Nashville, TN. (SONY BMG MUSIC Entertainment) - You can say what you want about not being a prophet in your hometown. But for Kenny Chesney, who rocked nearly 48,000 people at Nashville's LP Stadium Saturday night, it looked like even the people who live where the reigning and back-to-back Academy of Country Music of the Year lives not only showed up in record numbers for a music event, they came early, partied in the parking lot and stayed until the last note was played.'The trouble with Nashville,' says the man who calls Music City his home, 'is that everybody knows somebody who's in the business... they're so dialed in, they don't get excited... and there's so much music, they don't know where to start.'
Pausing for a moment, the man who not only brought dear friend and reigning Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year Keith Urban onstage for his first post-matrimonial appearance and had BNA VP of Promotion Tom Baldrica make a special guest appearance on tuba smiled a big smile, then proclaimed, 'Although you couldn't really tell that if you were in the parking lot, listening to the tail-gaters at 2:30 in the afternoon - or looked up at the third tier of the stadium during our set.'
Taking the stage - or rather a satellite stage out on the far end of the playing field with his now 6 week and counting No 1 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart 'Summertime,' and then being hustled 50 yards upfield surrounded by 20 security guards to hold back the surging, screaming fans, Chesney brought everything he had to a venue that only George Strait's Stadium tour - featuring multiple headlining acts - and N Sync at their prime dared attempt back in 2000. And not only did the only act braving football stadiums this year attempt, he came, saw, rocked and roared.
As The Tennessean raved in their front page coverage, 'Chesney, pals show why he's biggest game in town: More than 47,000 pack LP Field for supersized show.' Then going on to write of the man who was outdrawn by only the Rolling Stones and U2 last year's show, 'He's country's biggest touring draw now, and he's the only contemporary country star who could command a stadium crowd of this size and have the majority of fans standing throughout his two-hour show... Headliner's strong enough to hold 47,699 fanatics in the palm of his hand.'
'Our fans are a pretty crazy, rockin', spirited bunch,' Chesney admits, 'and I gotta say, they were wild in Seattle two weeks ago, but the folks in Nashville, they represented loud - and had a blast doing it. When you're up there playing for 50,000, that's what you wanna do: have the best time you've ever had in your life. I'm lucky: my fans come ready to have a good time.'
He shared John Mellencamp's 'Hurt So Good' with CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Gretchen Wilson, brought songwriter Mac McAnally out for an emotional 'Back Where I Come From,' enlisted duet partner Uncle Kracker for 'When The Sun Goes Down' and a thumping take on Kid Rock's 'Cowboy,' then brought everybody back out for the always free-for-alling 'She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy.' But the set pretty much belonged to the fans who sang along with every line throughout night.
Source: Top40-charts.com
