Billy Currington took to Twitter on Sunday to offer high praise to Kenny Chesney, the man he’s opening for this year on the Goin’ Coastal Tour:

Jimmy Buffett performed Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, and Kenny Chesney made a surprise appearance to join Jimmy in singing “Come Monday” and “Back Where I Come From.”

See photos and watch video clips below:

(hat tip to Lisa for the photo and video)

Last month Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter filmed the video for “You and Tequila” in Malibu, and it’s set for a CMT debut on Friday, June 3rd:

Don’t miss the exclusive world premiere of Kenny Chesney’s brand new music video, “You and Tequila,” featuring Grace Potter. In addition to the premiere, Chesney takes you behind the scenes of the video and discusses his latest single from his album Hemingway’s Whiskey.

Catch the show Friday, June 3rd at 10:45/9:45 AM ET/PT.

It’s been nearly a month since the town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama was hit by a massive tornado, but on Wednesday night the town got to forget about it for a while. Kenny Chesney performed under clear skies for over 7,400 fans and donated the proceeds to the recovery efforts.

Although potential storms were predicted for later in the night, there wasn’t a cloud up above the waving inflatables, the lines of early eager fans and Hooters girls perched out front.

Even the Federal Emergency Management Agency workers handing out information on givetuscaloosa.com, dedicated to storm relief, were smiling and moving to the music.

They might have been influenced by the star’s generous donation of all artists’ fees for himself, his band and management and booking representatives to Tuscaloosa for its ongoing recovery.

Chesney gave a short heartfelt speech to lead into the emotional highlight of the evening.

“The whole world knows this town is hurting,” he said. “And the fact you came to see us play means a whole lot of money is going to help Tuscaloosa.

“We couldn’t be prouder to be playing here; we only do this song when we play here,” he said, launching into “My Home’s in Alabama,” with the help of several thousand voices. The concert was sold out, at about 7,470 seats.

About halfway through the show, he brought out Muscle Shoals singer-songwriter Mac McAnally, a regular with Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band, to play and co-sing the McAnally song “Down the Road,” which Chesney took to No. 1 in 1990.

Remember to keep voting for Kenny for the 2011 CMT Music Awards!

Video of the Year

• Jason Aldean – “My Kinda Party”
• Kenny Chesney – “The Boys of Fall”
• Lady Antebellum – “Hello World”
• Miranda Lambert – “The House That Built Me”
• Rascal Flatts – “Why Wait”
• Sugarland – “Stuck Like Glue”
• Taylor Swift – “Mine”
• The Band Perry – “If I Die Young”
• Carrie Underwood – “Undo It”
• Zac Brown Band – “Colder Weather”

Male Video of the Year

• Jason Aldean – “My Kinda Party”
• Kenny Chesney – “The Boys of Fall”
• Toby Keith – “Bullets in the Gun”
• Blake Shelton – “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking”
• Keith Urban – “Without You”

The awards are entirely fan-voted, and voting is now open at CMT.com through June 7.

See the full list of nominees here.

The show will take place in Nashville on June 8.

According to The Boot, Kenny Chesney is in the June issue of Boating Magazine, where he discusses his boats and love of boating.

he recorded a song titled ‘Boats’ for his ‘Lucky Old Sun’ album, and it includes the lines, “vessels of freedom/harbors of healing,” which is very apropos to how he feels when he’s riding the waves.

“That line came from a gentleman and his daughter I met in St. Croix,” Kenny explains in the June issue of Boating magazine. “I think anybody who has a boat has an emotional attachment to it. It has a way of healing a person and gives him a sense of freedom. That’s where I feel the most freedom — and it’s helped me heal something that needed healing.”

Kenny currently has two Sea Rays, a 56- and a 60-footer, although he admits he’s a little bit more fond of the 60-foot boat. One of his favorite boating memories is right after he purchased his first vessel.

“My manager and some buddies and I left Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., says the superstar. “The idea was to drive as far as we could toward the Virgin Islands. We made it farther, all the way to Georgetown in the Cayman Islands. It was a very peaceful time, [and] I had a lot of people I loved with me.”

In a note on Facebook, more details are revealed about how a huge surprise was pulled on Kenny in Lexington last weekend:

When you have your hands on all aspects of your business like Kenny Chesney does, it’s hard to have a surprise pulled over on you, especially on your own stage. But Saturday night in Lexington, KY, after weeks of under-the-radar-preparation, when Chesney took the stage, a bus with a special guest pulled into the backstage parking area.

So, halfway into the show, just before an acoustic part of the set, friend and musical icon George Jones walked on stage. As the crowd goes completely wild, Chesney is unaware that Jones is walking towards him. And just as he turns around, Jones meets him mid-stage to a completely shocked Chesney.

As the band breaks into “I Don’t Need Your Rocking Chair,” Chesney realizes that everyone is already in on the surprise. After the song, Chesney asks Jones to stay and sing the George Jones classic “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” Walter Tunnis of the Lexington Hearld wrote, “In an age where country music has lost much of its sense of risk, this obviously heartfelt meeting between two generational stars was a bonafide thrill.”

On the magical evening Chesney said, “There’s nothing like sharing the stage with your heroes and when George walked on stage in Lexington it was one of the biggest thrills of my life! He means so much to so many and it meant the world to me that he came to the show.”

Kenny Chesney took the Goin’ Coastal Tour to Lexington, Kentucky on Saturday night for a show at Rupp Arena, playing for nearly 15,000 fans. And those fans were in for a special treat when a country music legend made a surprise appearance…

So how do you surprise a crowd when it’s been given everything it wanted and expected? Easy. You surprise the host.

And how does one accomplish that? Like this: at the program’s half-way point, marked by the folkish, anthemic 2004 ballad Anything But Mine, out walked George Jones. The George Jones. There was no reason, no occasion. There was nothing to plug. It was simply a cameo by a certified legend that no one – least of all, Chesney – saw coming.

Joking that he has entertained most of the parents of the audience on hand at Rupp, Jones launched into an impromptu version of I Don’t Need Your Rocking Chair with Chesney’s band cautiously following him. He then left as unassumingly as he entered before Chesney called him back to sing Jones’ heartbreak classic He Stopped Loving Her Today.

(hat tip Rosi)

On April 28th, the Grammy Museum hosted Kenny Chesney for a unique and intimate look at his life and career.

On the Grammy Museum’s website, you can watch a clip of Kenny performing his latest single “You and Tequila” solo with just his guitar.

Watch now!

(hat tip dannyspl)