On Wednesday Kenny Chesney announced a couple of festival shows for next summer. Here’s some more insight into next year’s plans from Kenny himself:

“I can’t imagine a year not rocking the fans… not seeing those faces or hearing my songs sung back to me,” says Kenny. “That is where I’m the most alive, and those people are such a big part of who I am and why I do this. To me, not being out there would be the worst thing I could imagine.

I honestly don’t think people realize how much work goes into one of our tours: I am looking at technical stuff that needs building in November… I am working on video in December and January… then we start rehearsals so we can get the kinks worked out of each system in January – as well as rehearsing the band, so we can troubleshoot how the tech stuff is incorporated without sacrificing the music, because in the end, that’s what people come for.

For us to be able to get out there and rock at a few of these festivals, it means we can do the big show people expect without having to put 6 months into getting ready for it. Me and the guys can come on out, play the songs as hard as possible and get to be part of everybody’s summer… whether it’s kicking it off at LSU’s Tiger Stadium or getting June started at Bama Jam!

“A summer without my fans? I can’t even imagine it,” Kenny explains. “They are the reason I do what I do… and while I’m working on this next record, working on some special projects we’ll be talking about in the coming months and staying on top of NoShoesRadio, I don’t want anyone to think I’ve gone to the house or could go a year without getting out on some big stages and making music.

There’s no way! And these two festivals are perfect! They’re everything we try to do when we’re out on our own tours: a good day, a lotta great music, a place for friends to come together and have fun! If we can do that, then I’d say I’ve maintained the connections that are so important to me!”

(h/t Rosi)