NASHVILLE, TN. (BNA Records) - They'd started talking about it almost before the trucks were unloaded from his record-setting Guitars. Tiki Bars & A Whole Lot of Love Tour. And the rumors were flying even when deals weren't done, routing not sorted out, buildings not even secured.
But when you play to 1.2 million screaming fans over the course of a tour - second only to funk-rock sensation Prince, pulling down multiple shows in many cities, then it only makes sense the people want to know what's going on next year right now.
"It was pretty goofy," says the affable songwriter with an aw shucks laugh. "We were down in the islands, trying to just shake the road off us from this year - and we started hearing that Gretchen Wilson was going on the road with us, that Uncle Kracker was coming back. I'm kinda surprised that when Pat Green showed up in Louisville at the fair and came out onstage with us, people didn't start talking about him, too, just 'cause of waltz across the stage with Kracker!
"I mean, if you look at all those people, you probably wouldn't logically put'em in a room together. And maybe you wouldn't think of them as having that much in common, but they all know how to kick it up a notch and work that energy with a crowd. When you get down to it, that's what it's all about."
And now that the deal is done - or at least, the talent officially sorted out - it can be released. For the 2005 Somewhere In The Sun Tour, Kenny Chesney - the pride of Luttrell, Tennessee - will be doing the split-level approach again this year. 5-time CMA nominee and double platinum sensation Gretchen Wilson will have the middle slot for the entire tour. Fellow CMA Vocal Event of the Year nominee Uncle Kracker will do the first half of the year - and then triple Grammy nominee and Texas icon Pat Green will finish off the year.
"There were a bunch of markets we didn't play with Kracker last year," says Chesney, "and I really wanted everybody to have the chance to see what he does, to hear 'When The Sun Goes Down' and just feel his vibe. So, we decided to split it up - and then bring Pat Green, who is just an awesome performer and supercool guy out for the shows in the sheds, which is actually the way it worked with Kracker last year. Both of those guys get it, so I know the fans wherever they see us, are in for a real treat.
"As for Gretchen Wilson, she's one of those girls who just kicks butt and takes names. She's not afraid to be just who she is, either, which I think is a big deal. Know who you are, then turn up the volume. It's gonna be a great year."
With the Country Music Association Awards coming up - where Chesney is nominated for Entertainer, Male Vocalist, Album (for When The Sun Goes Down) and a pair of Vocal Events - Nov. 9 and the American Music Awards - where he's nominated for Country Male, Country Album and the all-genre Favorite Artist Award (opposite Usher, Norah Jones, Evanescence and Outkast) - Nov. 14, Chesney wanted to "make it official," so he wouldn't be dodging the obvious questions on red carpets everywhere. And as he admits with a laugh, "It's only been a few weeks, but I'm already starting to get the itch to get back out there..."
In the final stages of recording Be As You Are: Songs From An Old Blue Chair, which drops Jan 25, the perpetually tanned Chesney is ramping up for the new year. With "The Woman With You" screaming up the country charts, at least two more singles expected from the triple When The Sun Goes Down, a quadruple certification for No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems and a triple for Greatest Hits, it's obvious that Chesney's place in the sun is anywhere he and his fans come together. And starting in 2005, that place will be crowded with a few other friends who know how to kick it up and make it rock more than just a little.
