One of the most popular country music artists of all time, Kenny Chesney leads an intensely devoted fanbase he calls the No Shoes Nation. Mixing Nashville country music with the island inspired laid back positivity of his ocean-centered lifestyle, Kenny has created a unique sound that resonates with and inspires millions of fans. Kenny has consistently sold out stadiums and arenas, being called “Country music’s only true long-term stadium act” by Variety. Along with being one of music’s most established and exciting live performers, he is well known for his many studio hits, having 31 number one singles in the US Billboard Country charts. Among all his great success, the quality that endears so many fans is his extreme humility and hard working attitude. Born March 26th, 1968 in Luttrell Tennessee Kenny first dreamed of being a star baseball or football player. His dreams changed after he got a new guitar “The Terminator” as a Christmas gift during his sophomore year enrolled at East Tennessee State University. He quickly started playing as many shows as possible in restaurants and clubs around campus. Eventually renting studio time at Classic Recording in Bristol, Virginia, he cut his first demo album of original songs. Selling his cassette tapes at shows, he used the profits to buy a new Martin guitar. After graduating with a degree in marketing and advertising he promptly moved to Nashville to pursue his music dream. Kenny started in Nashville valeting cars by day and playing shows by night, earning a residency at the honky tonk bar The Turf. Always studying the music business and looking for opportunities to get exposure; Chesney performed at a local songwriter’s showcase which landed him a recording contract with Capricorn Records in 1993. This led to the release of his debut album, In My Wildest Dreams in 1994. The debut record featured “The Tin Man” which made it to number 70 on the charts. Capricorn ended up disbanding their country division, but Kenny’s talent had already made a name for himself in Nashville and BNA quickly signed him in 1995. His first album with BNA, All I Need to Know, highlighted traditional country instruments on emotional love songs such as “Fall in Love” and “Honey Would You Stand by Me” as well as another recording of “The Tin Man” as the single on the record. Taking to tour after the album release, Kenny began to build his reputation for high energy shows over two hours long. Me and You became Chesney’s first gold album in 1996. Which included his first number one song “When I Close My Eyes”. Chesney continued touring with the band Alabama, opening to crowds of over 15,000 fans, the exposure continued to propel his growing fanbase. In 1997 Chesney released I will Stand, which included a hardcore country song featuring backup vocals by who Kenny calls “the best country singer there ever was”, the legendary George Jones. Increasing even further in popularity, Chesney’s next album Everywhere We Go sold over two million copies in 1999. Two singles from that album, “You Had Me From Hello” and “How Forever Feels” hit number one and “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” hit number two on the charts. The following year, Kenny finds himself releasing his Greatest Hits collection at 32 years old. Perhaps the collection could be seen as premature knowing how many more hits Kenny would release! Case in point, in 2002 Chesney released No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem which hit number one with four top ten singles on the record. In 2003, he issued his first holiday album, All I Want for Christmas Is a Real Good Tan. Keeping up his impressive hit-making pace, in 2004 he released When the Sun Goes Down. Which won Album of the Year by the Country Music Association and Chesney’s accompanying tour earned him being named Entertainer of the Year. Never slowing down, Kenny released his ninth and tenth albums in 2005, Be As You Are (Songs from an Old Blue Chair) and The Road and the Radio. Combined, the two platinum albums sold over 4 million copies. Kenny hit the top of the country charts again the following year with his concert album, Live: Live Those Songs Again. His next release came in 2007 with Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates, styling himself a poet among pirates due to his beach to boat way of life. His 2008 summer tour supporting the release earned him seven CMA Award nominations, including Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. 2008 saw the release of Lucky Old Sun with the hit title track featuring Willie Nelson hitting number one instantly. That November, Chesney won his fourth Entertainer of the Year award. Topping the country charts again in 2010 with Hemingway’s Whiskey, which included hits “The Boys of Fall,” “Live a Little,” “Reality,” and “Somewhere with You.” Always laboring out of love, Kenny continued releasing near-annually with Welcome to the Fishbowl (2012), Life on a Rock (2013), The Big Revival (2014), Cosmic Hallelujah (2016) and No Shoes Nation (2017). The live album, Live in No Shoes Nation, would debut at number one on the Billboard 200. By then Chesney had also launched Blue Chair Bay rum, named after his hit song dedicated to his love for the islands. 2017 also saw the devastation of Hurricane Irma, which decimated Chesney’s beloved Virgin Islands. In response, Kenny pledged to dedicate his album sales to reconstruction as well as launching the Love for Love City Foundation for Hurricane Irma Relief. 2018 would see Chesney release under Warner Music Nashville for the first time with Songs for the Saints aptly named for the role it played in rebuilding the Virgin Islands. His Trip Around the Sun Tour later that year would win Top Country Tour at the Billboard Music Awards, always fan focused and humble Kenny said, “You don’t tour for awards. Every night when we hit that stage and hear those fans, that’s the real award.” Chesney released the single “Tip of My Tongue” with Ed Sheeran the next year. Kenny had his big 2020 Chillaxification tour plans put on hold by the pandemic. This would end up making his release of Here and Now and the accompanying tour in 2022 even sweeter. Ending his sell out tour at fan-packed Gillette Stadium, Kenny has always had a soft spot for the area and his many fans there, making sure to play his hit song Boston. Each show ends with a gift giving exchange between Kenny and the audience. Fans bring him mementos such as license plates and flags which he keeps a treasured collection of, while Chesney gifts signed guitars, football helmets and cowboy hats to inspire his young fans. After attending your first Kenny Chesney show, you will certainly find yourself asking for more and where to sign up for No Shoes Nation.