Kenny Chesney Interview

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT > CELEBRITY INTERVIEWS

Life’s a beach for Chesney who presents a free concert on the Wildwood beach Wednesday, June 20

By Ed Condran

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Jun. 13, 2012

All photos: Tom Briglia

Photo by Tom Briglia

The best things in life are free, or so says a certain lyric from yesteryear.

There aren’t many free things that anybody would want these days. But here’s one, a free concert on the Wildwood beach by country superstar Kenny Chesney.

Renee Zellweger’s ex-husband will perform gratis in South Jersey Wednesday, just four days after headlining a Lincoln Financial Field date with Tim McGraw. Most of the tickets for the stadium show are going for triple digits.

“I’m going to have a lot of fun playing,” Chesney says while calling from Tennessee. “That’s what I love to do.”

The timing is excellent for Chesney to do a free show. His latest album, Welcome to The Fishbowl, drops the day before the Wildwood show.

The disc is his most direct, emotional album. “This is a really honest album,” Chesney says. “I don’t think I could have put out a record like this earlier in my career. I wanted to put out something honest and I wanted strong melodies and to challenge myself as much as possible. I want to be as good as I can be.”

“Feels Like a Rock Star” finds Chesney at his finest. The song is hook-laden, clever and features McGraw singing along with Chesney, who is at his best when singing smooth, relaxed songs.

“I feel like this is the most emotional album I’ve ever released. I love that I have this album coming out and this tour. This is just an amazing time for me.”

Chesney believes this could be the most amazing summer of his life and who can argue with him? He’s playing stadiums with his buddy McGraw.

“It’s awesome,” Chesney says. “I’m a big football fan and we’re playing at so many stadiums. I get the NFL’s Sunday ticket and we’re going to play at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey and Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and it’s great. I’m a huge fan of sports.”

It works both ways. The backstage area at many Chesney shows features notable pro athletes. When Chesney played Tampa during spring training in March of 2011, it looked like a baseball All-Star game was about to break out.

Page: 1 2 |Next