau Claire women said they were the most excited to see Friday night's main act, Brooks and Dunn. They said they preferred the "classic" country songs they grew up on rather than newer groups that have a lot of rock influence in their sound.
Gabe Jorgensen, 29, of Duluth, Minn., won two tickets in a radio contest and a bus trip Friday to Country Fest.
Admittedly more of a rock fan, Jorgensen said there's only a couple country stars he'd pay a big ticket price to see.
"I'd pay to see Tim McGraw or Toby Keith," he said.
His girlfriend, Katie Erickson, 26, of St. Paul said while she's more of a country fan, she'd rather pay the high price to see her favorite band, the Dixie Chicks. The real die-hard fans of Chesney likely didn't have a problem paying the higher price, Erickson said.
For the Minnesota pair, they said their favorite part of Friday afternoon was spending the day far away from city life with a view of the bucolic rural Cadott fields surrounding the festival.
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Post by yoohoo on Jul 7, 2008 11:08:53 GMT -5
Chesney sank into depression after divorce from Zellweger
London, July 4: Country singer Kenny Chesney was so depressed after his brief marriage to Renee Zellweger ended that he couldn't write songs or perform for fans.
Chesney confessed that he was deeply depressed and that it took him a long time to get back to normal life.
Contactmusic.com quoted him saying: "There was a period at the end of 2005 and all of 2006 where I never took the guitar case out of the closet when I was at home. I was in such a personal funk after the Renee thing that I could have played every day of the week and wouldn't have felt much joy from it."
Now he feels he is back to his best.
He added: "I feel like I've got my edge back. I'm more in the moment... than I have been the last couple of years, and I notice more of the good things."
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Post by yoohoo on Jul 7, 2008 11:10:02 GMT -5
Review: Sammy Hagar at Kenny Chesney's LP Field Show By PETER COOPER • July 5, 2008
The "One of These Things Is Not Like the Other" prize of the evening goes to Sammy Hagar, who played in between LeAnn Rimes and Keith Urban. Twelve thoughts on Hagar:
1) The cover of Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar" was an interesting touch, and people seemed to appreciate it.
2) He wore a "Cabo Wabo" t-shirt, pushing his own tequila brand and cantina. I think you have to be a Ramone to look cool onstage wearing your own T-shirt.
3) His version of "Why Can't This Be Love" sounded like a cover version, even though he was Van Halen's lead singer when the song was recorded.
4) Hagar is an inherently affable presence onstage, and his mid-set hand-shaking and autograph-signing helped him connect with the country-loving crowd.
5) HIe was introduced as "The Red Rocker." I firmly believe we should go back to having more nicknames in Nashville-based music. We used to have "The Storyteller," "The Man In Black," "The Thin Man From West Plains" and many more. Now, everybody wants to use their real name. Pity.
6) I wouldn't have thought I would be wanting more guitar during a Sammy Hagar set, but they should have turned the guitars up. The sound is muffled, heavy on kick drums and bass and lacking in definition, distortion and growl.
7) There were more Hagar fans here than I would have suspected. He's bringing some fans to this show that wouldn't have been here otherwise.
8) "I Can't Drive 55" would be a good song for a country band to cover.
9) He can still hit the high notes, as on "Where Eagles Fly."
10) For most of the set, overall reception to Hagar was lukewarm, with pockets of hot in sections where "his" crowd was a big part of the population. But I think he was a nice segue from the hot mid-afternoon into the evening. The guy brings a "have a good time" vibe that fits in well with the mantras of Urban and Chesney.
11) "We want to tell you a little story," he said, before playing "Mas Tequila." "A little story about the way we like to party." I'm going to use that line the next time I'm at Bobby's Idle Hour.
12) At the end of Hagar's set, he got what was probably the biggest round of applause of the still-early evening.
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Post by yoohoo on Jul 8, 2008 11:09:08 GMT -5
Review: Kenny Chesney headlines the Poets & Pirates Tour at LP Field By PETER COOPER • July 5, 2008 It’s tough to draw a crowd in Nashville.
We see big stars at the Kroger and the Pancake Pantry, and every third person here is a close, personal friend of Vince Gill. We can adopt pets from Emmylou Harris and brawl with Kid Rock and Adam “Pac Man” Jones at the strip clubs, so maybe the glitz factor isn’t much of an attraction in the 615.
And while we’re justifiably known as the Music City because of the staggering array of talented players and singers based here, we’re also known as a “soft” live market because… it’s tough to draw a crowd in Nashville.
World-class musicians play clubs like The Family Wash and Norm’s River Roadhouse, where a good night brings in an audience of, say, 45-50 people.
Tonight, Kenny Chesney and his Poets and Pirates tour draw more than 49,000 to LP Field. This is a place that usually sits idle and empty when it’s not football season, save for the annual CMA Music Festival.
And this is a time when fuel costs and the general decline of the music business make it nearly impossible to fill stadiums in America.
And, why Chesney? He’s more than twice Taylor Swift’s age, and he’s not a deft guitar player like Keith Urban and his show isn’t one long, choreographed musical backdrop to pre-recorded videos, and he doesn’t even use a vocal tuner to correct any mistakes (“I’m pitchy, and I know that,” he said. “If I have too good a time the night before, the fans can hear it. Just part of the moment.”).
Tonight, there were more than 49,000 people who raised their voices in a big and unified, “That’s why Chesney.” He promises, and delivers, a good time.
There are contemplative moments, like current No. 1 single “Better As A Memory,” which is as good a big country radio hit as there has been since “Whiskey Lullaby.”
But for the most part, this is an up show, in tempo and volume and message. In Chesney’s set, hard work reaps rewards, youth and home and real love sacred, life has meaning and music is to be loved but not analyzed.
That said, if singing positive songs was the key to stadium-filling success then Miley Cyrus would be attracting massive audiences… okay, bad example. My point, and I do have one, is that Chesney has also figured out how to deliver those songs in a way that plays to the furthest reaches of the third deck.
People talk a lot about the performing arts, but Chesney has studied the performing craft. His is a show of intention, in the same way that Springsteen’s is.
I’m not saying that a Chesney show is the equal of Springsteen’s show — and Springsteen is a for-the-ages writer and recording artist whereas Chesney is a new millennium superstar who has written some of his own hits — but I am saying that both of those men think a lot about the arc of a performance, about the importance of stage plots and physical space and comments and gestures and other things beyond the song.
It’s possible to luck into enormous success, but such success does not continue unless people continue to be entertained.
Saturday, they were entertained. Chesney opened with “Live Those Songs Again,” emerging via elevator to a spot that would have been the 35 yard line had the Titans been playing.
His show a greatest-hits set of sorts, with the biggest surprise coming when he invited Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland to come out and sing “Stay.”
It was a nicely paced set, with the only oddity coming at the very end. Chesney closed with the wish-it-was-forgettable “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” a (hugely popular) novelty number that doesn’t fall much in line with the rest of the set list.
As that song neared its conclusion, lots of folks began to leave, probably to beat the intense traffic.
And when the song ended, Chesney stayed and signed autographs and shook hands while the band played a groove-based instrumental and thousands of people filed out.
Chesney is a master of timing, so it seemed odd that he would allow himself to watch fans leave, rather than the other way around.
Otherwise, the show was pretty well beyond criticism. He was, as he’d promised, pitchy at times, but the concert was much more about the spirit of the moment than about any technical issues.
Earlier, Keith Urban went over great even after losing his voice. Chesney played to every part of the stadium, without ever seeming frenetic or overly anxious the way that some performers do when they find themselves in such massive environs.
My point, and I do have one, is this: Kenny Chesney gets to do this because Kenny Chesney knows how to do this. At this point, it’s tough for him not to draw a crowd. Even in Nashville.
KENNY CHESNEY SET LIST
Live Those Songs Again Summertime Beer In Mexico Keg In The Closet I Go Back Wild Ride Big Star No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems Don’t Blink Shift Work Living In Fast Forward Young Never Wanted Nothing More Better As A Memory Back Where I Come From Stay (lead vocals by Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland, with Chesney harmonizing) Don’t Happen Twice When The Sun Goes Down How Forever Feels Anything But Mine She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy
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Post by yoohoo on Jul 11, 2008 11:08:01 GMT -5
Q&A / KENNY CHESNEY, singer: Songwriter's perfect spot: 'On my boat'
By Jon Waterhouse For the Journal-Constitution
Published on: 07/11/08 Halfway through headlining one of the most high-profile music tours of the summer, Kenny Chesney keeps the promise of sweet release tucked under his ubiquitous hat.
When the Poets & Pirates Tour, which hits Turner Field on Sunday, wraps in September, Chesney will grab his Jimmy Buffett Signature Edition Martin guitar —- a gift from Buffett himself —- and seek songwriting inspiration aboard his boat in the near-translucent waters of the Virgin Islands.
But before that, there's work to do. During these tight economic times, Chesney is the only act doing an extended stadium tour, having sold nearly 1 million tickets this summer. His single "Better Than a Memory" has hit No. 3 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, giving him the longest run of country Top 10s this century.
Yet he manages to hang onto his Everyman attitude and persona, which is part of the reason he's packing stadiums typically reserved for rock-a-sauruses like the Rolling Stones.
While plans are already in the works for next year's tour, Chesney has his sights set on that upcoming songwriting sabbatical, crafting material with that guitar given by equally notorious island aficionado Buffett.
"Jimmy's a great songwriter, so I'll try to get whatever energy I can from it," Chesney says with a laugh.
Q: After anticipating these big shows, how do you gear back down when they're over?
A: When you play the stadiums, sometimes people think that's the way it's always been, and that's not true. Yeah, it's very exciting for us, and we do build it up. And I do anyway, because I know that moment, the two hours that I'm up there, I've got to be able to do my best. So everything I do during the week to get ready for that show is based on that moment. I don't go out, I don't talk a lot. I really try to prepare. ... It's very exciting, it all gets built up, and then it's over [laughs]. Like the other night [July 5] in Nashville, 50,000 people were out there. And I woke up the next morning, and it was over.
One of the challenges is keeping it all in perspective. We, as a band, have played in just about every place you could play throughout the years, trying to get to this point.
We're doing a couple of festivals this year where we don't have any production at all. That kind of keeps us grounded and kind of helps us get back to reality just a little bit.
Q: What's the best setting for songwriting?
A: I can tell you it's not on the road. ... It's just a hard environment for me to do that. The perfect setting for me is on my boat down in the islands. I get inspired down there. A boat, to me, brings out a whole lot of emotion, and I wrote a song about it that's going to be on the next record.
After the tour is over, that's where I get my creative juices back. And it's kind of ironic, because it's also a time that I want to get as far away from music as I can, because I'm pretty burnt by the end of August or September. Then I realize it's not the music that I'm burned out on, it's just everything else that surrounds it.
It's kind of a way for me to get back to the basics with just me, a guitar, a pen and a notebook pad. ... That allows me to go back out and do it again. I take that time also to reflect and realize how lucky I am. Usually by November, I start to get itching again, especially during Christmas. And that's kind of the way our cycle has been for years, and I hope it never changes. I hope I always feel excited to go play music.
Q: The current tour features several opening acts, some of which periodically join you on stage, as well as unbilled guests. How's that working?
A: It is organic, because no two shows are exactly the same. Keith Urban comes up and sings with us sometimes. The other night in Nashville, Jennifer Nettles got up and sang. Anybody who comes to the show, I'm going to get them up there and make them work. Steve Miller came to our San Francisco show and played about 20 or 30 minutes with us.
Every night's a little different as far as special guests. ... That's a shared moment that we won't experience ever again, because the same exact people aren't ever going to be there at the same time again. And that's what makes live music so special.
Q: You began your career as a songwriter, but the material on your latest record ("Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates") was penned by other writers.
A: Ironically, a lot of the songs, like "Don't Blink" and "Never Wanted Nothing More," are really personal and about my life, even though I didn't write one word of [them]. It wasn't that I didn't write songs for this record, but it's just they didn't hit home as well as the ones that I didn't write.
That was a first for me. I've always had at least a couple of songs I've written. The next album is going to be different. I've written almost half of the record.
Q: Do you think your celebrity sometimes overshadows your work?
A: I love being successful in music. But I don't love being famous and whatever celebrity status that comes with it. I think it takes away from creativity. ... That's one of the challenges for me right now. I scratch and claw for everything that I can get as far as writing a song.
There are parts of [being successful] that I love. Being able to play Turner Field? Yeah.
Q: We discovered you have a strong local connection —- your first record, "In My Wildest Dreams," was released in 1993 on the now-defunct Atlanta-based Capricorn Records. [The disc, reportedly promoted poorly, sold about 100,000 copies.]
A: [Capricorn founder] Phil Walden was the first guy in the music business to ever believe in me. It was a frustrating period as far as commercial success, but I learned a lot with Phil. It was a chance for me to get out there, make a record and start touring. It was during a time when I was just getting started, and I thank God that I didn't experience the kind of success then that I'm experiencing now, because it would be over by now. Because I wouldn't have the base that I have now, the learning curve of the business as far as making records.
Phil was the first one to try and guide me and teach me. He meant a lot to the music business, and I was really honored to work with him. ... He seemed to be really pro-artist, he was an intense person, and he believed in the music and loved music. ... And that passion came through in a lot of ways. ... Everybody who worked around him knew it, and it kind of bled over into my life.
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Post by yoohoo on Jul 14, 2008 11:09:43 GMT -5
CONCERT REVIEW: Country star Chesney delivers at Roberts Stadium By Rebecca Coudret (Contact) Originally published 08:01 a.m., July 11, 2008 Updated 08:01 a.m., July 11, 2008
SHNS / NBC Kenny Chesney headlined Thursday night's concert. It’s been a long couple of years since Kenny Chesney cast his musical spell over — oh, roughly, 9,000 or so people at Roberts Stadium.
In that time, he’s gotten a little older (he turned — gasp! — 40 in March), a lot wealthier, maybe a bit more introspective, and certainly, he’s gotten another gazillion awards.
But as Thursday night’s installment of his “Poets and Pirates Tour” proved, he hasn’t lost any of the enthusiasm or energy that made him one of the most surefire draws in country music history.
And country music has a long, long history.
From the opening chords of “Live Those Songs Again” to the final notes of his quirky “Tractor” song, Chesney had the jam-packed, on-its-feet, screechingly loud crowd rockin’.
It must be terribly gratifying for a performer to sing a song and have 99.9 percent of the people who are watching you be able to sing it back, word for word — including gestures and inflections.
That’s what it was like Thursday night. From “Beer in Mexico” and “Keg in the Closet,” to Chesney standards “I Go Back” and “When the Sun Goes Down,” to the newer “Don’t Blink” and “Never Wanted Nothing More,” he sang — and the Tri-State sang back.
And when it was time for the obligatory “Back Where I Come From,” complete with videos of Evansville, the crowd roared its approval.
It must be terribly gratifying to make so many people so happy.
It must be terribly gratifying to know you’ve taken people on a “Wild Ride” because you’ve honed your craft to the nth degree.
It must be terribly gratifying to be Kenny Chesney.
HHH
Opening the concert was Sgt. Rodney Watts, a serviceman stationed in Fort Campbell, Ky., and a native of Vincennes, Ind., who has strong ties to Evansville. Watts was the local winner of a national talent search.
He has a nice voice and a good back-up band, and while he was a little nervous in the beginning, he grabbed the crowd with his second and third songs.
That third song, “I’m Coming Home,” which was sung with six soldiers standing onstage, was warmly received — and it’s difficult to imagine any video having more impact than those six young men, in uniform, standing at ease as people cheered.
Following Watts was Gary Allan, who sauntered onstage and had his share of fans in the crowd.
His voice is a bit gravelly, and his music often sounds more heavy metal than country, but he might just be an acquired taste.
Time will tell.
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Post by yoohoo on Jul 18, 2008 11:20:27 GMT -5
Kenny Chesney brings down home to amphitheater
The Virginian-Pilot © July 18, 2008 Frank Roberts
Correspondents
It was a lovely night at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater. The weather was ideal, there was a pleasant breeze and a beautiful full moon.
It seemed the perfect setting for a romantic evening - until Kenny Chesney and company showed up. Then, 'all-hell-broke-loose' and the night became rowdy and riotous.
He performed before a full house - a 'house' full of fans who shouted their approval from top to bottom.
Chesney is loud and, to quote one of his songs, he "Got A Little Crazy."
The concert was upbeat - way upbeat, with songs delivered in a frenzy by a four-times-in-a-row Entertainer Of the Year.
Chesney is a bundle of energy moves around as if he had swallowed a vial of Mexican jumping beans.
All of that is accompanied by splashy visuals.
Chesney has a big voice, the enthusiasm of a kid on Christmas morning, an infectious smile and a catalog of pretty decent songs.
The hits were present and accounted for - "Beer In Mexico," When the Sun Goes Down," and the Deere gem, "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy."
All pretty good stuff, but the night's highlights came when he offered songs by some of his noncountry heroes. There was "The Joker," from the Steve Miller Band, Bob Marley's "Don't Worry About A Thing."
The highlight of highlights was a song from before Chesney hotbed of mass adulation, a song he sang constantly in his club days, David Allen Coe's, "You Don't Have To Call Me Darling, Darling."
One of country music's darlings opened the show with an energetic performance. Leann Rimes and her powerhouse voice offered her raucous offerings. Good stuff, but it became one shout after another.
She must be tired of "Blue," the song that made her a star. She sang about a minute's worth.
The opening act was a complete unknown, Kevin Mack, a young man with a very good voice. If luck matches his talent he could have a decent future in this rough business.
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Post by yoohoo on Jul 21, 2008 11:16:21 GMT -5
Chesney and friends: Lightweight at the Linc By Sam Adams
FOR THE INQUIRER
By the time Kenny Chesney took the stage at Lincoln Financial Field a little after 9 last night, some of his fans had been baking in the 90-degree heat for more than six hours, their bodily fluids sapped by salty foods and 16-ounce beers. But Chesney wasn't about to let the festivities wind down.
"Thank you so much for letting us join the party," he told the crowd of more than 50,000, as if he'd wandered in from the parking lot while looking for a good time.
Good times are to Chesney what lawbreaking was to Johnny Cash, or heartbreak to Patsy Cline. Over the course of two hours and two dozen songs, Chesney never went more than a few minutes without referencing the joys of letting loose, usually with the aid of a handy six-pack.
Such mindful devotion to mindless indulgence is bound to exhaust the available material, and even Nashville's finest songwriters haven't been able to prevent Chesney's keg from running dry. "Everything is hotter when the sun goes down" sounds less like a call to all-night partying than the slogan for a tropical resort. Framed by beer-company banners, Chesney's concert came off as one big lifestyle ad.
With the help of a dozen musicians, including a four-piece horn section and a steel drummer, Chesney flavored his easygoing anthems with touches of ska and calypso, mixed with guitar solos out of 1970s album rock.
Although he's nominally a country artist (you could tell by the muscle shirt and cowboy hat he wore on stage), Chesney's the musical equivalent of the guy with the lampshade on his head. He'll do anything if people seem to like it enough.
His dogged desire to please has paid dividends: more than 25 million albums sold, and three consecutive awards for Entertainer of the Year from the Academy of Country Music.
But when Chesney reminisced about the songs of his youth in "I Go Back," it clarified what's missing from his own songs. The pungent details of John Mellencamp's "Jack and Diane" handily eclipse "Shiftwork," a vague blue-collar anthem Chesney dedicated to people who "work for a living." Sorry, trust-fund Chesney fans.
Keith Urban, whose alcohol-related rehab stays have been tabloid fodder for several years, steered clear of party anthems, although he did give a shout-out to the designated drivers in the crowd. Less than two weeks after the birth of Urban's first daughter, his songs about weathering turmoil and making the best of second chances seemed to have gained extra weight, though not enough to interfere with their feather-light construction.
In the post-alternative era, the banished cliches of stadium rock found a new home in the country arena, which is why it was only slightly odd to see Sammy Hagar amid the big-hat crowd. Dressed in performance sandals and plaid cargo shorts, Hagar looked like an aging beach bum. He even set up his own onstage tiki bar. But the music was pure '80s metal, a version of Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar" notwithstanding. A little of Hagar's party-boy scream goes a long way, but not nearly long enough to sustain an hour-long set.
Leann Rimes' songs are nearly as single-minded as Chesney's. She sings about being in love, looking for love and getting over love, all with the same soaring voice. As a teenager, Rimes was bruited as the heir to Patsy Cline, but when she sang a few bars of her first hit, "Blue," rearranged as thingytail jazz, the heartbreak never pierced to her core.
Rimes' voice is an astonishing instrument, but it's as malleable as plastic, and about as soulful.
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Post by yoohoo on Jul 25, 2008 11:24:15 GMT -5
Keith Urban vs. Kenny Chesney: You may choose only one! Jul 23, 2008, 06:00 AM | by Mandi Bierly
Categories: Country Y'all!, Music, On the Scene
Saturday night, I caught Keith Urban and Kenny Chesney on Chesney's Poets and Pirates Tour at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. It was the day I'd been waiting for since February, when, after seeing Urban rock Madison Square Garden, I found myself wondering how, year after year, Chesney could manage to win Entertainer of the Year. I understand it now, but I still don't agree with it...
My sister, a longtime Chesney fan, had always raved about Kenny's crowd control, and it's true: the people love him. They sing every word to every song, pausing only to say that they love him (my sister) or to curse when they spill their beer or fruity beverages (the people seated behind us). Chesney works the stage so hard, in fact, that he starts sweating through his T-shirt during the opening song — which you've got to respect. And he clearly wants you to feel as though he's partying with you (I'm sure the people who joined him in multiple renditions of the Eagles' fight song believed that he was).
I sang along to "Living in Fast Forward" and "Anything But Mine" as loudly as the next person, but if you told me that I could only see one of them, Kenny or Keith, in concert again, I'd choose Keith. Not all of the songs I listen to have to mention sand and some kind of fruit wine. (Okay, only three-quarters of Kenny's songs do that.) And I love watching Keith play the guitar. He actually picked up a gift from a fan with his teeth so that he didn't miss a note. (You've got to respect that as much, or more.)
Luckily, country fans don't have to choose between the two. But if you did, who would it be?
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Post by yoohoo on Jul 28, 2008 11:20:47 GMT -5
Kenny Chesney to Join All-Star Lineup for Farm Aid's First New England Music Festival
Last update: 5:00 a.m. EDT July 28, 2008 SOMERVILLE, Mass., July 28, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Farm Aid today announced that country star Kenny Chesney will join board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews for its first-ever New England music festival at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, Mass. on Sept. 20. "American family farmers are what this country is built on ... and they have fed us and kept us strong and healthy for how many generations?" said Chesney, who is from Luttrell, Tennessee. "Growing up in a small town outside Knoxville, it was a big part of who we were -- and it's something we as a country shouldn't lose. If I can help be part of that -- whether it's raising money, or awareness, or just letting those family farmers know someone knows and cares -- well, that's why I'm coming to New England." Singer/songwriter Kenny Chesney is a four-time Country Music Association and three-time, as well as the current, Academy of Country Music's Entertainer of the Year. He will bring his unique country sound to Farm Aid's annual benefit concert just weeks after closing his sell-out Poets & Pirates 2008 Tour. Tickets for Farm Aid 2008 Presented by Whole Foods Market and Horizon Organic will go on sale July 28 at 10 a.m. EDT and are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com, livenation.com or by calling (866) 448-7849. Tickets are priced at $35 for lawn, $55 for uncovered seats, $95 for covered seats and $200 for VIP plus a $7 parking and facility fee for all tickets. The day-long festival will celebrate music and good food, featuring hands-on activities in the HOMEGROWN Village that will showcase the direct connection between who is growing our food and what we eat every day. The concert event will again feature family-farm identified, local and organic foods at concessions, setting an example of the many ways that family farm food can be integrated into the general marketplace. Other top artists will be announced. "Farm Aid is a movement inspired not only by the passion of Farm Aid board artists Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews but also by the more than 300 artists who have donated their performances at our shows year after year," said Carolyn Mugar, executive director of Farm Aid. "We are proud to again welcome Kenny Chesney to the Farm Aid stage for what will prove to be a remarkable day of music, food, awareness and action." Farm Aid's mission is to build a vibrant family farm-centered system of agriculture in America. Farm Aid artists and board members Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews host an annual concert to raise funds to support Farm Aid's work with family farmers and to inspire people to choose family-farmed food. Since 1985, Farm Aid has raised more than $30 million to support programs that help farmers thrive, expand the reach of the Good Food Movement, take action to change the dominant system of industrial agriculture and promote food from family farms. SOURCE Farm Aid
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Post by yoohoo on Aug 5, 2008 10:42:29 GMT -5
Kenny's "Jammin'" with Bob Marley's Wailers
Aug. 4, 2008 — Ever since Kenny Chesney shot the video for "How Forever Feels" in the Virgin Islands 10 years ago, his career has been associated with beach culture, so it’s appropriate that for his next video, "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven," he bopped off to Jamaica.
Even more appropriately, he coaxed Bob Marley’s former band, the Wailers, to take part in the shoot, Dial-Global reports.
"They were so generous with us in terms of their time and the stories they'd tell us," Kenny notes. "We sat up one night on the beach, and they shared the whole history of the band, the struggles they had. I got to interview them for something we may do later. Those guys are a huge part of history, whether people realize it or not. The music they had a hand in creating is so universal. It doesn't matter where you go, you can hear the Wailers drifting out of some club or shop or car or boat, and they are so humble for everything they've been a part of."
A lot of the songs Kenny’s been a part of are making marks in new ways. A couple of his hits from the "How Forever Feels" era — "She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy" and "You Had Me From Hello" — were certified gold ringtones by the Recording Industry Association of America last month.
One of his more recent songs, "Don’t Blink," is featured on an upcoming compilation, NOW That’s What I Call Country. Due Aug. 26, it also features hits by Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Julianne Hough, Jason Michael Carroll and Lady Antebellum.
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Post by yoohoo on Aug 13, 2008 10:53:51 GMT -5
Kenny Chesney Airs Wednesday, August 13 at 7:00 PM
There’s a reason Kenny Chesney received four consecutive ACM Entertainer of the Year awards. Backed by a flawless band and horn section, Chesney presents contemporary country at its finest on this episode of SOUNDSTAGE. Encouraging the audience to leave their problems at the door, he proceeds to blow the roof off with party anthem opener “Beer in Mexico.” Chesney’s musical stylings are diverse during this set, ranging from beachy, tropical homages like “Summertime” to reflective, soft crooners like “Better as a Memory” and “Back Where I Come From.” Bounding back and forth across the stage, his unabashed energy translates into friendly heartland ballads and sincere, feel-good sing-alongs like “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems,” “When the Sun Goes Down” and “Young.” On this truly stellar night, Chesney also performs “Big Star.”
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Post by yoohoo on Aug 25, 2008 10:58:39 GMT -5
Top 20 Concert Tours Associated Press Last updated: Friday, August 22nd, 2008 05:30:26 AM
Reports put country superstar Kenny Chesney at the head of a list of top 20 concert tours. The list is based on average box office gross per city and includes the average ticket price for shows in North America. According to numbers from promoters and venue managers, the trade publication Pollstar says The Police had the second highest grossing tour. They were followed by Dave Matthews Band and Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. Another country act, Rascal Flatts, rounds out the top five.
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Post by yoohoo on Sept 16, 2008 10:38:16 GMT -5
NASHVILLE, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. singer Kenny Chesney earned nominations for seven Country Music Awards, including the prize for Entertainer of the Year, it was announced Wednesday.
"The 42nd annual CMA Awards" is to be broadcast live from the Sommet Center in Nashville Nov. 12 on the ABC Television Network, the Country Music Association said.
Jennifer Nettles was nominated for six awards, George Strait and Sugarland were each nominated for five, and Alan Jackson and Brad Paisley were each nominated for four.
"Country music thrives on the talent and creativity of an outstanding group of artists and they are well represented with our nominees," CMA Chief Executive Officer Tammy Genovese said in a statement. "These talented performers, musicians, songwriters, producers, and directors demonstrate the artistic depth and creativity of our format and the '2008 CMA Awards' will definitely reflect that in November."
"We look forward to this exciting time of the year when ABC spotlights the best and brightest of today's country music artists and their achievements," added Vicki Dummer, Senior Vice President of Alternative Series, Specials and Late-Night at ABC Entertainment. "Today's announcement of these exceptional nominees begins our celebration of one of our biggest nights in programming, the 'CMA Awards.'"
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