Long before Kenny Chesney was a superstar, he was a music fan. Chesney recalls seeing Jimmy Buffett at a now-closed outdoor venue, Starwood Amphitheater, in Nashville, which became the inspiration for the kind of experience Chesney wanted fans to have at his own show someday.
“When I went to my first Jimmy Buffet show, I had just moved to Nashville, and I had no money,” Chesney recalls to People. “It was pouring rain, and I was up in the grass, where you go when you can’t afford a real seat. But that night changed my life because I’d never seen anything like it, for someone to give so much love from the stage and connect with an audience like that. I was lying in bed at night going, ‘Wow, I can’t believe what I just saw.’
“And then you fast-forward,” he adds, “and it’s surreal that you become friends with that person and collaborate with that person in the studio and have that person just really inspire you. And that’s what Jimmy was for me. You have people that create space for you to do your own thing, and Jimmy was one of those people.”
What Kenny Chesney Said After Jimmy Buffett Passed Away
Buffett was 76 years old when he passed away in 2023, from a rare form of skin cancer. After he died, Chesney paid tribute to the “Margaritaville” singer, at a star-studded tribute in Buffett’s honor. Chesney performed “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.” He also joined Mac McAnally in singing “Back Where I Come From.”
“It was such an honor to be on stage with the Coral Reefer Band to celebrate our friend Jimmy Buffett at the Hollywood Bowl,” Chesney said after his performance. “So proud to have been a part of it.”
Chesney also performed in honor of Buffett, when Buffett was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Chesney sang “Come Monday,” in honor of his good friend.
“I’m gonna remember this moment forever with MacMcAnally and James Taylor, honoring our friend Jimmy Buffett,” Chesney said after the performance.
Kenny Chesney’s Country Music Hall of Fame Induction
Chesney recently had a career accomplishment of his own, when he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Chesney was inducted alongside producer Tony Brown and the late June Carter Cash. During his speech, the 57-year-old shared a question Megan Moroney asked him last year, when she was opening for him on tour.
“Last year on the road … Megan asked me a really smart question,” he recalls. “She asked me if I ever let myself feel accomplished. I remember we were outside the Pittsburgh Steelers football stadium, just hanging out by the bus after a show. And I thought that was a very smart question for someone that’s just now getting into the business. And the truth is, I’ve never really let myself sit in accomplishment very much. I’ve always been very creative, very driven.
“But tonight, I can tell you, walking into that rotunda and taking that group shot with a lot of my heroes and a lot of my friends, it was the first time that I’ve ever felt accomplished in my life,” Chesney continues. “This is an unbelievable feeling to stand here in this moment, and with every cell in my body, I feel the gravity of this moment.”
Later, the East Tennessee native reflected on the evening, and the significance of the moment.
“Being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame last night was the proudest moment of my life,” Chensey writes on social media after the ceremony. “I am humbled and beyond grateful. The love I felt in the room was overwhelming. … The connection I share with my audience will forever be on display within the rotunda at the Country Music Hall of Fame. I am very proud of that.”
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