Kelsea Ballerini Joins Kenny Chesney Onstage During First Show on I Go Back Tour
Kenny Chesney launched his I Go Back Tour on Thursday (March 23) at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va. His set included 29 of his biggest hits, and he invited opener Kelsea Ballerini to the stage for a special moment.
After running through many of his fast-paced tunes, Chesney began singing his 2014 single, "Wild Child," which was recorded as a duet with Grace Potter. When Chesney reached the chorus, Ballerini came from backstage — wearing a red fringe shirt with matching boots and denim shorts — to help him sing it.
According to fan videos, the two singers stood arm-in-arm at the front of the stage at while they sang the tune's classic harmonies.
Of course, Ballerini couldn't leave the stage without singing their award-winning, 2021 duet "Half of My Hometown." Ballerini and Chesney segued into the nostalgic tune, which finds the two Tennessee natives romanticizing their hometowns.
Ballerini opened the show for Chesney with a set that included past singles including "Hole in the Bottle," "Heartfirst" and a medley of "Love Me Like You Mean It," "Dibs" and "Yeah Boy," among others. Fans also shared that Ballerini performed songs from her Subject to Change album as well as her recent EP, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat.
Chesney's set included many of his high-powered singles, including "Reality," "All the Pretty Girls," "Living in Fast Forward" and more. He also added in a few tunes that haven't been heard in concert for a while, performing a mashup of "The Good Stuff," "Don’t Happen Twice" and "Beer Can Chicken."
The I Go Back Tour finds Chesney visiting arenas and amphitheaters in cities he doesn't often visit on his stadium tours. Although he's playing smaller venues, Chesney says he's still bringing the stadium energy to every show.
"I wanted to bring all the power and all of the passion that we have at those stadium shows,” Chesney notes. "I want every single person who’s in the room to know how much we love them, to feel as good as they’ve ever felt and to go home hoarse from the cheering and singing."
See the Top 50 Country Duets of All Time!