Having won the 2021 Country Music Association Vocal Event and Video of the Year for “Half of My Hometown,” as well as being nominated for 2022 CMA Single of the Year, there was only one choice for Kenny Chesney’s ‘I Go Back’ 2023 tour: triple GRAMMY nominee Kelsea Ballerini.
“Kelsea understands everything about where I come from, because she’s from there, too,” Chesney says. “She knows how hard it is to leave, how much you miss all those things that make you who you are… but also how the only way to chase the kind of dream she has is to do just that. It’s a tough call when you love home the way we both do, but for kids like us, there was never really a choice.
“When she texted me to sing on the song she’d written with some of our friends, I said, ‘Let me hear it,’ knowing she knew everything about who I was,” Chesney continued. “As soon as I heard that first verse, I was in. And I have been one of Kelsea’s biggest fans ever since. She’s a writer, a girl who sings from her heart and isn’t afraid to honor where she comes from. To me, there was no other choice for this tour.”
Having played to over 1.3 million fans on 2022’s Here And Now Tour, including breaking his personal best at many of the 21 NFL stadium plays, Chesney knew he wanted to take his music to the people who live beyond the major markets. Always committed to bringing the best musical experience, his choice of Ballerini recognizes an artist who has a strong sense of roots, but it also invested in pushing where country music can go.
“Music has taken me so many incredible places,” Ballerini says. “Around the world, singing with some of my heroes in pop, alternative and contemporary music, but singing with Kenny is going home. He was the only voice I heard on ‘half of my hometown,’ and when he comes in, it’s just like hitting the Knoxville city limits. So to be able to go out to those cities like the place he and I grew up with an artist who’s accomplished what he has, it’s a lot like going home.”
‘I Go Back 2023’ is Presented by Blue Chair Bay Rum. American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets in select markets before the general public beginning Wednesday, November 23 at 10 a.m. local time through Thursday, December 1 at 10 p.m. local time. Tickets on sale December 2 at 10 a.m. local time at KennyChesney.com.
Kenny Chesney I Go Back Tour:
March 25 State College, PA Bryce Jordan Center
March 30 Wichita, KS INTRUST Bank Arena
April 1 Oklahoma City, OK Paycom Center
April 6 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
April 8 Wilkes-Barre Township, PA Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
April 12 Birmingham, AL Legacy Arena at the BJCC
April 14 Jacksonville, FL Daily’s Place Amphitheater
April 16 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Tortuga*
April 25 Lexington, KY Rupp Arena
April 27 Greenville, SC Bon Secours Wellness Arena
April 29 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum
May 4 Moline, IL Vibrant Arena at The Mark
May 6 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
May 9 Grand Forks, ND The Alerus Center
May 11 Sioux Falls, SD Denny Sanford Premier Center
May 13 Lincoln, NE Pinnacle Bank Arena
May 18 Fort Wayne, IN Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
May 20 Evansville, IN Ford Center
May 25 Charleston, SC Credit One Stadium
May 27 Orange Beach, AL The Wharf
