Kenny Chesney Is ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ That He’ll Get to Play Live Music in 2020
2020 was supposed to be a big year for live music, with big-name acts like Brooks & Dunn, Zac Brown Band and Kenny Chesney planning tours. But then the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic hit globally, and everything screeched to a halt, which meant the postponement of Chesney's tour.
Still, the megastar hopes he will find his way to the stage sometime this year.
"I think we're cautiously optimistic — but like I said, cautiously — about playing music this year," Chesney says, thinking of his 2020 Chillaxification Tour, which was originally set to kick off on April 18. "But honestly, we play a lot of the venues that the NFL play. We're just kind of watching what happens with that, and we'll see."
In an interview with the Tennessean, Chesney explains that he and his team were working on tour preparations when the shutdown began. "We were trying to build the circus and then had to shut it all down," he says. As of now, he has plans to play a show on May 30 in Pittsburgh.
Chesney's intended tourmate, Michael Franti, is also hopeful that the tour will go on, because he has seen firsthand the magic that comes at a Chesney concert — he feels it will have a healing impact. "I think this tour is going to be all about gratitude for all those first responders and for all of us who did our part staying at home and all the scientists looking for a cure," Franti tells People magazine.
For now, Chesney is trying to live presently, telling Taste of Country Nights that he is "constantly moving" in the same breath as, "I crave living in the here and now and I know it's important."
His new album, Here and Now, was released on May 1. "The one place I've found where I truly live in that moment is when I'm on stage," he admits. "I don't know, it may be a little sad to say that (laughs), but I can tell you, that's where I truly feel like I'm living in the moment."
See the Best Country Songs of the 2010s, Including Kenny Chesney