2003

By KEITH RYAN CARTWRIGHT
For The Tennessean

For the second straight year, Kenny Chesney headlined a sold-out New
Year's Eve gathering at Gaylord Entertainment Center.

Ending a breakout year that included increased media exposure and an
album (No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems) that debuted at No. 1 on the
Billboard chart, Chesney didn't disappoint.

The Luttrell, Tenn., native delivered an absolutely entertaining
performance. With a new stage configuration — a rather heavy metal
look, with multi-levels of steel ramps, a video screen spanning the
back line and a wall of amplifiers — Chesney rocked his way through
staples including Don't Happen Twice, Back Where I Come From and the
all-too-familiar She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy.

As Chesney's popularity has skyrocketed, his craft has improved as
well. His voice has strengthened in the past few years, and he seemed
at once more confident and less cocky than in last year's show here.

Chesney's set list also continues to evolve. Opening with Young, he
and his band showcased newer material like Big Star, A Lot Of Things
Different and upcoming single Live Those Songs. He also invited
former Georgia Satellites frontman Dan Baird onstage for a crowd-
rousing cover of the Satellites' Keep Your Hands To Yourself.

Amped-up duo Montgomery Gentry offered a less-than-perfect
performance (fighting laryngitis, Troy Gentry labored through his
vocals) but ultimately pleased the crowd with blue-collar ditties
Daddy Won't Sell The Farm, Cold One Comin' On and My Town.

While Montgomery Gentry's set proved suitably raucous, the songs
always remained at the root of what they were trying to accomplish.

The same cannot be said of opener Keith Urban, whose lengthy, self-
indulgent guitar solos sapped stage time. With songs like the seven-
week chart topper Somebody Like You, Urban has material that's good
enough to shine on its own, without all the embellishments. Yet his
onstage focus doesn't extend far enough beyond his instrument.

To be fair, perhaps Urban was still distracted by a recent episode
involving the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. During his
set, native New Zealander Urban thanked the INS for allowing him to
make the show. Without getting specific, Urban made reference to an
episode this week in which the INS nearly deported him.

''I said, 'I have a gig to play tomorrow night,' but they didn't
care,'' Urban told the audience. ''I said, 'But there's a lot of
people who do.' '' Urban said he was allowed to fly into Tennessee
late Monday night, arriving in Nashville at 4 a.m. on New Year's Eve.

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Upstaged by the New Year, Chesney Still Has the Last Word

Kenny Chesney left the stage to await his inevitable encore call
about eight minutes before 2003 arrived Wednesday morning at
Nashville's Gaylord Convention Center. By the time he returned to the
spotlight, the new year was nipping at his heels and stealing his
thunder. The singer barely had time to strike up the band before the
balloons dropped and the confetti exploded. From that point on, the
show was effectively over, even though Chesney continued to perform
for another 10 minutes.

Apart from this one gaffe, Chesney's New Year's Eve performance --
which also served to kick off his Margaritas & Senoritas tour -- was
everything his fans hoped for. Most of the audience stood for the
length of the show. Many carried signs. One woman brandished and
alternately displayed three of them: "We Love Kenny," "You're a Big
Star" and "Marry Me, Kenny C./Wanna Know How Forever Feels?"

Montgomery Gentry and Keith Urban opened the festivities. Urban told
the crowd that he had almost been deported to his native Australia
the day before. The near miss may have accounted for the euphoria
evident in every song he did.

Chesney made his arrival on stage at 10:55 p.m. via an elevator that
took him to the top tier of his girder-like multi-level set. Dressed
in a black cowboy hat, sleeveless tight-fitting shirt and equally
snug denims, the BNA Records artist opened with the nostalgic "Live
Those Songs." He returned to this backward-looking theme throughout
his set with such pieces as "Young," "Never Gonna Feel Like That
Again," "Back Where I Come From" and "I Remember." In his fondness
for tunes about teen years and small-town life, Chesney cultivates a
field first plowed by the Statler Brothers.

The sense that Chesney was sharing vivid autobiographical moments
with the audience was enhanced by the giant segmented video screen at
the back of his set, pulsating with lyric-specific clips. Chesney
worked hard for the love his fans showed him, singing a lot and
speaking comparatively little. Because his catalog of hits is so
extensive, he resorted at one point to a medley to crowd a few more
in. Although his voice is firm, sure and recognizable, it may be his
uncanny sense of song that most accounts for his continuing
popularity.

Just before he made his first exit, Chesney invited the Georgia
Satellites' Dan Baird onstage to join him in his cover of the
Satellites' 1986 rave, "Keep Your Hands to Yourself." He closed
with "The Good Stuff" and, after three minutes of applause, encored
with "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems." He was just getting into "She
Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" when the new year hit and the band had to
make a torturous segue into "Auld Lang Syne." This brought the
backstage people onstage where they milled about long enough to slow
the show's momentum. Even so, Chesney and the band played a few more
minutes, wrapping up the evening with John Mellencamp's "Jack &
Diane." For several minutes afterward, the star moved along the
length of the broad stage, touching hands and signing balloons, T-
shirts and other artifacts of worship before boarding the elevator
that returned him to the underworld.

Despite Troy Gentry's near-disabling laryngitis, raucous Montgomery
Gentry was also a big crowd-pleaser. The duo, which has apparently
set its sights on those who find Hank Williams Jr. too cerebral,
worked a stage bracketed by giant Jim Bean bottle blowups. Blasting
their way in with "All Night Long," MG kept the house rocking
with "Bad for Good" and then lowered the decibels (although not
significantly) for "Lonely and Gone" and "Scarecrow."

Eddie Montgomery's hard work and unwavering determination to connect
with the fans at the most visceral level was endearing, but his
incessant yowls of "Are you ready to party?" must have stirred
homicidal fancies in more than one head.

Warming to the party theme, Montgomery picked up a cup from a riser,
hoisted it to the crowd and announced, "I ain't never not drank on
New Year's Eve, and this ain't gonna change a damn thing." Well, who
could argue with that? Introducing "My Town," Montgomery
blustered, "I promise you one thing: Nobody's gonna come into our
town and take it over, `cause we'll kick their ass!" Reassured by
this stand against impending civic disruption, the revelers roared.

Montgomery Gentry rolled on with the truculent "Hell Yeah," "She
Couldn't Change Me" and "Hillbilly Shoes" and encored with the 1979
Blackfoot hit, "Train, Train."

Opener Urban turned his set into a showcase of guitar pyrotechnics,
even as he essayed such contemplative matter as "But for the Grace Of
God," "Rainin' on Sunday" and "Your Everything." Wearing a Bocephus T-
shirt and jeans with "Happy" and "New Year" painted down the front of
the legs, he started with "Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me" and drove on
to "Where the Blacktop Ends."

Midway in, Urban paused and said, "I've got to give a quick thanks to
the INS -- that's the Immigration and Naturalization Service. I was
this close to getting sent back to Australia last night." While he
didn't give the details of his plight, he beamed at having averted
it. He delivered nine songs in his 50-minute program, stretching some
three-minute pieces to near twice that length. The crowd was with him
all the way.

Perhaps it's too much to expect that a New Year's Eve show will have
its quiet moments. This one surely didn't. Even when the three acts
were doing love songs, the approach was more swaggering than subtle.
But if keeping the pot stirred is a fair measure of achievement, then
the event was a resounding success.

Set List

Keith Urban

"Who Wouldn't Want to Be Me"
"Where the Blacktop Ends"
"Rainin' on Sunday"
"But for the Grace of God"
"Somebody Like You"
"Your Everything"
"Jeans On"
"You Look Good in My Shirt"
"It's a Love Thing"

Montgomery Gentry

"All Night Long"
"Bad for Good"
"Lonely and Gone"
"Scarecrow"
"Ramblin' Man"
"Daddy Won't Sell the Farm"
"Cold One Comin' On"
"My Town"
"Hell Yeah"
"She Couldn't Change Me"
"Hillbilly Shoes"
"Train, Train"

Kenny Chesney

"Live Those Songs"
"Young"
"How Forever Feels"
"Never Gonna Feel Like That Again"
"Big Star"
"What I Need to Do"
Medley: "She's Got It All," "Fall in Love," "That's Why I'm Here," "I
Lost It"
"I Remember"
"Back Where I Come From"
"Don't Happen Twice"
"Keep Your Hands to Yourself"
"The Good Stuff"
"No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem"
"She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy"/"Auld Lang Syne"
"Life's Been Good"
"Jack & Diane"

[www.cmt.com]

Kenny's Mentoring on Music
While in New York Tuesday (January 7) to announce this year's Grammy
nominees, Kenny Chesney will also participate in the National Academy
Of Recording Arts and Sciences Mentors reception at LaGuardia High
School in Manhattan.

"The idea of kids having grown-ups who know about music, who are
willing to give back, to help them, what could be better than that?"
said Chesney. "Having a dream that was all about making music, I can
tell you--you don't know where to begin, how to go about it, or even
if you're out of your mind. Something like this helps give young
people both confidence in their ability to make it and the knowledge
that will help them get where they want to be."

Chesney was invited to participate along with producer Nile Rodgers,
Ashanti, Justin Timberlake, and Nelly. Chesney, Timberlake, Ashanti,
Nelly, John Mayer, Cyndi Lauper, Avril Lavigne, and Sean "P. Diddy"
Combs will all be on hand for a press conference in New York City's
Madison Square Garden on Tuesday at 8 a.m. ET to announce the
nominees for the 45th Annual Grammy Awards.

The 45th Annual Grammy Awards will air on CBS from 8-11 p.m. ET on
February 23 (live on the East Coast, tape delayed on the West Coast).
-- Margy Holland, Nashville
1/07/2003

[www.kennychesney.com]

Keep Your Hands To Yourself
Kenny Chesney rang out the old, rang in the new and retired his
summer cover of the Georgia Satellites classic with the help of the
song's writer and Satellite frontman'n'erstwhile Fabulous Yayhoo Dan
Baird onstage the Gaylord Arena in Nashville. The sold-out crowd of
15,000+ shrieked delightedly at the appearance of the gap-toothed
Telecaster slinger - as the pair traded lines and verses of the most
bar-worn song of the modern era!

Chesney, who had 2002's Top Country Tour with his No Shoes, No Shirt,
No Problems Tour, kicks off his Senoritas'n'Margaritas Tour January
16th in Tupelo. He will appear on "Conan O'Brien" Feb 4 as well.

Baird has been producing grass roots rockers and is in the process of
finishing another Yayhoos record, featuring former Del-Lord and Steve
Earle guitarist Eric
Ambel.

1/13/2003

Chesney Talks About "Big Star" on MWL Star

Stardom seldom occurs overnight, but Kenny Chesney saw it happen
faster than that when he filmed his new video. In fact, it only took
actress Penelope Cordova a few hours to make the transition between a
small stage and an arena filled with some of Chesney's most devoted
fans.

Chesney talks about the video for his new single, "Big Star," during
the first episode of the new series, MWL Star. Chesney also
performs "I Can't Go There" when the weekly live-to-tape audience
series premieres Monday (Jan. 13) at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

Chesney is featured in the "Big Star" video, but it's Cordova who
assumes the superstar stance. "I think she was horrified because she
didn't speak English very well," Chesney tells MWL Star host Katie
Cook. "She was a really sweet girl, and she got up in front of
probably 18,000 or 19,000 people in Louisville, Ky., one night and
pretended to be a star.

"It was the shortest trip to stardom that I've ever seen because
earlier in the day she was singing at a karaoke bar and just in a
couple of hours she went through all those steps. She went from that
karaoke bar to doing the meet-and-greets and visiting with fans and
signing autographs after the show and physically being on stage in
front of close to 20,000 people."

Written by Stephony Smith, "Big Star" is featured on Chesney's double-
platinum album No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems. Chesney says, "It's
always been one of my favorite songs on the record, just because of
the message. It's about a dreamer. I'm a dreamer and I've got a lot
of friends that are dreamers.

"One thing I love … is that the girl in this song goes through all
the steps and she works her butt off to achiever her success. And the
moment she does, people start to discount it and they start to say
that, you know, she wasn't really any good and that she slept her way
to the top. They're not taking into account that she went through a
lot of roller coaster rides emotionally and wrote a lot of songs and
really worked on her craft. I've got a lot of friends in this
business that did that.

"I just think that song is very powerful because it definitely shows
that dreams can come true. You've just gotta work very hard for it
and have fun with and be passionate about it. And not ever -- I mean
not ever -- let anybody tell you that you can't do anything. I think
that's why this song is so powerful to me because I had to believe in
myself to get where I am today."

[www.cmt.com]

KENNY CHESNEY'S HOW-TO-GET-BUFF SECRETS "DISCOVERED"

A little over three year's ago, Kenny Chesney decided to get himself
into shape and he's been working out and watching what he eats ever
since. The buffed out change in image has been a discernable asset in
his success since then as well and the Discovery Channel has taken
notice. The channel's "Celebrity Workout" show is traveling to
Tennessee and Florida to document Chesney's training and eating
habits for two upcoming shows on the network.

"We work pretty hard at this stuff," says Chesney of his commitment
to being fit. "I hope people aren't gonna be disappointed that we
don't have any easy tricks or secrets that'll make it easy. It's just
sweaty, sometimes painful stuff -- but when you don't do it, believe
me, you really feel the difference."

[http://www.countrystars.com/]

KC - Million Dollar Weekend

Fresh from performing his CMT: Flameworthy Video of the Year "Young"
on the American Music Awards, Kenny Chesney flew straight to Tupelo,
Mississippi to put the finishing touched on his eagerly-anticipated
and quick-selling Margaritas 'n' Senoritas Tour -- the sequel to his
hotly attended No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems jaunt, cited as
Billboard's Top Country Tour of 2002. And this weekend's three sold-
out performances show the CMA Entertainer, Male Vocalist and Album of
the Year nominee's momentum is only increasing.

"I love being in the studio and I love writing," Chesney admits. "…
The whole process of creating is awesome! But there is nothing,
nothing, like the way you feel when you hear that audience screaming.
You get so fired up by them, you become almost another person. The
way they make you feel, there's nothing you wouldn't do for that
crowd -- and that's why as much as I love everything about this
business, the road will always be what it's about for me."

Grossing over $1 million his very first weekend, he's come a long way
from "hoping enough people show up to not embarrass me" -- which was
his goal at the start of last year's headlining tour in West Palm
Beach. Since then, he's shattered attendance records, had fans
cutting holes in fences to gain access, shown up at a few parking lot
tailgate parties before the doors opened with margaritas for the
fans, been joined onstage by everyone from Peyton Manning to Kid Rock
and "lived my dreams, and then some."

"We really worked hard on putting this show together," Chesney says
of his '03 tour. "I wanted to change things up… put a lot more music
from No Shoes in the set, maybe re-arrange some of the old songs, try
to create a different dynamic and even more energy among the band. I
want everyone who came last year and had a good time to go, 'Whoa…
it's even better this year!
I can't believe I had more fun…'

"Because -- and I say it in the show -- when you come in here, I want
you to leave your problems out there. Whatever happened that day or
that week, I want those people to forget it all and have a good time.
If I do that, or if I can sing some songs that sound like your life,
then I've done my job!"

With his #1 Billboard all-genre Top 200 debut No Shoes, No Shirt, No
Problems being named one of USA Today's Top 10 Country Albums of 2002
as well as being hailed by The Washington Post as "One of the best
coming of age records to come out of Nashville in years," the double-
double and single triple platinum seller understands connecting with
people where they live. Enjoying the first ever advance sell-out of
Nashville's Gaylord Arena's annual New Year's Eve show and scoring
Billboard's Top Country Tour of 2002 with a gross of more than $24
million, it's all about moving people and becoming part of their
lives.

Margaritas 'n' Senoritas moves to the frosty climes of Madison,
Wisconsin, then Grand Forks, North Dakota and Minneapolis, Minnesota
this weekend, then heads South to the far more seasonable Florida
markets. A very few tickets remain for some of these dates, while
several on the tour have already sold out. If you're not one of the
lucky ones -- or your market is later in the
tour -- you can check out People's Sexiest Country Singer Alive Feb 4
on "Conan O'Brien," where he'll perform the title track to his double-
platinum-and-half No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems

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Kenny Chesney Ranks Meeting Jimmy Buffett High On List Of Moments

Kenny Chesney had a big year career-wise in 2002, with Number One
hits, a multiplatinum-selling album, and his first headlining tour, which was
the highest-grossing country tour of the year.
Despite the accolades and feats, Chesney says that one of the biggest
highlights of last year was getting to meet Jimmy Buffett, as he
tells us: ["That was definitely it, 'cause that's one of the reasons--he is one
of the reasons--I wanted to become a songwriter, and so to be able to talk
about music and life and love and all of the above with him was pretty
cool!"] SOUNDCUE (:12 OC: . . . was pretty cool!)
Chesney is currently in the midst of his Margaritas & Senoritas tour
with opening acts Montgomery Gentry and Kellie Coffey. Chesney's current
single, "Big Star," sits at Number 22 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles &
Tracks chart.
-- Margy Holland, Nashville
-- Darren Davis, New York
2/08/2003

[www.kennycheseny.com]

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Kenny Chesney Stuffs His Pants with a Pimento Cheese Sandwich

-- In the current issue of People magazine, the Dixie Chicks talk
about the games they play at an Irish pub near their home base of
Austin, Texas.
"We go to trivia night," says the trio's Natalie Maines, explaining
why she and fellow Chicks, sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire,
turn up most Tuesday nights. "They call out questions, and every table
is a team."

"The name of our team is Kenny Chesney Stuffs His Pants with a Pimento
Cheese Sandwich," says Maines. "Isn't that a great trivia name? They
say it every single round! They'll go, 'Kenny Chesney Stuffs His Pants
with a Pimento Cheese Sandwich, 23 points!' And everyone laughs."

Chesney's comment? "Least they're lookin'."

[http://groups.google.com/groups]

Kenny Remembers Johnny Paycheck

(Nashville-AP) -- Kenny Chesney hopes people will remember Johnny
Paycheck for more than just his most famous song, "Take This Job and
Shove It." A honky-tonk singer-songwriter and country music outlaw,
Paycheck died in his sleep overnight Tuesday, after a long battle
with emphysema and other medical problems. The 64-year-old Grand Ole
Opry member had been in a nursing home, and hospitalized several
times in recent years. Chesney says he once kidded Paycheck that "he
wasn't marketable 'cause he was too real," and hails the singer as
somebody no record label could ever have invented.

Born Donald Eugene Lytle, Paycheck was competing in talent contests
at age nine. He recorded 70 albums and had some two dozen hit
singles, but may be best known for his 1977 recording of "Take This
Job and Shove It." Paycheck's stormy personal life included problems
with drugs, alcohol and tax difficulties, and eventually spent two
years in an Ohio prison for shooting a man in a barroom disagreement.
When he was released in 1991, he was clean and sober, and gave anti-
drug talks to kids around the country as part of his required
community service.

2/19/2003

[www.kennychesney.com]

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Kenny Chesney Scores Radio & Records' Performer of the Year

Nashville: Kenny Chesney -- who was honored with both Billboard's Top
Country Tour and Top Country Single distinction for his No Shoes, No
Shirt, No Problems tour and his 7 week #1 "The Good Stuff" -- has
been voted Performer of the Year in Radio & Records. Designed to
recognize an artist's comprehensive career impact, the panel of radio
programmers and managers voted this honor based on Chesney's single,
retail, concert and awards success over the last calendar
year. "Somebody told me that was like their Entertainer of the Year,"
explained a truly humbled Chesney. "Coming from the guys who're on
the frontlines with the fans, the people who bring them our music and
sort of serve as the bridge between us and all the people who listen
and care -- well, that's heavy. And given that they've watched this
career grow, that they believed when a lot of people didn't… It lets
you know what the good stuff really is: other people sharing in your
dream and then seeing it start to come true."

With his Margaritas'n'Senoritas tour belly-to-belly and setting
attendance records -- the most recent being this weekend's 19,000+
play at Lexington's Rupp Arena -- People's Sexiest Country Singer
Alive and radio have obviously built a bridge to last. As "Big Star"
scorches up the country charts, Chesney's nominated for four of CMT's
fan-voted Flameworthy Awards: Hottest Video Male and Director
for "Big Star" and Video and Male Video Artist for "The Good Stuff" --
the latter two awards Kenny won last year.

"We worked really hard last year, but the way things have been, we
had a whole lotta fun doing it," says the Luttrell, Tennessean who
was also nominated for three CMA Awards: Entertainer, Male and Album
of the Year. "When you hit that stage and hear those people start
screaming, it doesn't matter what happened that day, you're as ready
to rock as they are -- and our fans are pretty live!"

Just as importantly, Chesney speaks them in a way they recognize as
their own. As The Los Angeles Times said of his appeal, "He sings the
things that women want to hear." Rolling Stone summarized the almost
triple platinum NSNSNP by offering "Chesney delivers real feeling,"
Entertainment Weekly proffered, "Country veteran Kenny Chesney hits
commercial paydirt by mining the genre's haunted roots" and The
Hollywood Reporter raved, "Kenny Chesney knows his audience."
Additionally, The New York Times cited, "He sang about devotion,
about dreams of stardom, about happily settling down while
reminiscing over youthful songs and escapades" and The Washington
Post concluded, "More than just a record of hitherto unseen modesty
and maturity, NSNSNP is one of the better coming of age records to
come from Nashville's Music Row in years."

The hard work, commitment to the fans and the music is having a
cumulative effect. As the year rolls on, his onsale dates continue
selling out, his shows get better and better and the fans maintain
their passion level. With a performance on CMT's Flameworthy Awards
April 7 and the Academy of Country Music Awards live from Las Vegas
on May 21, there are plenty of chances to check Radio & Records'
Performer of the Year from the privacy of your own home. But why miss
out on all the fun -- Margaritas'n'Senoritas more than demonstrates
what the radio guys have known all along.
2/25/2003

[www.kennychesney.com]

Pilots in Afghanistan Listening To KC ?

The boys of Rascal Flatts were thrilled to find out some Air Force
pilots listened to their stuff on bombing runs in Afghanistan.

Jay DeMarcus, at a Rascal Flatts platinum party for their sophomore
album, Melt, told radio reporters that a USA Today photographer who
had been in Afghanistan turned them on to the story.

''… One of the pilots had told him ... He said, 'Well, what do you
like to do when you're flying bombing runs over Afghanistan? I mean,
how do you guys spend

your time?' He said, 'Well, it's really quiet, so in order to break
up the monotony, we play music,' '' Jay said.

''And he said, 'What do you play?' and he said, 'We love to jam out
to Kenny Chesney and Rascal Flatts when we're doing bombing runs over
Afghanistan.' And I thought that was so cool that our music was being
played while he was dropping bombs.''

[http://www.tennessean.com/]

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Chesney Scores Five ACM Nominations

Somewhere in the Atlantic: Kenny Chesney had no idea. Sailing
somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, Kenny Chesney's cell phone wasn't exactly
responding to numerous calls from the mainland. So when he finally did check in,
there were 15 calls waiting -- which reminded him just what day it was.

"Oh, gee, I guess I'm in trouble," he sheepishly told his publicist.
"Please tell me the worst news is you guys couldn't find meâ€¦
because I've got a buncha voice mail, so I know that means something's up."

Something was more than up! Having had his first major Country Music
Association nominations come in the major categories of Entertainer,
Album and Male Vocalist of the Year, the man recently voted one of People's
Sexiest Men Alive built on that momentum to pick up four major nods at the
2003 Academy of Country Music Awards: Entertainer, Top Male Vocalist,
Album for his critically-acclaimed No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems, Song for "A
Lot of Things Different" and Single of the Year for the 7 week #1 and
Billboard Country Single of 2002 "The Good Stuff."

"You're out in the middle of all this blue water, not a cloud in the
sky and nothing for miles, and you're sure it can't get any better than
this. You're just so sureâ€¦ then you realize what today is, and you get
worried, because even though you know it's not about nominations, you really
hope that people are going to recognize what you're doing. You don't quite know
whether you want to call in or not, but you know you kinda gotta."

Having also scored Billboard's Country Tour of the Year with his No
Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems Tour -- and his Margaritas'n'Senoritas
Tour doing SRO business and setting attendance records in many of the
venues it's hitting so far this year -- Chesney knows how to create a direct hit
on his fans. With No Shoes, which debuted at #1 on Billboard's all-genre Top
200 Albums chart, closing in on triple platinum, Chesney was recently
awarded a driftwood plaque to commemorate sales in excess of 10 million pieces.

Having won both Male Artist and the main Video of the Year Award at
CMT's inaugural fan-voted Flameworthy Awards this spring, the Luttrell,
Tennessean is nominated for four awards at this year's show: Video and Male
Artist for "The Good Stuff" and Hottest Male and Director for "Big Star." But
the love extends even to the normally jaundiced music press, where even The
New York Times proclaimed, "â€¦ not an extrovert at heart -- He sang about
devotion, about dreams of stardom, about happily settling down while
reminiscing over youthful songs and escapades. Mr. Chesney's country is suburbia, a
place of prized stability and modest pleasures. His cozy songs assure
listeners that they're not missing a thing."

With similar raves in Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today,
Blender, The Los Angeles Times, People, Music Connection, Country
Music, TV Guide, The Hollywood Reporter, The Washington Post and The Boston
Globe, these publications have all cited the guitar-playing Chesney's
ability to distill life's bottomline essence for his fans. And for those who
can't get enough of Margaritas'n'Senoritas, fret not: he's gonna get absolutely
essential May 21, live from the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas,
where he opens the ACM Awards telecast on CBS.

3/04/2003

[www.kennychesney.com]

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CMT Flameworthy Awards Nominees Announced

Flameworthy Video of the Year
Best video of the year; awarded to the artist (individual, group or
duo). Final five nominees announced during live telecast Monday,
April 7; voting held online during the show only.

Kenny Chesney
"The Good Stuff" Martina McBride
"Concrete Angel"

Dixie Chicks
"Long Time Gone" Tim McGraw
"She's My Kind of Rain"

Faith Hill
"Cry" Rascal Flatts
"These Days"

Alan Jackson
"Drive (For Daddy Gene)" Shania Twain
"I'm Gonna Getcha Good!"

Toby Keith
"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" Keith
Urban
"Somebody Like You"

Flameworthy Male Video of the Year
Best video by a male artist; awarded to the artist

Kenny Chesney
"The Good Stuff" Kid Rock featuring Sheryl Crow
"Picture"

Alan Jackson
"Drive (For Daddy Gene)" Tim McGraw
"She's My Kind of Rain"

Toby Keith
"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)"

Flameworthy Female Video of the Year
Best video by a female artist; awarded to the artist

Terri Clark
"I Just Wanna Be Mad" Martina McBride
"Concrete Angel"

Faith Hill
"Cry" Shania Twain
"I'm Gonna Getcha Good!"

Rebecca Lynn Howard
"Forgive"

Flameworthy Group / Duo Video of the Year
Best video by a group or duo; awarded to the artist

Diamond Rio
"Beautiful Mess" Rascal Flatts
"These Days"

Dixie Chicks
"Long Time Gone" Trick Pony
"Just What I Do"

Montgomery Gentry
"My Town"

Flameworthy Breakthrough Video of the Year
Best video from an artist's major label debut album; awarded to the
artist (individual, group or duo)

Steve Azar
"Waitin' on Joe" Joe Nichols
"Brokenheartsville"

Emerson Drive
"Fall Into Me" Blake Shelton
"Ol' Red"

Jennifer Hanson
"Beautiful Goodbye"

Flameworthy Hottest Male Video of the Year
Sexiest video by a male artist; awarded to the artist

Kenny Chesney
"Big Star" Rascal Flatts
"These Days"

Toby Keith
"Who's Your Daddy?" Keith Urban
"Raining on Sunday"

Tim McGraw
"She's My Kind of Rain"

Flameworthy Hottest Female Video of the Year
Sexiest video by a female artist; awarded to the artist

Deana Carter
"There's No Limit" LeAnn Rimes
"Life Goes On"

Dixie Chicks
"Long Time Gone" Shania Twain
"I'm Gonna Getcha Good!"

Faith Hill
"When the Lights Go Down"

Flameworthy Fashion Plate Video of the Year
Best dressed/styled artist in a video (individual, group or duo)

Dixie Chicks
"Long Time Gone" Shania Twain
"I'm Gonna Getcha Good!"

Faith Hill
"When the Lights Go Down" Keith Urban
"Somebody Like You"

Tim McGraw
"She's My Kind of Rain"

Flameworthy Cocky Video of the Year
Video with the most attitude; awarded to the artist (individual,
group or duo)

Trace Adkins
"Chrome" Toby Keith
"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)"

Chris Cagle
"Country by the Grace of God" Montgomery Gentry
"My Town"

Terri Clark
"I Just Wanna Be Mad"

Flameworthy Concept Video of the Year
Most creative concept that broadens the scope of the song's story;
awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo)

Vince Gill
"Next Big Thing" Martina McBride
"Concrete Angel"

Cledus T. Judd
"It's a Great Day to Be a Guy" Shania Twain
"I'm Gonna Getcha Good!"

Toby Keith
"Who's Your Daddy?"

Flameworthy Video Director of the Year
Video with the best direction (video that best captures the mood,
tempo, and intensity of the song); awarded to the video director for
work on a specific video

Deaton Flanigen
Martina McBride -- "Concrete Angel" Mike Lipscombe
Faith Hill -- "Cry"

Trey Fanjoy
Keith Urban -- "Somebody Like You" Peter Zavadil
Blake Shelton -- "Ol' Red"

Steven Goldmann
Steve Azar -- "Waitin' on Joe"

[http://www.cmt.com/cmt/event/flameworthy03/nominees.jhtml]

Kenny's Concert At Home!

Knoxville: When Kenny Chesney said he was coming home to throw one
big party, the 10-million-selling country star wasn't kidding. Not only
has the Luttrell, Tennessean -- nominated for five Academy of Country Music
Awards, including Entertainer, Album, Top Male, Song and Single -- staked a
claim on Knoxville's holiest ground, UT's legendary Neyland Stadium, he's
brought along a bunch of his buddies to make it an evening all the people
he's grown up with will remember: Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts, keith urban and
Deana Carter.

And while it's a dream come true for the singer/songwriter hailed by
People as one of the Sexiest Men Alive, it seems like it's almost as
much of a kick for the artists who're joining forces with Chesney for this
very special day and night. "It'll be fun to come riding in with the
hometown boyâ€¦," enthuses low slung guitarslinger Kix Brooks. "This'll be a
great night for Kenny and we love Knoxville, too, so it'll be fun to see it all
go down."

"We're looking forward to hooking up with one of country music's
sexiest men in his own hometown, no less," continues hard-charging vocalist
Ronnie Dunn. "The East Tennessee buzz is making this thing sound as
anticipated as the Beatles coming to town or maybe a Vols National championship.
It's fun to watch a new artist heat up like this. We're glad to be a part of it.
He's agreed to join forces with us in San Bernadino, California this
summer, too. We can't wait."

Brooks & Dunn are the reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainers
of the Year, having scored 22 #1s and sold over 25 million records.
Their Neon Circus & Wild West Show also features Rascal Flatts -- who are
currently the Country Music Association's Horizon Awards winners. With the
hits "I'm Movin' On" and "These Days," the vocal trio joins 2001 Horizon winner and
world class guitarist keith urban to provide the muscle for the mid-show.
Urban is of course the Australian who enjoyed a multiple week #1 with "Love
Somebody Like You" earlier this year, to go with his prior chart-
toppers "Where The Black Top Ends" and "The Grace of God"

And kicking the big day off is UT's own Deana Carter. The woman who
won every award imaginable with "Strawberry Wine" and who sold in excess
of 8 million copies of her Did I Shave My Legs For This debut is currently
on tour behind her RCA debut I'm Just A Girl -- and looking forward to
getting back to somewhere she also comes from.

"It'll be a nice change of pace from getting busted on the 50 yard
line with that fraternity boy," says the Garmmy-winner with a grin. "No,
seriously, it's something I'm looking so forward to. For me, this is
one of the highlights of the tour. It's my alma mater and his turf, so I am
really really excited."

With a line-up that is the freshest, brightest, biggest names in
country, Chesney's intent on putting on a big time for the folks back where he
comes from. "People here love their music," says the man who topped
Billboard's all-genre Top 200 Sales chart. "When I was growing up, I sat alone in
a field to see Keith Whitley -- because I had to hear him sing. A lot of
other people were like that, listening to the music, because it really mattered to
them.

"If I'm coming home, I'm glad I get to bring such great people with
me. You wanna show off where you're from for sure, but you also want the
people where you come from the think you've got cool friends. I think
this'll work out nicely for everybody."
3/19/2003

[http://www.kennychesney.com]

At 35, Kenny Chesney Still the Young Romantic

Man, I don't know where the time goes,
But it sure goes fast
-- "Young"

Kenny Chesney is 35 Wednesday (March 26) -- and still the young
romantic. At least in his videos. Let others sing of dead-end jobs,
bad marriages and hungry kids. In his best-of-all-worlds, Chesney
remains the cocky high school senior headed south for spring break.

Videos did a lot to establish the singer's well-muscled image long
before he was filling arenas with it. He made his first three clips --
"Whatever It Takes," "The Tin Man" and "Somebody's Callin'" -- for
Capricorn Records in 1993 and '94. While they earned him a fair
amount of exposure, they did little to distinguish him from the other
upstarts.

In 1995, Chesney switched to BNA Records, his current label, and
opened that association with the light-hearted and catchy
video, "Fall in Love." Still in search of a look that's distinctively
his own, he wears a brown cowboy hat and a loose white, long-sleeved
shirt. But he has already perfected that hip-swiveling, let's-get-it-
on attitude which becomes increasingly evident as he pours out his
feelings to the sweet young thing who sits there with a heart-shaped
box of candy clasped to her bosom.

"That's Why I'm Here," Chesney's fifth video for BNA, marks a
departure from the artist's usually sunny countenance. Dark,
foreboding and institutional looking, the production depicts an
alcoholic who's trying to come to terms with his affliction. Even
here, though, Chesney seems more a wayward youth than a ground-down
drunk.

"How Forever Feels," the colorful romp in the tropics, gave fans the
Kenny Chesney they know and cherish today. Lots of skin. Lots of
grins. Lots of muscle-flexing fun in the sun. (It was also Chesney's
first video to make CMT's best-of-the-year list, coming in at No. 4.)

The hunk who emerged in "How Forever Feels" put all his sexual energy
to work in his next video, "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy." It may be
the girl who's turned on by agricultural implements here, but it's
Chesney who catches the fever. His bumping, grinding and water-
splashing at the end of the clip are among the most torrid scenes in
country-video history. No wonder that the explosive sound of a
tractor starting up has become such a staple -- and such a reliable
crowd-inciter -- at his concerts.

Chesney returned to the beach for "I Lost It." This is a puzzling
piece, though, and may have more to do with the singer's well-known
penchant for vacationing in the Virgin Islands than it does with art.
It seems strange that one would trek to a touristy seaside resort
while in the throes of heartache, as he does here, and then ignore
the one available lady who might help him heal his wound. Such fine
points probably don't matter, however, given the fact that one gets
to see Chesney in his beachwear. Maybe that's enough.

"Young" conveys the quintessential Chesney -- old enough to look back
with fondness yet young enough to meet teenagers on their own turf.
Here's Kenny in a varsity jacket and Kenny standing outdoors, rockin'
with the band and looking as buff as a high school jock. Who knew the
Fountain of Youth bubbled up in East Tennessee!

A part of Chesney's appeal is his pensiveness. After all, even a
party animal has to pause now and then to take stock. It's not so
much growing up as thinking about growing up. That's what he does
in "The Good Stuff," in which he listens to an older and wiser man
(the bartender) explain why a lovers' spat is no reason to hit the
sauce.

It's no secret that Chesney is telling his own story in "Big Star,"
even though the narrative is projected onto a woman performer. Of
course, it's the story of every overlooked and underrated kid who
beats the odds and then comes roaring back to dazzle his former
detractors. On another level, the video -- with its whirl of stage
lights, sexy costumes and phalanx of security guards -- is every
fan's fantasy of what it's like to be a superstar.

In real life, Chesney is not physically imposing. But through his
videos -- which focus more on him personally than on the stories in
his songs -- he has created a swaggering, assertive, larger-than-life
figure that works magnificently. And he's got the ticket sales to
prove it.

[http://www.cmt.com/news/feat/kchesney.032603.jhtml]

CORRALLING THE BACHELOR

Kenny Chesney is at the top of his game – but what will it take to
get him to walk down the aisle?

With 10 million albums sold, last year's highest grossing country
tour, Billboard's 2002 Single Of The Year and a dream home in the
rolling hills of south Nashville – is there anything Kenny Chesney
doesn't have?

Yes – a wife to share it all with.

But shed no tears for country's hottest bachelor, who claims he isn't
singing the "Lovesick Blues" by any stretch.

"I'm very happy with my life," grins Kenny as he's surrounded by a
bevy of "brides" during a Country Weekly photo shoot. "I'm content
being a bachelor. Not that I never think about getting married, I do.
I want a family and want more balance in my life. But right now, I'm
married to the road, to my band – and to Daniel, my trainer!" He
laughs. "And I love it."

What's not to love? In a decade, Kenny's transformed himself from a
struggling newcomer to a superstar headliner whose 2002 smash
hit "The Good Stuff" spent seven weeks at No. 1.

"It's crazy – I've been on the road for 10 years now," he
marvels. "But I swear, I feel like I'm just getting started. With
what we did last year and the way the Margaritas and Señoritas Tour
is going, I'm not ready to quit experiencing what I'm living right
now."

But it's not all work and no play for Kenny.

"I've been going out with a girl for a little bit," he admits with a
sly smile. "But we don't really know exactly where it stands. I'm not
in a committed relationship – I'm dating. Sure, there are girls I've
been out with that I really like.

"But to be able to say that I'm ready to walk down the aisle next
month, that I'm ready to wake up with that person every single day
for the rest of my life – I'm not ready to say that."

Kenny may be a confirmed bachelor now, but this once-engaged crooner
knows what it's like to be in love. "It's when nothing else matters
to you, when you care more about how that person feels than you care
about how you feel. One thing I've learned in past relationships:
What I do can be very self-absorbing.

"I'm constantly marketing myself and my music, trying to make myself
the best I can be onstage. And sometimes in a relationship, it has
been hard for me to get away from all of that – to make somebody feel
like they're first."

Despite having thousands of adoring female fans, Kenny admits he's
been on the losing end of love more than once – twice, specifically.
How did he work through the heartbreak?

"I listened to a lot of music," he says smiling.

"And I wrote a lot, too. Luckily I was very busy at the time, on the
road. That helped me a lot, not to be cooped up at my house. The only
time it really was tough was during the during the holidays. That's
when I wrote one of my favorite songs, 'I Can't Go There,' from the
No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems album."

Read more about Kenny Chesney in the current 4/15/03 "Newsstand
Issue" on sale now!

Published on: March 28, 2003

[http://www.countryweekly.com/stories/feature.cfm?instanceid=57473]

Shania, Kenny and Ray sing to honor Willie

The Willie Nelson 70th birthday bash TV taping in New York this week
apparently was really, really long and really, really cool, according
to some folks who were there and to a report from billboard.com.

And Nashville was in the house for the five-hour taping. Kenny
Chesney did Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning, which drew
a standing ovation at New York's Beacon Theatre. Shania Twain
continued her sit-on-a-stool acoustic thing that started at Monday's
Flameworthy Awards by singing Willie's Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.

Willie brought out Ray Price for a duet of Run That By Me One More
Time, a highlight of the show, and Lyle Lovett and Willie sang Bob
Wills' San Antonio Girl.

Nashville's famed keyboard player Leon Russell also was in the mix.

Your non-Nashville types included red-hot Norah Jones, Aerosmith
frontman Steven Tyler, Eric Clapton, Ray Charles, Sheryl Crow, John
Mellencamp, Elvis Costello, Diana Krall, Paul Shaffer and Kris
Kristofferson. Bill Clinton was even there to intro a few acts.

You can check out the show, Willie Nelson & Friends, at 10 p.m. May
26 on USA Network.

4/13/2003

[http://www.kennychesney.com/]

Chesney Tops Touring List

Kenny Chesney has been named the No. 1 ticket seller in all genres
for the first quarter of 2003 by Pollstar magazine. Chesney's
Margaritas `n' Senoritas tour, with Montgomery Gentry and Kellie
Coffey, sold 332,575 tickets in the quarter. The tally, Chesney
said, "makes me think a whole lot more people were getting rowdy with
us than we ever realized." 04/16/03

[www.cmt.com]

Chesney Top's Pollstar's 1st Qtr Ticket Sales

Kenny Chesney Tops Pollstar's 1st Quarter Ticket Sales
Margaritas'n'Senoritas Tour Outsells All Acts on the Road in All
Genres!

Concert industry bible Pollstar has named Kenny Chesney as the #1
ticket seller for the first quarter of 2003 -- in front of Bon Jovi,
Phish, Shakira, Cher and many others.

"You're out there, playing the dates, singing the songs -- and
truthfully, you're not even thinking about it," confesses
Chesney. "You get out there, you hear those fans and you just go for
it. Who knew so many people were coming? Because it's not about the
head count… for us, it's all about how loud they get! We said all
last year, 'You can sit down if you want to… or you can stand up and
get rowdy with the rest of us.' Hearing about this Pollstar thing
makes me think a whole lot more people were getting rowdy with us
than we ever realized."

Having set several venue attendence records -- including Lexington's
Rupp Arena -- and maintaining a feverish road pace,
Margaritas'N'Senoritas kicked off 12/31 in Nashville. With the arena
leg winding up, Chesney and new tourmates Keith Urban and Deana
Carter get ready for the outdoor sheds.

"We try to bring a little bit of the islands to the fans," says the
triple-platinum-plus superstar. "In the winter, that's a pretty big
deal… especially in places like North Dakota and Minneapolis. But
come the summer, there's nothing like being outside under the stars
and kinda getting into that groove."

Sometimes, though, the best perspective on growth comes from other
people. As Louis Messina, president of the Messina Group and the
producer for both of Chesney's headlining tour, explains, "Last year,
the seeds were planted, and this year they've really blossomed --
Kenny Chesney's a major superstar. With the highest grossing tour to
date -- even with our moderate ticket prices -- it just proves that
live music is alive and that Kenny is a star."

Presented with a plaque commemorating over 10,000,000 in sales this
February and a platinum ticket last September for over a million fans
played to on the first half of his inaugural headlining tour, it's
not so much about the milestones for the country star celebrated by
The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Blender, The Los Angeles Times,
Entertainment Weekly, People, TV Guide and Parade. With many of his
closest friends still working for him, he confesses, "Every time we
hit a stage, we feel like we're making new friends… When you stop
singing part way through 'Back Where I Come From,' and you hear those
people singing that song back to you with everything they've got,
well, you feel like there are a whole lot of people out there who
know you at your core. What could be better than that? Better than
making a whole bunch of new friends every night? The Pollstar thing
is amazing… but if you look at it like all those new friends, well,
now that's cool."

4/16/2003

[www.kennychesney.com]

Kenny Chesney Gets ''Volcano''-cized, Joins Jimmy Buffett For A
Classic
Nashville, TN: Fresh from the islands -- where he and his band and
crew were filming an impromptu video for the title track to his nearly
triple platinum No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems -- a tanned Kenny Chesney
walked onstage at the AmSouth Center to rafter-blasting shrieks and cheers.
With a broad smile, the Luttrell, Tennessean joined alternative rock
singer/songwriter Todd Snider ("Alright Guy") for the syncopated tropical
delight "Volcano" towards the end of Jimmy Buffett's standing room
only Nashville concert.

"These are the moments where you can't even believe this is your
life," Chesney said after. "All those nights of listening to his records…
thinking 'This guy knows how to live… He gets it.' All those nights, sitting
on a stool playing for tips -- and the requests for 'Margaritaville' being
so insane that it got to where it was $20 for a Buffett song… That's
what my life is made of.

"Then one night, you're onstage, you look over and realize 'This
isn't my show… and that's Jimmy Buffett!' It's pretty cool, and the fact that
he's such a great guy on top of it! It's funny how when things you can't
even dream about happen, they're so far beyond what you would even
imagine."

Having just been cited by touring industry bible Pollstar as the #1
ticket-seller for the first quarter of this year, and the proud owner
of Billboard's Top Country Tour of 2002, Chesney -- like the island-
steeped singer/songwriter -- is all about connecting with the fans. Leg two of
Senoritas'n' Margaritas -- trading keith urban and Deana Carter for
Montgomery Gentry and Kellie Coffey -- kicks off Wednesday, April 23
in Beaumont, Texas, rolls into Jackson, Mississippi and onto Memphis
Friday.

Having notched up 5 Academy of Country Music nominations for
Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Album (No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems), Song ("A Lot
of Things Different") and Single (the 7 week #1 "The Good Stuff"), the
songwriter who came up in Nashville's time-honored tradition is
hitting his stride -- and clearly enjoying making music for the fans. "When you
look at someone like Jimmy Buffett, you realize it's all about speaking to
your audience. Know who they are, where they live and what's important to
them… If you don't lose your roots, you can keep connecting, and that's the
best thing about this making music."

The New York Times wrote of his populism," He sang about devotion,
about dreams of stardom, about happily settling down while reminiscing over
youthful songs and escapades. Mr. Chesney's country is a place of
prized stability and modest pleasures. His cozy songs assure listeners that
they're not missing a thing," while The Los Angeles Times raved, "He sings
the things that women want to hear" and The Washington Post opined, "More than
just a record of unseen modesty and maturity, NSNSNP is one of the better
coming of age records to come from Nashville's Music Row in years."

Look for Chesney to open the Academy of Country Music Awards May 21,
live from the Manadalay Bay in Las Vegas on CBS. Also, batten down the
hatches for the Back Where I Come From Party with Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts,
keith urban and Deana Carter at Knoxville's Neyland Stadium, June 7 -- where
Chesney's homecoming marks the first time in 21 years a concert's
been held at UT's hallowed football stadium.

4/20/2003

[http://www.kennychesney.com/index.htm]

KENNY CHESNEY GETS A PARTING SHOT FROM EDDIE AND TROY
Last weekend the Montgomery Gentry leg of Kenny
Chesney's "Margaritas 'n Senoritas Tour" came to a close in Lubbock,
Texas. At the end of Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry's encore they
got a very special gift from the entire tour crew and bands. The
group walked on and filled the sides of the stage to join the crowd
in giving them a standing ovation. Of the humbling experience, Eddie
simply says, "It was unbelievable!" Troy agrees and adds, "These were
the people we had worked and partied with for the past three months
on the tour. To have that kind of response from our peers - was just
phenomenal." As a parting gift, of sorts, Eddie and Troy gave Kenny
matching silver-plated Colt 45's - Government Issue (consecutive
serial numbers) with his logo branded into the pearl handle grips,
enclosed in a mahogany case. Not only is Kenny a "Big Star"-now he's
also a big shot!
4/22/2003

[www.kennychesney.com]

THE RUMOR MILL BURNS UP OVER KENNY CHESNEY -- AGAIN

You may have heard that something terrible recently happened to Kenny
Chesney, but rest assured - he's fit as a fiddle. Last week en route
to Dayton, the production bus, which is the last bus to leave the
cities they play, because it's involved in the physical mounting of
the show, was 45 minutes out of town when the driver noticed that the
engine was sparking.

Not sure what it was, he asked everyone to get off until they could
sort it out. Good thing, too--the sparks turned to flames and the
flames into an inferno. Soon, the bus had burned to the ground,
destroying everything. But the good news is that no one was hurt.

Kenny notes, "It's a pretty scary thing to realize that when you
finish the show, you slap hands with your friends on the crew and
take off down the road, [and] it might've been the last time I'd seen
those guys." He goes on to say that things like this make him think
about things like how someone lives their life and "how quickly it
can be gone." Kenny adds, "It makes you very grateful for the
guardian angels that look out for all of us out here." And while
preparations at their next tour stop got started two hours late, the
show went off on time.
5/07/2003

[www.kennychesney.com]

Back To Top

Chesney Sings With Willie

Having just performed "Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning"
with American icon Willie Nelson at the Beacon Theater, Kenny
Chesney -- nominated for 5 Academy of Country Music Awards, including
Entertainer of the Year -- knows the power of singing with the man
who's pretty much redefined the possibilities of music's connection.
So when Chesney heard that Nelson was playing Nashville's Ryman
Auditorium, he didn't want to miss the legendary singer performing at
the intimate venue.
"Willie Nelson? At the Ryman? How can you not go?" was Chesney simple
explanation of his last minute shift in plans to go see Nelson at the
original home of the Grand Ole Opry.
Towards the end of the show, though, the Luttrell, Tennessean was the
recipient of a little turnaround as Nelson called him out onstage to
help him out with a gospel medley that included "I'll Fly Away"
and "Will The Circle Be Unbroken."
"Good thing I paid attention on Sunday mornings," said the triple
platinum singer with one of those rolling laughs. "I'd hate to have
been up there, bumbling around on some classic gospel songs and have
Willie think I didn't know those songs! And what could be more… I
don't even know the word… than singing those songs on the stage of
the Ryman Auditorium with Willie Nelson and Family?
"It's been a year of those kind of 'oh my God moments…' and this was
definitely one."

Gifts With More Meaning: All country singers are blessed with fans
who bring them presents to signify the impact of the artist's music
on their own lives. So it was a nice surprise for Kenny Chesney to
receive a gift in the mail from a 8-year old Native American girl
from South Dakota that gave him a deeper appreciation for who he was.
Having her mother handmake a red, white and blue beaded choker for
the singer, Sequoyah Sioux Black Spotted Horse sent Kenny a note that
talked about what the last name Chesney means in her native
language. "It means 'Don't Cry' or 'One Who Never Cries,' which
spells (Ce' sni) in sounds," writes Block Spotted Horse. "So Kenny
must be a real cowboy."
The always gracious man, whose Margaritas'n'Senoritas Tour was
Pollstar's #1 ticket-seller in all genres for the first quarter of
2003, was touched by the gesture. "I don't know whether it means I
won't ever cry -- which isn't quite true -- or that I'm someone who
tries to see the things that'll make you happy even when things are
rough, but it makes me feel good that my name is something so
positive. I don't think my Mom knows, but I sure can't wait to tell
her, because that's something she's always tried to instill in us.
"And if it wasn't for Sequoyah, I would have no idea that my name
meant anything in Souix."
Chesney, by the way, takes it all back home when he hits Knoxville's
Neyland Stadium on June 7. His "Back Where I Come From: One Night at
Neyland" -- featuring Brooks &Dunn, Rascal Flatts, keith urban and
Deana Carter -- marks the first time the University of Tennessee has
allowed a concert in their football stadium since Michael Jackson
brought the Victory Tour there in 1981. The homecoming concert is a
major deal for the community, with just under 40,000 tickets already
sold for what for many will be a Fan Fair extending experience.

[http://www.kennychesney.com/index.htm]

Politics off record for Chesney

Posted on Thu, May. 08, 2003

Kenny Chesney supported the war in Iraq but doesn't plan to do
patriotic songs on his next CD.

There's not much about Kenny Chesney's life that hasn't been in print
the past year, thanks to a multimillion-selling CD, the top country
tour of 2002 and a People article naming him the sexiest man in
country music.

And lest anyone forget the latter, his publicist uses the words "rock-
hard abs" and "hunk" as often as humanly possible.

Thankfully, Chesney himself hasn't bought into such teeny-bopper
claptrap. He swears it's not ego that compels him to work out all the
time, but a fear of passing out during lengthy, frenetic concerts
like the one he's doing tonight at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre.

"I went through a phase on the road where I started eating pizza at 2
in the morning and it added a lot to me in the middle," Chesney said
in a recent phone interview.

"Now I've got a trainer on the road and we work out constantly. And
he monitors what I eat. When I get off the stage, I drink a protein
shake and go to bed."

Age is also a good motivator, since Chesney just turned 35. However,
he claims to be a lot happier now than he was in his 20s, when
Chesney was a considered a second-tier country act.

His career began with a dud album in '93, improved quickly with three
Top 40 songs off a second album in '95 and went through the roof with
a series of signature hits in '99, including "She Thinks My Tractor's
Sexy" and "How Forever Feels."

Chesney believes the success of his current CD, "No Shoes, No Shirt,
No Problems," is due to picking songs that either "tug at the
heartstrings" or encourage people to enjoy the simple life.

Fans can expect more of the same on his next CD. One thing they won't
hear is one of those patriotic songs that have become so trendy in
country music. He figures people come to his shows to get away from
all the stuff on the news.

"I don't feel any pressure to do that kind of song. Obviously, I
support everything that happened and the troops, but I don't feel I
need to cut patriotic songs," he said.

"I think we've had enough of it, so I've decided to go the other way.
The next single off my album is the title track (`No Shoes, No Shirt,
No Problems') and it's about going to the islands, kicking back with
your feet up and exhaling.

"I think the whole country could use a chance to exhale, because
we've been though a lot."

[http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/entertainment/music/5817671.ht
m]

Nelson Invites Chesney to Ryman Stage

During a concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Thursday
(May 15), Willie Nelson invited Kenny Chesney to sing a gospel medley
with him. "Good thing I paid attention on Sunday mornings," said
Chesney, who wasn't planning on singing that night. "I'd hate to have
been up there, bumbling around on some classic gospel songs and have
Willie think I didn't know those songs!" 05/16/03

[www.cmt.com]

McBride, Chesney top vocalists at ACM awards

By PETER COOPER
Staff Writer

LAS VEGAS — The Los Angeles thing wasn't working so well for Kenny
Chesney, but Sin City is another story altogether.

Chesney, overlooked by Academy of Country Music Awards voters for the
past half-decade, did quite nicely at last night's show. The
program's shift from Los Angeles to Las Vegas apparently brought him
some luck, as he won for top male vocalist and for best single.

''It's exciting to be here, but I haven't won a lot at these
things,'' Chesney said the day before the show. Last night, he could
barely squeak out a ''thank you'' before misting up and walking
offstage when he accepted the vocalist prize.

The academy presented a blend of patriotic fervor and Vegas flavor, a
mix encapsulated by lounge legend Wayne Newton's message to American
troops. ''Because of you, ladies and gentlemen, Saddam Hussein has
finally left the building,'' he said.

In deference to corporate sponsor Home Depot's trademark color, the
traditional red carpet entrance is an ''orange carpet'' at the ACMs.
No matter the color, the walk was nearly insufferable, with
temperatures well above 100 degrees. ''Man, that's hot,'' said Rascal
Flatts' Jay Demarcus, who roasted under leather in his orange carpet
TV interview. ''I almost fainted on CMT.''

Except the heat, artists seemed to enjoy the locale. This
show ''needed a kick in the pants,'' said Toby Keith, who won the
most coveted award: Entertainer of the Year. ''Vegas brings that
excitement.''

[http://www.tennessean.com/]

Tootsie's West

By PETER COOPER
Staff Writer

LAS VEGAS —Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino has been called classy and
swanky and gargantuan and all sorts of other things, but this week
Kenny Chesney just calls it Tootsie's West.

Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, the small and smoky bar on Nashville's Lower
Broadway, is where Roger Miller, Willie Nelson, Tom T. Hall and other
legends used to drink and carouse together.

These days, country stars normally aren't so close. They tour on
separate buses and rarely hang out in Nashville bars. But the Academy
of Country Music's shift of its awards show from Los Angeles to Las
Vegas resulted in a cheerful circumstance: For several nights in a
row, the center of the country music world was Mandalay Bay's Island
Lounge.

''People are more willing to let their guard down out here,'' Chesney
said, and the Island scene proved him correct.

As Monday night became Tuesday morning, for instance, Have You
Forgotten? singer Darryl Worley was signing autographs and posing for
photos with fans, while Toby Keith held court on the other side of
the room and an assortment of other country music notables laughed
together, drank together and listened to the bar band run through
Play That Funky Music, White Boy.

''I had to get up early and do a bunch of TV interviews this
morning,'' Keith said Tuesday. ''Man, I know I looked rough.''

Going into the awards show, Keith's chances of leaving Las Vegas with
some shiny, new hardware didn't look nearly so rough. He led the ACM
field with eight nominations, including nods in the coveted
entertainer, male vocalist and best album categories. He also sang a
duet on Beer for My Horses with Willie Nelson. He was, however,
taking nothing for granted.

''I've learned not to get my hopes up,'' he said. ''I was nominated
for 15 or 16 awards at different shows last year, and I didn't win a
single one. If it's fan-voted, like the CMT Flameworthy Awards, I win
those. But to win the industry-voted awards, you have to be in that
Nashville music industry circle. I'm not the Nashville music poster
boy; I'm a hellion compared to that.''

Keith, Worley and band Lonestar rode into the ACMs on a patriotic
wave. Lonestar's I'm Already There ballad, a song about bridging
distances, seemed to speak to the loneliness of soldiers separated
from family. At last night's show, Lonestar introduced some American
military men and women taken prisoner during the Iraq conflict. The
band also sang I'm Already There.

''We see, night after night, how that song affects people,'' said
lead singer Richie McDonald. ''When we play at military bases and for
military families, they respond to it.''

Up for the best single award, Keith's Courtesy of the Red, White and
Blue (The Angry American) is a million-selling treatise on American
butt-kicking. And Worley's Have You Forgotten?, a reaction to 9/11,
launched his career to new heights and helped him to a nomination as
best new male vocalist.

''People can say, 'Well, he's the biggest he's ever been because
people are fighting a war,' '' Worley said. ''But we didn't design it
to capitalize on a war, we designed it to honor this country and the
soldiers who keep it what it is today.''

Last night, Worley performed Have You Forgotten? in front of a
backdrop that featured the World Trade Center Twin Towers and Old
Glory imagery.

Some aspects of the ACM show, however, were less rousing. The red
carpet arrivals (they call it orange carpet here, because of The Home
Depot's sponsorship), for instance, were a bit anticlimactic.

''We're all staying at the same place,'' Lonestar's Dean Sams said
during a break in rehearsals. ''It'll be people getting in a limo,
riding around the hotel, then getting out again to walk down the
carpet.''

Veteran country band Alabama was honored by the ACM with a Special
Achievement Award, but Alabama guitarist Jeff Cook is apparently
unwilling to rest on past laurels. The ACM's souvenir program
included an ad for a new group called Jeff Cook & The Alabama
Goodtime Band. ''Watch for us! We're coming!'' read the ad, which
described the group as ''Country . . . Soul & Rock 'n' Roll.''

[http://tennessean.com/]

CHESNEY EXPLAINS "STRAIT" STORY OF SPEECHLESS AWARD REACTION

There were no words, only tears when Kenny Chesney took the
stage to accept this year's Academy of Country Music Top Male
Vocalist of
the Year Award. His reaction was born as far back as the day he once
sat in a field to watch Keith Whitley at a radio appreciation show.
It was a matter
of following in the footsteps of his heroes George Jones, George
Strait, Conway Twitty, Randy Travis, Merle Haggard and Whitley.

"I turned around to pull myself together and when I turned back
around to speak, I looked out in the audience. The first person I saw
was George Strait, who is such a hero and had me out on his stadium
tours, and he was smiling up at me with that grin of his! When I
looked in his eyes, he gave me a thumbs up -- and in the face of it
all, that just tore me up… I knew if I tried to talk, I'd start
crying, but I know the fans know how grateful I am for that award."

[http://www.countrystars.com/news/haislop/n-update.html]

Kenny Chesney Academy of Country Music Top Male Vocalist

Las Vegas: There were no words, only tears when Kenny Chesney took
the stage to accept this year's Academy of Country Music Top Male
Vocalist of the Year Award. For the young man from Luttrell, Tennessee -- who once
sat in a field to watch Keith Whitley at a radio appreciation show, it was a
matter of following in the footsteps of his heroes George Jones, George Strait,
Conway Twitty, Randy Travis, Merle Haggard and Whitley.

"I turned around to pull myself together," says the clearly
overwhelmed superstar People named the Sexiest Country Singer Alive, "and when I
turned back around to speak, I looked out in the audience. The first person
I saw was George Strait, who is such a hero and had me out on his stadium
tours, and he was smiling up at me with that grin of his! When I looked in his
eyes, he gave me a thumbs up -- and in the face of it all, that just tore me up… I
knew if I tried to talk, I'd start crying, but I know the fans know how
grateful I am for that award."

For Chesney -- who also presented country supergroup Alabama the Gene
Weed Pioneer Award -- being named Top Male Vocalist capped an
incredible evening, which also saw his 7 week #1 and Billboard 2002 Country Single of the
Year be named ACM Single of the Year. That award went to Chesney, producers
Buddy Cannon and Norro Wilson, along with BNA Nashville.

"I said I didn't wanna cut the song and Joe (Galante, RLG Chairman)
made me," admits the singer/songwriter. "But I'm sure glad I did. Even
more than what a big hit it was, what that song said really connected for
people. The idea about the little things really mattering… and that's what's
important. I didn't say that onstage, but that's something I think people should
realize."

With his Margaritas'n'Senoritas tour being Pollstar's #1 ticket-
seller in any genre for the first quarter of 2003, the double triple-platinum
superstar is making his presence felt. Rolling Stone offered, "Chesney delivers
real feeling," while Entertainment Weekly proffered, "Country veteran
Kenny Chesney hits commercial paydirt by mining the genre's haunted roots" and The
Hollywood Reporter raved, "Kenny Chesney knows his audience." Additionally, The
New York Times cited, "He sang about devotion, about dreams of stardom,
about happily settling down while reminiscing over youthful songs and escapades"
and The Washington Post concluded, "More than just a record of hitherto
unseen modesty and maturity, NSNSNP is one of the better coming of age records to
come from Nashville's Music Row in years."

Kenny Chesney certainly has come of age this year. Having Billboard's
Top Country Tour of 2002 with his No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems Tour
and the privilege of being the first act to play the University of
Tennessee's Neyland Stadium since Michael Jackson's Victory Tour, the 5' 6" Knoxville boy
is connecting with country fans in a big way. The man The Los Angeles
Times says, "Sings the things that women want to hear…" is all about taking the
music to the fans and finding the songs that are their lives.

"I can only believe this music works because lots of people have felt
all these things. When you start there, you don't want to have any
expectations… But you kinda know it's gonna touch people. That's the whole point of
doing this really. It's what made me love music -- and it's what I try to
give back. You're not about the awards, so much as the songs… and when something
like this happens (as you can tell), there aren't words for it."

5/25/2003

[http://www.kennychesney.com/]

Chesney Gets Maxim-ized on NBC Special

Kenny Chesney Gets Maxim-ized as Part of Cutting Edge Men's
Mag's "Hot 100" NBC Special

Los Angeles: In a world where people live marginalized lives, freshly-
minted Academy of Country Music Top Male Vocalist Kenny Chesney
believes in living it to the max. The ten-million-selling country
star lives fully, dreams big and isn't afraid to get out there in it -
- and it's that verve for life that atttrracted the producers
of "Maxim's Summer Hot 100" special to invite the country singer to
participate in their 60-minute celebration of the hottest women in
the world.

"I didn't know too much about why they asked me," says the always
ready for anything singer/songwriter with a laugh, "but getting to
talk about gorgeous women, well, you know, what guy isn't up for that
any time, any place, any how? And having seen the list, these folks
at Maxim really know what they're doing!"

Chesney joins Marilyn Manson, Arnold Schwarzeneger, Bernie Mac,
Michael Madson, guitarist Dave Navarro and Limp Bizkit's Fred Durst
in a celebration of the beauty, the wonder and the awe-inspiring
qualities of women in general and in specific. And it all airs on NBC
during primetime on June 14th!

It's been a pretty awe-inspiring year in general for Chesney -- who
sweeps into the University of Tennessee's hallowed shrine of football
for the first concert held their since Michael Jackson's Victory tour
21 years ago. The show -- being called "Back Where I Come From: One
Night at Neyland" -- finds the Luttrell, Tennessean enlisting friends
Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts, keith urban and Deana Carter for the
historic Knoxville show, expected to draw over 65,000 people.

"Hey, look, I'm not so different than anybody else," Chesney
explains. "I like to work hard. I like to play hard. I love to see
pretty girls -- who doesn't? -- and I love to laugh with my buddies.
Somebody said Maxim asked me to do this special because of the Sexy
Men thing, and I just don't think so… If there's any reason they
wanted me, it was probably because they know I'm just like their
readers. JUST like 'em - because at the end of the day, sure I make
records and go on tour, but unless you wanna get caught up in it,
this world I live in is a whole lot better if you don't let it change
you. You still get excited about stuff, and when you get home, home's
about the best place in the world to be."

5/30/2003

[http://www.kennychesney.com/]

Kenny Chesney Kicks It Hard

Nashville: They started lining up at 2:30 in the morning and were all
the way down Church Street and wrapped around Nashville's famed Second
Avenue twice before the doors opened. But when Kenny Chesney hit the
Riverfront Park stage to kick off The Country Music Association's 32nd annual Fan
Fair, the shrieks showed no sign of the wait.

With a no-frills stage and his unrelenting band, the man People
called "The Sexiest Country Singer Alive" extended his 30 minute set by 15
minutes to accommodate the more than 16,000 fans trying to gain access to the
outdoor venue on the Cumberland River. They were hanging out of the windows
and standing on the roofs lining 1st Avenue to watch the young man from Lutrell,
Tennessee start an event he's been a part of for 12 years.

"There's only one Fan Fair -- and I wouldn't miss it for the world,"
says the Academy of Country Music's new Top Male Vocalist of the
Year. "To be able to be the guy who gets to welcome everybody to Nashville, to get
on that stage and rock these folks from all over the country, well there
really isn't a more fun thing that I can think of."

Chesney, whose morning started with a live shot on CNN, almost didn't
make it. A preproduction complication on CMT's 1.3 million
dollar "Back Where I Come From: One Night at Neyland" special had forced the 10 million
selling country star to cancel his scheduled performance at Friday night's
RCA Label Group show.

"I was sick when we realized that we weren't going to physically be
able to make it -- because not only was I a fan, I still am a fan. I know
how much I look forward to stuff and I wouldn't want to disappoint anybody."

Finally, a solution was found -- and Chesney's band took the
Riverfront Park stage for a hit-filed set that included his ACM and Billboard
Single of the Year and 7 week #1 "The Good Stuff." With an encore of "How
Forever Feels," Chesney closed out his Fan Fair with a pledge of eternity to the
people who've stood by his music.

Rushed off stage to take a bus to Knoxville, where his Knoxville
homecoming show will be the first concert at the University of
Tennessee's football stadium since Michael Jackson's Victory Tour in 1982, he couldn't
resist one last moment of interacting with his fans. Opening the window in the
front of his bus, he high-fived and shook every hand as he rolled towards I-40
on his way out of town.

6/05/2003

[www.kennychesney.com]

Judge bans 'bootleg' sales at Chesney show June 6, 2003 It's only the "good stuff" for country superstar Kenny Chesney's Knoxville fans, a federal judge ruled Thursday. U.S. District Court Judge Leon Jordan agreed after a brief hearing to approve the singer's request to bar "bootleggers" from selling what Chesney's attorney contends are cheap knock-offs of his merchandise. The order only applies to Chesney's concert in Knoxville on Saturday, but the artist is asking for a nationwide injunction, saying a group of "John Doe" bootleggers have been trailing him on his tour. "Kenny Chesney is one of the top country music acts around today," Attorney John G. Jackson told Jordan Thursday. "Because of his fame, various bootleg outfits have followed him on his concert tour across the country." The bootleggers set up outside the venue and hawk Chesney T-shirts and other memorabilia at prices substantially lower than similar merchandise being sold inside the concert by licensed vendors, he said. Chesney, who Jackson said earned $24 million last year on his concert tours, is losing $10,000 at every show because of bootleggers, he said. According to the superstar's lawsuit, Chesney owns Kenny Chesney Merchandising Inc., a Nashville firm "responsible for the sale of all authorized merchandise bearing the name or likeness of Chesney." He gets a cut of the sales of all products. When Chesney's "associates" began noticing vendors set up outside his concerts earlier this year, they did a little undercover detective work, the lawsuit stated. So far, Chesney has learned the sellers "change from city to city," but one man, known only as "John Doe No. 1," is in charge of the entire bootlegging operation, the lawsuit stated. Mirroring a similar effort by country singer Toby Keith, who won an injunction against bootleggers last year in Kentucky, Chesney opted this week to take his case to federal court. Jordan refused to issue a nationwide restraining order but set a June 16 hearing to determine whether to permanently bar the bootleggers from setting up at Chesney's remaining tour stops. Meanwhile, the U.S. Marshal's Service now has authority to shut down any bootleggers found at Chesney's Saturday show at Neyland Stadium. [www.knoxnews.com]

Kenny Country

Surrounded by fervent fans, singer Chesney sees dream of Neyland
Stadium performance come true

June 8, 2003

Each time Kenny Chesney has returned home, he has done it in bigger
way.

In 2000, the Luttrell native performed at Thompson-Boling Arena. He
followed the next year by filling the 24,000-seat venue to the top.

Saturday, Chesney fulfilled a longtime dream by performing at the
home of the University of Tennessee Vols. Among his 58,000-plus
friends were onstage guests Kid Rock, Uncle Kracker and football star
Peyton Manning.

The show, which was filmed by Country Music Television for an
expected TV special in the future, included country stars Brooks &
Dunn, Deana Carter, Rascal Flatts and the Warren Brothers.

Yet, the celebration encompassed more than just Neyland Stadium. A
section of Neyland Drive just beside the stadium was closed to
automobile traffic and designated "Kenny Land." At "Kenny Land,"
country music fans with concert tickets could buy beer, cowboy hats
and music artist merchandise or buy tickets for climbs up a rock wall
or have their faces painted.

A group of young women - huddled near a beer stand - who had bought
tickets on the first day that they had gone on sale gave some
indication of why Chesney had such a dedicated following.

"It's his body!" said Jennifer Denkins, who had driven from Jackson,
Ala., for the event.

Liz Hunt, one of the group of friends who is from Knoxville, added
that Chesney's music had a little something to do with it, too.

"His music isn't the sad, sappy stuff that a lot of country music
is," said Hunt.

Other acts on the bill had their own fans. Tray Howard, 15, and Marci
Riggs, 7, both listed Deana Carter as their favorite.

Marci's mother, Sandy Riggs, said that she had anticipated spending
$25 each for tickets, but was pleasantly surprised that ticket prices
had dropped to $10 on Friday when she purchased them. Early tickets
were priced at $50, but the price fell during the last weeks of
sales. Promoters had hoped that the show would break a record for the
largest country concert - a record set by George Strait for a show
that drew 76,000 fans.

Rain put a damper on the early part of the event. A downpour began a
little after 4 p.m. and rain continued to sprinkle on and off
throughout the evening.

Beer sales also created a bit of confusion at the site. While beer
was sold in the area designated as "Kenny Land," it was not legal on
the University of Tennessee campus and open beer was illegal on the
street outside of the beer garden area.

Angie Gorman and Debbie Ogle were with a group that was stopped with
beer cups walking into "Kenny Land." They were allowed to pour out
their beer before entering the beer-available area.

"I was 10 feet away from where I could have beer," said Ogle, who had
planned on having a tailgate party before the show, but had arrived
late.

Dave Chesney, Kenny's father, was circulating all around the venue,
visiting with friends and fans.

"I've been all over this place," said the elder Chesney, in a skybox
high above the field. "It's just unreal from a father's standpoint I
can remember when he was standing in front of the mirror imitating
Elvis, and he's never lost track of where he wanted to go."

Dave said that when his son called to tell him that he was going to
stage a show at Neyland Stadium he got tears in his eyes.

"He asked what was wrong and I told him, 'I just know how much it
means to you to do this,' " said Dave.

That a concert could be held at the venue at all was an
accomplishment. The last time that a concert was held at Neyland
Stadium was 1984, when the Jacksons performed for two nights at the
venue. Worry of damage to the field caused the Rolling Stones to be
turned down for a show a few years ago.

Looking out over the crowd, Dave said he "just felt like parachuting"
into it. "I'm amazed, but I'm so happy he has gotten to this level. I
know how hard he's worked to get here."

Dave said that his son would be exhausted after the show and planned
to take three weeks off to go the Caribbean before resuming his tour,
which will wrap up in August.

"So then he'll be able to attend some of the UT games," said Dave.

He said that the Neyland Stadium event was a precursor to his son's
next career jump.

"The next step is to move into the big venues. You talk to people in
the music business and they'll tell you that he is the next George
Strait. He started at Thompson-Boling Arena two and three years ago,
and then he went to the bigger halls. Now he's starting THIS here."

Chesney's father said that his son's determination and dedication
have always helped him achieve his dreams.

"Even now he says, 'I'm never looking back, because there's always
somebody there waiting to catch me.' "

[www.knoxnews.com]

Rain doesn't dampen Chesney homecoming

June 8, 2003

Kenny Chesney came back where he came from in a big way Saturday
night at Neyland Stadium with his "Back Where I Come From III"
homecoming concert.

The Knox and Union County native has risen to become one of
Nashville's top country stars while still being claimed as a hometown
boy. To the applause of 60,000, the singing star capped off a full
day of country music and invited guests Kid Rock, Peyton Manning and
Uncle Kracker onstage during his encore.

It had been nearly 20 years since the football stadium was the site
of a major concert. Through the daylight hours the often-rained-on
crowd was treated to the Warren Brothers, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts,
Deana Carter and Brooks and Dunn.

Brooks and Dunn were a particular treat in a show filled with
theatrics, humor and an amazing number of hits. While a Brooks and
Dunn hot air balloon drifted overhead, the duo inflated giant onstage
balloons for the song "Rock My World (Little Country Girl)."

Still, the crowd was definitely Chesney's, who hit the stage at 9:30
p.m. by rising up through a large platform at the rear of the stage
while his image was duplicated exponentially on giant screens on
three sides.

Clouds covered the moon as Chesney sang his first number and a light
rain sprinkled the crowd.

Yet, when Chesney launched into his hit "Young" (the second number),
the audience seemed oblivious to the precipitation.

At one point early in the show, Chesney stopped to point to a section
of the stadium: "The first time I ever set foot in this place I sat
right over there and watched Tennessee kick Notre Dame's butt," said
Chesney. The audience roared.

While it seemed that the upbeat numbers would've played best to the
audience, it was the most intimate moment onstage that came off best.

Chesney sat alone onstage to sing Dean Dillon's "A Lot of Things
Different" and Dave Loggins' "Please Come to Boston." Both Dillon and
Loggins are East Tennessee natives, which Chesney noted.

Other standouts were the ballads "The Good Stuff" and "That's Why I'm
Here."

Chesney left the stage for the first time after 70-minutes and a
slightly low-key version of "How Forever Feels." The crowd seemed a
little confused until Chesney returned to perform "Back Where I Come
From" with football star Peyton Manning singing along onstage.

Next Chesney introduced Uncle Kracker, who performed two songs with
Chesney, including "Drift Away." Kid Rock followed to
perform "Midnight Rider" and "Cowboy" before Chesney revved up the
audience with his hit "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy."

While it was a nice gesture, the guests really didn't add much that
Chesney didn't have already. Rather than heighten the excitement, in
the case of Kracker, it actually mellowed the crowd a little.

Still, few artists can return home to the sort of welcome Chesney
received Saturday night. If his past is an indication of his future,
expect his next homecoming to be even bigger.

[www.knoxnews.com]

Sun-soaking singer's show among the top

June 7, 2003

Kenny Chesney soaked up some sun outside his tour bus Friday
afternoon while a crew of hundreds finished outfitting Neyland
Stadium for his concert tonight.

Wearing a baseball cap, sneakers and bright yellow shorts, Chesney
relaxed and watched workers come and go through the stadium's main
gate. He said he didn't feel like an interview.

"I just want to take a deep breath," he explained.

Concert promoters, producers and work crews categorize the size of a
show by how many tractor-trailers are required to truck in all the
equipment. At about 60 trucks, Chesney's "Back Where I Come From III"
production falls somewhere between big and huge, said Show Call crew
chief Tommy Giles.

The "huge" shows he's worked on include Pink Floyd at 112 trucks and
The Rolling Stones with "hundreds of trucks." Concert productions of
the Dixie Chicks and Reba McEntire require about 18 trucks.

Giles can't sing or play the guitar, but when he looks out at
thousands of fans tonight, he'll remember why he's in this business.

"Satisfaction," he said. "I have no talent; I'm a lighting guy. But
when they put the lights on and there's 60,000 people out there, I
can say that wouldn't have happened without me."

Giles, a Newport native, was at Neyland Stadium nearly 20 years ago -
in August 1984 - setting up for The Jacksons Victory Tour concert.
That event drew 50,239 on Saturday night and about 40,000 on Sunday.

By Friday evening, more than 50,000 people had bought tickets for
Chesney's show, said Kate McMahon of the Messina Group promotion
company. McMahon opened up "nose-bleed" seats in stadium's top rows
for $10 on Friday afternoon. She hopes to hit the 60,000-ticket mark
sometime today.

Country Music Television brought a crew of 100 people and will spend
$1 million to film the concert for broadcast in August.

"It's totally cool for Knoxville and for Neyland," McMahon said.

Walt Montgomery, wearing an Eagles 2002 tour T-shirt, and Doug Simon,
wearing one from a Bonnie Raitt tour, are part of the "local crew" of
workers hired to do whatever needs doing. Simon said working in the
concert business is like being part of a big family because the same
people keep crossing paths.

"That's why I do it - for the music and the fun," Simon said, adding
that getting to watch the show from the wings is a bonus, too.

[http://www.knoxnews.com/]

Stage nearly set for concert

Undercover officers will be keeping eye peeled for bootleg merchandise

June 7, 2003

If you're heading to the Kenny Chesney concert tonight at Neyland
Stadium, the Knoxville Police Department has a few pieces of advice:

Do arrive early and be patient with slow traffic.

Don't carry alcohol - which will be sold at a street fair on Neyland
Drive prior to the show - onto the University of Tennessee campus.

Do expect security measures similar to a UT football game.

Don't sell unlicensed Kenny Chesney merchandise.
Knoxville police Lt. Mark Pressley said concertgoers can rest assured
there will be plenty of parking. He also emphasized a zero-tolerance
policy for bootleggers of bogus paraphernalia.

As part of that policy, the Police Department will have undercover
officers working the concert to catch sellers of unlicensed
merchandise.

"We will have plainclothes officers circulating around the area,"
said Pressley, who urged hawkers of faux merchandise to steer clear
of the stadium "unless they want to see a federal magistrate on
Monday."

---------------------------
Stage facts
Transported on 12 tractor-trailer trucks.

Steel towers 70 feet tall.

Stage platform 84 feet wide by 74 feet deep.

25,000 pounds of lighting and video equipment mounted to main roof.

Banks of speakers winging the stage, each 34 feet by 49 feet and 156
speaker cabinets.

Two 8,000-pound video screens flank the stage with a 15,000 pound
Jumbotron screen suspended over center stage.
Source: Mountain Productions
--------------------------------

He warned that anyone arrested for attempting to sell unlicensed gear
will stay in jail over the weekend because the violation is a "no-
bond" federal offense.

Pressley said suspected bootleggers will be held for U.S. marshals
and T-shirts or other bogus merchandise will be confiscated as
evidence.

According to Rob Gibbs, chief deputy U.S. marshal for the Eastern
District of Tennessee, the marshal's service "will not participate in
the enforcement."

The move comes just days after U.S. District Court Judge Leon Jordan
agreed to bar "bootleggers" from selling what Chesney's attorney
claims are cheap knock-offs of his merchandise.

Chesney alleges a group of "John Doe" bootleggers are trailing him on
tour. The East Tennessee native wants to obtain a similar injunction
that would apply nationwide.

Chesney's lawyer, John G. Jackson, said bootleggers position
themselves outside the concert venue and sell merchandise similar to
what Chesney's promotion team sells but at a substantially lower
price.

Jackson said Chesney is losing $10,000 per concert because of the
sale of counterfeit merchandise. Last year Chesney earned $24 million
on tour.

Pressley said police are familiar with merchandise bootlegging
because many national acts that come to Knoxville file similar
orders.

As for the weather, there is a 90 percent chance of scattered showers
in the morning and early afternoon, but clouds are forecast to give
way to sunny skies later in the day.

But whether it's rain or shine, the concert will go on.

[http://www.knoxnews.com]

Kenny Chesney Apologizes for Kid Rock KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Country singer-songwriter Kenny Chesney (news) is apologizing for his buddy Kid Rock, for an outburst Kid Rock made at Chesney's hometown concert in Knoxville, a week ago Saturday. Knoxville TV station WVLT reports that after Chesney's performance, Kid Rock used profanity that offended the crowd. Chesney said, "Kid Rock is one of the best guys in the whole world, and I love him like a brother, but sometimes he's got a big mouth." "I just want to apologize to anyone he offended, I don't talk like that." Chesney picked up two major awards at the Academy of Country Music Awards last month. He won male vocalist of the year and record of for "The Good Stuff," ending a six-year drought since he was named new male vocalist in 1997. Chesney's hits include "How Forever Feels" and "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy." [http://story.news.yahoo.com/news? tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030616/ap_en_mu/people_kenny_chesney_1]

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