Kenny Chesney: Sphere Show Will Feature Songs He’s Never Played Before
Kenny Chesney has been touring stadiums for decades, and when the denizens of the “No Shoes Nation” go to his concerts, they know what to expect. But that’s going to change if they travel to Las Vegas for his residency at the Sphere, which he announced this morning.
Chesney says that he normally sticks with just the hits at his shows. Shortly after this morning’s announcement he spoke to Andie Summers about playing the unique venue. “There’s certain songs that people expect to hear and that you want to do and a change that is just hard, you know?”
“When I do a stadium show or when I do an arena or an amphitheater… I’m not a big believer in doing album cuts. I’ll do new music if it’s familiar, because I just feel like, everybody’s brain has been rewired. So if I just feel like if I do an album cut and a regular show, people start checking their phones, you know? I know that’s not true all the time.”
But he says that the experience of Sphere – where U2, Phish and the Eagles have also had residencies – allows the opportunity to try something different. “I’m five days into rehearsal and there are four songs in this set already that we have never done.”
Of course, he’ll still be playing the hits: “There’s going to be songs people are used to hearing, but there’s going to be four or five songs in the set, or maybe even more, that people go, ‘Yeah, I remember that song. He’s never done it [live].’ So that’s exciting for me and it’s going to be new for the audience.”
Also exciting: there’s also going to be what they’re calling “The Vibe Room,” which won’t require Sphere tickets for entry. “It’s like a space that’s 3000 square feet and it’s just like… [my] stuff, you know? It’s going to be a really fun place to be. I think there’s going to be a bar in there. I think there’s going to be merch in there. There’s going to be a museum on my journey so far in this in this business.” He notes that he and his team are still working on putting that together.
He revealed that the spark of the idea to play the Sphere came last spring. “I was in L.A. at the Hollywood Bowl last April, and I was in my dressing room. I was there doing the tribute show for Jimmy Buffett. And I was in my dressing room with [industry mogul] Irving Azoff, and he goes, ‘You need to be the first country guy to play the Sphere.’ That’s where the seed was sown. It’s an amazing opportunity, you know. So I’m very excited and very grateful. And it’s just going to be a very unique way to to take my audience by the hand and take them on a completely different immersive journey.”
Kenny’s Sphere residency kicks off on May 22; get early access to presale tickets at Kenny’s website. Listen to Andie Summers’ entire interview with Kenny here.
