Melissa RuggieriUSA TODAY
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When your career highlights include 32 No. 1 country singles, nearly 18 million concert tickets sold since 2002 and one of the most devout fan bases in any genre of music, you might feel like relaxing.
But despite his persona as a chill, hammock-hanging dude with a hat brim shading his eyes, Kenny Chesney remains admirably indefatigable.
On March 22, he releases “Born,” his 20th studio album filled with crowd-pleasing anthems (“One More Sunset,” “Guilty Pleasure”) as well as more introspective fare (“Wherever You Are Tonight”).
A few days later, Chesney turns 56 and the chronic workaholic figures he’ll spend the day in tour rehearsals, even though he could give himself the day off, being the boss and all.
This year’s touring romp, dubbed Sun Goes Down, kicks off April 20 in Tampa, Florida, and will wind through stadiums until a three-night stand at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts starts Aug. 25. Joining Chesney is another handpicked lineup: Established hitmakers Zac Brown Band and Uncle Kracker and CMA new artist and song of the year nominee Megan Moroney.
Chesney has much to discuss, so from his home in Tennessee he waxed philosophical about guilty pleasures, the benefit of ice tubs and how Taylor Swift has brought the world together.
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Question: This is your 20th studio album and 30th anniversary since your debut. Does it feel like three decades have passed?
Kenny Chesney: No, it doesn’t. But in some ways, maybe (laughs). I truly love creating and see that as one of the biggest gifts in my life. The first two records I made with (producer) Barry Beckett and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and then I’ve been with (producer) Buddy Cannon ever since. I’ve been so blessed to have these people around me. I feel like because of that I wake up every day with a sense of purpose.
That is quite a guitar solo on the title track. Are you itching to play that song live?
At some point this summer it will make its way onto the stage. It was one of the first songs I cut for the project and I felt it was a perfect way to kick off record. It defines how we live our lives – the details and all the joy. It defines the euphoria of being alive and not making it harder than it has to be.
Let’s talk about “Guilty Pleasure.” Aside from it being a lighthearted validation of no-strings sex, it also has a breezy Jimmy Buffett feel to it. As a longtime admirer, do you feel like you’ll continue to preach the aesthetic that he created? (Post-interview, Chesney was announced as one of the artists in the lineup for the April 11 Keep the Party Going: A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett concert at the Hollywood Bowl.)
I just try to go up there and do what we do and hope people come to our shows and have a great time. This song will help us continue that legacy. I felt like “Guilty” dives into the heart of human behavior. It was the last song I wrote for the record and it was a hard one to write. I felt like the song took the pressure off whatever the relationship is. It gives both people permission to just enjoy it. It’s honest and reckless in the best way and we had to write it in a way that didn’t make either person feel dirty.
On the other end of the emotional spectrum, does “Wherever You Are Tonight,” about loss and death, have a personal connection for you?
I’ve had a lot of friends pass. Some famous, some not. Some heroes, some not. This was a hard one. My friend Mike Reid wrote this song and I was struggling. I knew I wanted to record it, but it’s a topic that makes people uncomfortable. I would like to think there is something much bigger than all of us that we don’t understand. Those that have passed on are up there guiding us and looking after us and I don’t believe they’re gone. They linger in our lives and that’s what made the song. I engulfed myself in the song. The people I lost were so present in my psyche and my heart. They’re gone, but they’re not out of sight and I tried to channel that.
Taylor Swift gave you a huge shout-out in her Time Person of the Year profile. Were you surprised to find out how much that note and check you sent when she was starting out meant to her career pursuit at the time?
Yeah, I was. I texted her and told her thank you for the love, and I was stunned she remembered it. To see what she did with that and the person she is now and the artist she is now and the creator that she is now – it is unbelievable what she has become. I love Taylor. She has such a creative soul and that’s where all of this started. Everything you see, the stadium shows and big performances, are great. But she is still, I believe, at heart, a songwriter. That is something no one can deny. I saw that early, but I didn’t know it would turn into this. When she couldn’t do our tour (Chesney’s 2007 tour was sponsored by a beer company so the then-17 Swift couldn't join) and then she surprised me at a couple of shows and came onstage to sing with me, I saw that look in her eyes that you can’t teach. I told my promoter, “This child is going to be something one day.” But who can look into a crystal ball and know she would help bring the world together?
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You have another stadium tour coming up. What is your preparation like?
I’m training really hard right now. I’m particular about what I eat. I’m on a treadmill. I’m morphing into this “other guy” and I love it. To do what I do and be good at it you have to have a little bit of ego. But if I had to carry that in my everyday life it wouldn’t be functional. I’m trying to get my brain and body and soul in a place where I can give everybody all of me.
So how exhausted are you by the end of the night?
I’m pretty depleted after each show. I really try to take care of myself now. I have a friend, (big wave surfer) Laird Hamilton, and he taught me a lot about my body as far as breathing habits. I’m mainly doing ice tubs. I beat my legs up so much on stage, so sometimes after shows I’ll sit in ice and let the band and crew do whatever they do (laughs). My life has really changed.
