Kenny Chesney is having the summer of his life, having finished 2022’s Here And Now Tour setting records in several stadiums and being the only country artist in POLLSTAR’s Top 5 Tours of the Year, he made the decision to take his current band to those cities that were so pivotal in his own rise to being an impactful headliner with his I Go Back 2023 arena tour.
I Go Back was designed to focus commitment to the fans beyond the stadium markets. It’s a special kind of show, designed as much for intimacy as it was delivering almost three hours of music. But for the man Variety called “a stadium-sized superstar,” there’s a special thing that happens on the largest stages, too.
It’s funny how life works. With I Go Back 2023 wrapping on May 27 in Orange Beach, the 8-time Entertainer of the Year is stepping up and stepping in for Morgan Wallen as headliner at Gulf Coast Jam and Carolina Country Music Fest after Wallen reinjured his vocal cords and was put “under mandatory vocal rest for six weeks.”
“It’s like an extra little bit of something,” Chesney says of the decision to play the add-on events. “We love playing those great big stages, and I think everyone knows that. But this year, in these venues, has been unlike anything we’ve done in years – so much fun, so great, so spur of the moment – and I wouldn’t change a thing.
“I can’t lie, though. I was missing those big stages just a bit. And now, me and the road family get to have our cake and eat it, too. When we got the call, even though we were basically done, I thought it over, and of course we wanted to be there for the fans. They’re the reason we do this – and the opportunity to step in and let even more people see how white hot and awesome these players are is awesome. Funny how life has a way of stepping in!”
