Kenny Chesney Maxes Charlotte at 53,460 + Surprises with Kelsea Ballerini

First, they moved the stage all the way back. Then they called the fire marshal. Finally, all of the front of house lighting and structures were adjusted to open greater sightlines. Like Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, Kenny Chesney’s Sun Goes Down 2024 Tour sold out more than once at Charlotte, NC’s Bank of America Stadium, but because Kenny is so fan-forward, he kept asking his people to find more seats.
 
And the energy was palpable. From the moment Kenny came down the drum riser, charging into the lifestyle defining “Living in Fast Forward” it was a night of massive energy, audience shout along that wrested the songs away from the man the Los Angeles Times called “The People’s Superstar” and enough major songs to sustain three careers. Under a clear sky with myriad stars, the East Tennessee songwriter/superstar blazed through a 29-song set that included the high energy “Here And Now,” buoyantly percussive “Summertime,” erotically-charged “Somewhere with You” and femme empowering “Big Star.”
 
“Some nights, you can feel it before you ever start singing,” Kenny Chesney said. “Charlotte, North Carolina made their presence known from the moment they saw us. It was pandemonium, and they were not afraid to sing so loud we couldn’t hear ourselves at times.”
 
As crazed as fans were nothing prepared No Shoes Nation for Kelsea Ballerini, clad in a backless brown leather jumpsuit. She cruised out of the wings for “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” laughing and working the T during the Kenny breakthrough smash like a couture model on the catwalk. But the yearning can’t leave/can’t stay “half of my hometown” melted the capacity-plus crowd who sang along softly before the pair revisited “You & Tequila,” the Grace Potter duet that’s one of Kenny’s most enduring hits.
 
“People love a surprise,” says the man deemed “country’s king of stadium concerts” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “But even more they love great songs sung by people who really love each other and are great friends. Last week with Uncle Kracker, we felt it. Tonight, it was the same with Kelsea. Both guests tonight really seemed to hit No Shoes Nation in the heart.”
 
Indeed when Kenny and his white-hot band returned for the encore even the hushed “Anything But Mine” couldn’t slow down the audience. Raising their cell phones aloft with the flashlight on the bowl of the stadium looked like the night sky turned upside down; by song’s end, the gentle sing along had turned into a yearning performance by the crowd.
 
“You can tell how much people love these songs when you hear them sing, or feel the energy when they realize what they’re hearing,” Kenny Chesney explained. “Last week, we didn’t do ‘Tractor’ or ‘Anything But Mine’ and it’s in trading songs that we’re going to keep this tour fresh. The more people hear what they don’t expect, the more engaged and excited they become.”