In a summer of a dozen stadiums,
thirty-nine arenas and a handful of bars, Kenny Chesney understands loud, big
and extended. Anyone who saw the 4-time and current Country Music Association
and 4-consecutive Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year on this
summer’s Corona Extra presented Sun City Carnival Tour saw him at his most
blazing, so when noted PBS series “Austin City Limits” came calling, Chesney
relished the possibility of a more intimate kind of performance.....
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“You know, it is about the songs,” allows the high energy songwriter. “When
you’re playing to 50,000 people, you don’t want the energy to lag, but there’s
also that idea that the ballads are the songs that really touch people… and I
hate that we can’t go to that quieter place in the show as much. Beyond the
thrill of being asked to do the one show that I grew up on, I knew ‘Austin City
Limits’ is a place where those more thoughtful songs are really understood.”....
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To that end, Chesney brought along
his good friend and fellow CMA Vocal Event nominee – for the #1 single “Down
The Road” –Mac McAnally along for the performance on the ........University...... of ....Texas......
campus. In addition to their duet, McAnally also sang on his “Back Where I Come
From,” a signature piece in Chesney’s live show.....
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“When you think about Mac, you
think about the very best of what songwriting can be,” Chesney explains. “He
has such a warm voice… and such a wonderful soul. To be able to share a stage
with him, especially for something like this, is one of the best parts about
what making music for a living.”....
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There will be plenty of “the hits,”
for certain. But also look for Chesney to tell the story and play the never
before performed “Somewhere In The
Sun,” written mere blocks away because of a show that was cancelled due to ice.
For a man who’s used to the tropics, a snow day in Austin, Texas is a reason to
seek solace in song – and it will be part of the very special one hour edition....
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Cited by The Chicago Tribune’s lead critic and award-winning author of Wilco: Learning How To Die Greg Kit as
the man who “has redefined mainstream country for the first decade of the 21st
century,” Chesney – who launched the internet No Shoes Radio this summer,
currently has his newest single “I’m Alive” a duet with Dave Matthews, climbing
the charts. There is no doubt that Chesney is always looking for new and
different ways to bring his music to life – whether it’s the Keg in the Closet
college shows, NFL Stadiums in Boston, Seattle, Pittsburgh or Detroit or PBS’
“Austin City Limits.”....
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“Different places mean different
ways to play these songs,” Chesney says. “And I have to admit: I love them all.
I’m just glad we got to capture this moment in Austin earlier in the year.”