With the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 today, CMT.com has recollections from several country artists on what they were doing and what they were thinking on that day:
We played a fair in Pennsylvania on Sept. 10, and we were supposed to have driven from Pennsylvania into New York City that night and start shooting my video that morning, basically a block away from the World Trade Center the morning all this happened. But we canceled the video a couple of weeks before then, and I’d forgotten all about it. And I woke up that morning, I was on the bus. I think we were traveling through Virginia, and I went up to the front of the bus and turned the TV on to CNN and saw what had happened. It didn’t hit me at first. I was laying on the couch, just watching this and couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and I thought, “Oh, my God.” I said, “We’re supposed to be there.” And it was a weird feeling. You know, I’ve always believed in guardian angels, but it really makes you believe that there’s something up there. I’m glad we weren’t there. I mean, I feel for everybody that was there. I think we’ve all been changed forever by it. — Kenny Chesney
In all his years of touring, Kenny Chesney hadn’t played the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver until last week when he played three shows in three nights.
The three shows had a deep effect on Kenny. Listen to him describe it on his bus after the third show:
The latest issue of Men’s Health details Kenny Chesney’s workout routine, and how he hired a personal trainer in 2001 to get him into shape to produce the most high-energy shows in music:
Ten minutes. That’s all the time country music star Kenny Chesney needs to pump out 300 pushups. It’s a staggering number, especially when you consider it’s more than most can do in an hour. (Just try it.)
But his secret is simple: vision and focus. In fact, it’s this same clear vision and laser focus that took Chesney from singing for tips in Nashville bars back in the early 90s to landing his fourth consecutive Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year award last December. And all along, his fit, lean body has been a key part of his plan.
By 2001, Chesney had accumulated five number one singles. Only he longed not to be a country music star, but a country music brand. And that meant he needed to be the ultimate entertainer, in every aspect. That’s when he hired personal trainer Daniel Meng, owner of MUV Fitness Coaching in Nashville, Tennessee. Meng’s charge: to help the singer take his stage performance to an all-new level.
While Chesney was already in good shape, he needed to transform physically to put on what now would be the highest-energy concert in all of music. “I have to train to do my show the way I want to do it,” he says. “I’m not one of these guys that just stands there behind the microphone. I work really hard to give the fans the best possible concert.” The effort has paid off: Chesney has grossed approximately $500 million from concert ticket sales during the past 10 years.
Forbes is out with their annual list of the Top 25 highest-paid musicians and Kenny Chesney just made the list, coming in at number 24 with $30 million. And that was from only 24 shows due to his light touring schedule last year.
Here’s the full list:
U2 ($195 million)
Bon Jovi ($125 million)
Elton John ($100 million)
Lady Gaga ($90 million)
Michael Buble ($70 million)
Paul McCartney ($67 million)
Black Eyed Peas ($61 million)
Eagles ($60 million)
Justin Bieber ($53 million)
Dave Matthews Band ($51 million)
Toby Keith ($50 million)
Usher ($46 million)
Taylor Swift $45 million)
Katy Perry ($44 million)
Brad Paisley ($40 million)
Tom Petty & the Heartbreaks ($38 million)
Jay-Z ($38 million)
AC/DC ($35 million)
Sean “Diddy” Combs ($35 million)
Beyonce ($35 million)
Tim McGraw ($35 million)
Muse ($35 million)
Rascal Flatts ($34 million)
Kenny Chesney ($30 million)
Rihanna ($29 million)
According to Forbes, the numbers encompass all pretax income earned from May 2010 to May 2011, before subtracting agent and manager fees. The totals were compiled with the help of data from Pollstar, RIAA and others, as well as interviews with industry insiders including lawyers, managers, concert promoters, agents and, in some cases, the musicians themselves.
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.”
Kenny Chesney dedicated a lot of time to sports in 2010, particularly football, and on February 11th he’ll be honored as the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame’s Tennessean of the Year.
The Tennessean of the year designation, first awarded by the Hall of Fame in 1982, “honors an individual or organization that has made significant contributions to our society through sports or other methods, demonstrating strong character and high profile leadership,” Tennessee Sports Hall president Bill Emendorfer said.
Chesney isn’t the only music figure to have been so honored: Barbara Mandrell won the prize in 1982, Vince Gill won in 1995 and Hank Williams Jr. was chosen in 2007.
The 2011 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Awards Banquet is set for Feb. 11 in the Renaissance Hotel in Nashville. Tickets are $125, and reservations may be made through Lynn Powell Toy at the Hall of Fame Museum: 615–242-4750 or lpowell@tshf.net.
Two of his best friends in sports, Peyton Manning and Sean Payton, faced off against each other in last year’s Super Bowl, and Kenny Chesney was in attendance for it. But this year, Kenny says he’ll probably just stay at home and watch the game with friends and family:
Kenny tells Chicago’s WUSN radio he probably won’t be there in person when the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the Green Bay Packers for the championship game.
He elaborates, “I don’t think so. The two teams that are in it, I’ve got a few friends that play on those teams, but I’m not emotionally or mentally invested in either one of those teams. So, I think I’m gonna have a small Super Bowl party at the house and have some family and friends over and relax and enjoy it at home so I don’t have to travel.” Chesney adds that he’s getting ready to hit the road for his upcoming “Goin’ Coastal” tour, so he’s going to stay home as much as he can right now.
With the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 today, CMT.com has recollections from several country artists on what they were doing and what they were thinking on that day:
In all his years of touring, Kenny Chesney hadn’t played the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver until last week when he played three shows in three nights.
The latest issue of 
Y100 Country has a 
According to 
Kenny Chesney dedicated a lot of time to sports in 2010, particularly football, and on February 11th he’ll be 
Two of his best friends in sports, Peyton Manning and Sean Payton, faced off against each other in last year’s Super Bowl, and Kenny Chesney was in attendance for it. But this year, Kenny says he’ll probably just stay at home and watch the game with friends and family:
