Preview of Kenny Chesney's Sun City Carnival Tour!
“We went out last night”…goes the Kenny Chesney song, the first unreleased cut on his new BNA Greatest Hits 2 CD.
When you are the biggest ticket seller in North America in any genre in the 21st century you tend to do things big which is why Kenny Chesney did what he did last night.
Kenny decided to fly in about ten radio people to see his show in Little Rock, Arkansas at Alltel Arena and allowed us to have a little chat with him before the show. A lot of artists do the chat thing. It’s called a Meet n’ Greet. You share a couple quips with the artist, they shake your hand, take a picture and you float away on stardust.
This is Kenny Chesney though. He brought us into his personal “Vibe Room” which has been constructed by his crew for each and every show Kenny Chesney does this year, complete with a real wood bar that seats ten, palm fronds, bar kitsch, uh, booze, plenty of Corona beer from his sponsor and a traveling bartender. Drinks are on the house.
So, although we are somewhere in the bowels of the Alltel arena, we could be at a homey dive in Key West this place is so authentic. We set down comfortably on our bar stools and in walks the most unassuming yet amazing superstars in country music today.
Kenny sits down with us at this semi-circular bar and proceeds to chat, tell stories and answer questions for forty-five minutes. While Coronas are generously passed along the bar, Kenny chooses to stay with his coffee and some bar peanuts. Now who else in country music does something like this? Kenny will say, “it’s no big deal” but it is!
And the answers he gives are not run of the mill, post-game locker room answers. We’re all so media savvy now that most artists know the answers to give to the medias pretty standard questions.
Not Kenny.
He reacts to what he’s asked, blushes sometimes, though it’s hard to tell through that island tan, assures us it’s not spray-on, gives an answer and then says, “no what I meant to say”…and corrects himself.
He refers back to previous questions he feels he may not have answered fully enough and remembers who asked what.
Voila! Communication. Entertainment.
In an age where many radio show hosts aren’t even where they say they are while “hosting” shows in several markets simultaneously, Kenny Chesney shows up in person and works this room like a parish priest. The whole thing was recorded and professionally edited by Kenny’s record label and made available to everyone for airing at our discretion.
But the best was yet to come when the show started.
I’ve never seen an opening act pack an arena like Lady Antebellum and maybe it’s their two consecutive number one hits and their Academy of Country Music award for Best New Group but no matter the reason, before Lady A started , the arena was about thirty percent full. As soon as the music began, I turned to view the crowd and it was ninety-nine per cent full. Amazing. Charles, David and Hillary did not disappoint with a great first set.
Miranda Lambert was the next act going on just before Kenny. Now I’ve seen Miranda Lambert on stage before and she’s always done a fine job. A good number of hits including Gunpowder and Lead among them, and a lot of devoted female fans. But Miranda has now taken her act to another level.
She not only found a stage she likes, Miranda Lambert was on a stage she owned.
Brash, tender, emotional, sexy and in charge of a band with very talented musicians. Her country songs were all smash hits but I gotta’ say her rendition of Rod Stewarts Stay With Me and Joan Jetts I Love Rock and Roll were stunning crowd pleasers.
But we really were all there to see the 4 time Entertainer of the year, Kenny Chesney.
First of all, so as not to ruin the show for the audiences yet to see the Sun City Carnival, let me just say that Kenny literally flies through his fan base with the greatest of ease.
And again, with a brilliant performance, solid number one hits and great showmanship, Kenny presents it all with the ease, grace and hospitality he showed us about an hour ago in the “Vibe Room”. Kenny Chesney is as much fun to watch as LeBron James, Peyton Manning and Sidney Crosby. They all make it look easy.
I’ve probably seen over a half dozen Kenny shows even before he was footing the whole bill with a long line of semis and tour busses and crew but the man the next year is always better than the man the previous year. Audience members just shake their heads, “How does he do it?” This is of course, the reason why they keep coming back.
Dare I say, Garth Brooks remains the best entertainer in country music but with Garth you can see the work wheels turning. We know how hard Garth works to please an audience and he never misses. With Kenny though, it looks effortless yet we know he’s working his butt off. But like all great actors, you never see them working.
Best actor or Best act. This year, again, Kenny Chesney is not to be missed.
In a jet somewhere over Memphis at 2;30 the next day
