Kenny Chesney is heading back out on the road. After the success of his Here and Now 2022 Tour, with Dan + Shay, Old Dominion and Carly Pearce serving as his opening acts, the Tennessee native announces another tour in 2023. Chesney will embark on his I Go Back Tour, kicking off on March 25 in State College, Pennsylvania, and performing 21 dates, wrapping up on July 23 in Des Moines, Iowa.
“When a year is as hot and alive as 2022 was, you don’t want to try to recapture that magic,” Chesney says. “Or maybe it’s me. I still have the sounds of diesel engines and No Shoes Nation in my head – and that made me ask, ‘What else could I do? What would be something that would put me every bit as much in the music and give No Shoes Nation another reason to believe? How can we reach those people who might not come to stadium shows, who live a little off the obvious path, but who love this music every bit as much.’
“And that’s when it hit me: ‘I Go Back,'” he continues. “That song is about holding all those things that shaped you very close, recognizing how special they are – and keeping them alive any way you can. So, I decided that rather than just go repeat what we did, I wanted to take this band and these songs to a lot of the cities we played on our way up! Let’s call the tour I Go Back – and do just that.”
Chesney will bring along his “Half Of My Hometown” partner, Kelsea Ballerini, for the 2023 tour.
“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 continues. “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.”
Ballerini, who just wrapped up her headlining Heartfirst Tour, is thrilled to return to opening status for the country music superstar.
“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.”
Indeed, Chesney’s I Go Back Tour is a return to the smaller venues, and some of the smaller cities, where Chesney cut his teeth as a performer.
“I remember coming up, the craziness of so many of those dates,” Chesney says of his tour’s inspiration. “Markets where people were using chain-cutters to get onto the lawn because we were so sold out in the Carolinas… and that’s a kind of energy that should never be left behind. For all those fans – based on how good last year felt – I want to bring what was coming off that stage to you, where you are, so we can all have that kind of experience together!”
The 54-year-old vows to perform some of his biggest hits over his career that has spanned almost 30 years.
“These songs time stamp people’s lives,” Chesney acknowledges. “They put people in their lives, but they also serve as the touchstone for memories in the making. For people to come out and either live these songs again, or hear them for the first time? Who knows what will happen? But I know whether it’s ‘American Kids,’ ‘Get Along’ or ‘You And Tequila,’ every single person knows exactly what we’re singing about and singing along to together.”
See a list of tour dates below. Tickets will be available to the general public beginning on December 2 at 10:00 AM local time. Find more information at KennyChesney.com.
Kenny Chesney I Go Back Tour Dates:
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
July 22 Des Moines, IA Hy-Vee Indy Race*
*previously announced
Photo Credit: Courtesy of EB Media / Jill Trunnell
