The day before Kenny Chesney plays to tens of thousands of fans at Gillette Stadium, he played to a few hundred at the Royale Nightclub as part of the CMA Songwriters Series.

The Boston Globe has a nice writeup on the show:

“When you hear songs on the radio and wonder where they come from, this,’’ said Kenny Chesney, sweeping an arm toward his left and right, “is where they come from.’’

The country superstar was gesturing toward five fellow songwriters on the stage at Royale – Bob DiPiero, Matraca Berg, Craig Wiseman, Wendell Mobley, and Brett James – who are responsible for some of the biggest hits in country music of the last two decades, including some of Chesney’s best-known songs.

Armed with acoustic guitars and their voices, the sextet spent 2 1/2 captivating hours singing, telling tales on each other, and breaking down what’s involved in creating the soundtrack to listeners’ lives.

It was a treat to watch Chesney, who graduated to stadium-level success years ago, shrink his larger-than-life persona down for the small stage, excitedly talking about the bones of his songs like “Old Blue Chair’’ and joining his partners in rhyme to play, sing backup and laugh along with their stories.

Read the full story here.

First announced back in June, Kenny Chesney will perform in Boston as part of the CMA Songwriters Series next week. And lucky for us, the show will be streamed live!

For the first time, audio from the show will be streamed live. Fans can visit www.CMASongwritersSeries.com or Chesney’s www.NoShoesRadio.com to hear the live performance as it happens.

“I came to town as a songwriter and always consider myself a songwriter first,” said Chesney. “I’m looking forward to playing alongside my friends and heroes who create and write amazing songs for a living. I’m really proud to help the CMA show the fans what great music comes out of Nashville from our awesome writers. I couldn’t think of a better place to showcase this than in the city of Boston. The fans have been amazing to us and I am thrilled to be ending our tour with over 100,000 sold tickets in one of the greatest markets in the world.”

Joining Chesney will be songwriters Matraca Berg, Brett James, and Wendell Mobley. Songwriter Bob DiPiero will be the host for the evening.

No Shoes Radio unveiled on Facebook this morning that Kenny Chesney’s next single will be “Live a Little (Love a Lot)”.

No Shoes Radio encourages you to “Live A Little (Love A Lot)!” The new single from “Hemingway’s Whiskey” is already rockin’ on NSR and your local country radio station will be kickin’ it starting next week! What a great song to launch us into spring and summer!

What do you think… good choice?

No Shoes Radio, in partnership with Funjet Vacations, announced today the 1st Annual No Shoes Radio Winter Beach Bash in the Bahamas.

The vacation will include private parties with live music on the beach by Mishka and deluxe accommodations at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort. No Shoes Radio will broadcast daily from the party, and other special guests are planned.

Adjacent to one of the Caribbean’s largest casinos, the Sheraton Nassau beachfront resort features sparkling pools, cascading waterfalls, a fitness center, a selection of superior restaurants, a championship golf course and entertaining children’s programs.

Receive an exclusive $400 companion air credit to the Bahamas for stays of 4 nights or longer!*
Add a 4th night to your air + hotel vacation at the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort from $15 for two people!

Get more info and book your stay here.

Earlier today it was CMT’s Top 20 Countdown, and tonight Kenny Chesney will join Nan Kelley on GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown.

Tune in tonight at 8 pm ET for the countdown. It will repeat Saturday at 10 am and 5:30 pm, Sunday at 1 pm, and Monday at 10 am. (See repeat times for CMT Top 20 Countdown here)

And if you still haven’t heard the Hemingway’s Whiskey album premiere special, it will re-air on No Shoes Radio over the weekend at the following times:

• Saturday at 3pm ET
• Sunday at 9pm ET
• Monday at 3pm ET

Did you miss today’s album premiere of Hemingway’s Whiskey on No Shoes Radio? Well, not to worry because it will replay on Friday at noon ET.

If you did get to listen, did one or two of the songs really stick out at you? Got a favorite already?

Pre-order Hemingway’s Whiskey now at Amazon.com for $10.99. It hits stores next Tuesday!

Announced on Kenny’s Facebook page today:

Okay, you’ve waited long enough … so Kenny will host the NSR World Premiere of “Hemingway’s Whiskey” this THURSDAY (9/23) at 5:00 PM ET, with repeats all weekend (times announced soon)! Don’t miss it! More sips today of “Round And Round” … keep listening!

Another clip of a song from the album was posted today, along with Kenny’s commentary. Listen to “Where I Grew Up” here.

Pre-order Hemingway’s Whiskey now at Amazon.com for $10.99. It hits stores next Tuesday!

It’s another couple of stops on the 2010 With A Two Tour for Kenny Chesney this weekend as he plays at the star-packed Hullabalou Music Festival in Louisville, Kentucky on Saturday and Country Thunder in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin on Sunday.

No Shoes Radio will broadcast from Hullabalou both Friday and Saturday. On Friday, join Jon and Tambo as they broadcast live from the Hooters of Jeffersonville, Indiana. They’ll be giving away tickets to Kenny’s show and also some NSR gear.

Then join them on Saturday on the grounds of Churchill Downs at Gate 1 from 2:00-4:00 pm ET.

After this weekend there’s only one more scheduled show left for the year: WE Fest in Detroit Lakes, MN on August 7th.

Kenny Chesney rocked The Joint at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas on Friday night and sent it out around the world on No Shoes Radio.

Chesney’s 26-song set included all of the favorites, plus two tunes that he said he hadn’t played live before: “Ten With A Two” and “The Life.” Check out the full set list from the show here.

Thanks to all who joined in our live chat during the show. We even had NSR staff sign on and chat with us for a while! Next Friday we’ll fire up another chat for the CMT Crossroads broadcast. Be sure to join us.

No Shoes Radio will be broadcasting Jon and Tambo from the Hard Rock Pool at Noon PT (3 pm ET) on Saturday. Chesney plays The Joint again Saturday night but it doesn’t look like that show will be broadcast. If you attend the show, please pass along the set list here.