Kenny Chesney's Next Big Star Is… Brother Trouble South Carolina Brothers Won Nashville, Then Took The Grand Prize


Nashville: When Kenny Chesney decided to reach back to young bands trying to get a foothold in country music on his 2008 Poets & Pirates Tour, he had no idea the quality of talent he was going to find - and with the final weekend of local competitions, it turned out the Grand Prize winner had relocated from South Carolina to Nashville to follow the plan of countless thousands of hopefuls.

"It's pretty amazing to see the quality of local bands out there," Chesney says of his summer's opening acts. "And the different kinds of country music being made, too. I'd say the future's in pretty good shape… and it was really hard deciding on that one grand prize winner, that's how good these Next Big Stars were."

But Brother Trouble, Jason and Mark Sutton, who've been playing around the Palmetto State since their teens, work a distinctly aggressive modern country that has hints of Southern rock, revved up acoustic instruments and the kind of vocals only brothers enjoy. Having won the July 3 Next Big Star at Nashville's Hard Rock Café, and performing at Nashville's LP Field for Chesney July 5 show, Brother Trouble now gets a check for $25,000, an opportunity to audition for BNA Records and - perhaps the best part of all - their own tour bus and the opening slot for the final weekend of the Corona Extra sponsored Poets & Pirates Tour.

"These guys were young, fresh, exciting," says Kate McMahon, Director of Tour Marketing for AEG-TMG. "It was thrilling not just to see how good the talent was across the country, but to see the reaction all these acts got in their hometowns. It's really hard getting the shot to open for big acts now - because there is so much packaging, but all these artists did an amazing job opening up the biggest party of the summer everywhere we went… But Brother Trouble just had a little something special. I think they're gonna have a great weekend out on the road with us."

With "Everybody Wants To Go Heaven" - from the Oct. 14th release Lucky Old Sun -- sitting at 6 on the country singles chart three weeks after add date, Chesney is gearing up to close down his touring year in fine fashion. With stops in Tulsa and St Louis en route to being the first official event in Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts, you can count on Chesney to make it one heckuva party.

"Every year, I don't think it can get any better, and every year, I am blown away by the fans," says the 4-consecutive and reigning Academy of Country Music and 3-time and current Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year. "And this year, having these local bands bring a little bit of each town onto our stage, it's made it even more like we're part of the places we play… To me, back when, I'd've given anything to open for some of my favorites, let alone go on tour with'em, so I think this is gonna be fun for all of us, seeing the road through their eyes."