CMT Blog: Kenny Chesney

The résultats are in. And I have to agree with the country music lovers in France. Sara Evans is quite the meilleure chanteuse. At the recent 7th Annual French Country Music Awards, Evans was named Female Vocalist of the year. Alan Jackson won the best male vocalist prize. And Brad Paisley took top entertainer, musician and album awards. Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney and Mac McAnally, John Rich and Ricky Skaggs were also in the winner's circle. I'm half French, so it sort of makes sense that I would have the same tastes in good American country music as fans who are 100 percent French. Plus, this list of winners helps open my mind a little to accept the fact that country music has so much international appeal. And that sometimes, a country star can come from outside the U.S. Keith Urban is a daily reminder of that.

Today is All Souls' Day. So at the early Mass this morning, my priest asked us all to help the faithful departed get through the pearly gates by praying for them. And pray we did. But as I was thinking about all the people in my life who are now resting in peace, I couldn't help but think of all the songs that seem to celebrate the mournful moments as well as the celebratory moments. So many seem to capture tragic loss, and so many are good at extolling the virtues of eternal life. Feel free to add to the list.

"Go Rest High on That Mountain," Vince Gill
"Who You'd Be Today," Kenny Chesney
"When I Get Where I'm Going," Brad Paisley
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I had a feeling that live music was sort of recession proof. And now I have proof. According to the Tennessean newspaper, concert grosses held steady and attendance even rose a little bit. That means 19.2 million people went to see some kind of live music during the 2009 concert season. I'm sure some of those are repeaters like me who go to multiple shows in a season, but still, that is a lot of people. Kenny Chesney makes up for a large part of that number, as does Taylor Swift. The story theorizes that the concert industry did OK this year because "many belt-tightening fans saw going to a concert as a less expensive alternative to going on vacation." I've never really thought of a two-or-three-hour show as a vacation, but I can kind of see the parallels. The sun is usually out, the beer is plentiful and typically everyone's pretty happy. So yeah. I guess concerts are the new vacations.

Photo credit: Ed Rode

The Dave Matthews Band's mix of acoustic rock and jazz and their reputation for fun and lengthy concerts has made them one of the biggest touring acts of the last decade. And honestly, I think their music could fit in easily at any current country music festival. Matthews is already a Farm Aid board member, but now that it's been announced that he will appear with Kenny Chesney to sing their recent duet, "I'm Alive," on the 43rd annual CMA Awards, I wonder if he is considering more involvement for the band in the country music industry. Not that they need to "go country." With over 32 million albums sold and 16 million concert tickets, they have a sizeable and die-hard fan base. But fans do get older and the tastes of college-aged concertgoers is bound to change eventually. So it seems like a possibility for the future. What do you think?

Kenny Chesney's big Austin City Limits show premieres on PBS Saturday (Oct. 17). And I have an assignment for you. Watch it, and then come back here and tell me your favorite parts. I want to know if other people see the little nuances I have seen. The whole thing is an hour-long show of Chesney doing his Chesney thing. But it's not quite as rowdy as one of his stadium shows, which means you can really see and hear more. And typically, you're sober when you're watching TV, which is not always the case at one of his concerts.

Some of the seven standouts (the good and bad) for me were:

1. The low stage. At his shows, Chensey is a good five feet above the folks in the front row. So having him on a stage that's only a foot or so high makes him seem more connected to the crowd. Love that.

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A total of nine new music videos flooded the CMT New Music Video Evaluation Team this week, as CMT launches its New Music Weekend. Fresh work comes from Sugarland, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Michelle Branch, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Reba, and Billy Currington. So, out of that whole bunch, which one do you watch first? We'll never tell. In no particular order:

Artist: Carrie Underwood
Video: "Cowboy Casanova'"
Director: Theresa Wingert

Carrie Underwood's first single from her upcoming album, Play On, is a lush and brash song and video. The latter finds Carrie wearing a series of elaborate outfits and presiding over a flock of dancing girls in what some viewers see as a dancehall and others interpret as a fancy bordello.

Panelists comments: "Very impressive." "I love those gorgeous outfits." "A very good-looking video."

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When I blogged that Carrie Underwood's new video for "Cowboy Casanova" would be premiering next weekend, readers wanted to know if they'd get to see any other new ones. Well, be careful what you wish for, because there are a lot. Starting on Oct. 2, it is literally CMT's Big New Music Weekend. So you can see them on TV and on CMT.com. But since I work in Chicago and not in the Nashville office, I haven't had the honoring of seeing any of them. Still, I have some theories about what they'll look like based on what they sound like. But I'd love to know what you think will transpire in these videos. Take your best guess, then come Oct. 5 we'll check back here and see who had the best vision for Tim McGraw's "Southern Voice," Kenny Chesney's "I'm Alive," Keith Urban's "Hit the Ground Runnin'," Sugarland's "Keep You," Reba's "Consider Me Gone," Miranda Lambert's "White Liar" and more.

Sigh. It's official. Next summer will suck.

I know we will still have baseball and barbecues and pool parties and all that. But how summery is summer going to feel without Kenny Chesney? Not very, I'm afraid.

He's taking a break from his gigantic stadium shows to reconnect with family, make a record, see other parts of the world, write some more songs and just do things that feed his soul. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he talks about what pushed him over the edge to make this decision: "Last night in Charleston, S.C., my mom came, and a lot of my family came to the show. And after the show, I realized it's been a long time since I've actually had a real conversation with any of those people. I am so zoned in and so gone all the time. That's tough, when you've gotta get reconnected with the people that you're not supposed to have to get reconnected to."

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I have a friend who thinks he might possibly be sort of interested in country music. You probably know a guy like this, too. He's all about Green Day and Kelly Clarkson, and up until he heard a cool Keith Urban song, he assumed all country music was coming from guys in overalls playing a washboard. So I created this entry-level list of music that's not super traditional in the hopes that I could lure a few more fans into my world.

"Faster Car," Keith Urban
"For a Minute There," Garth Brooks
"How Bad Do You Want It," Tim McGraw
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Not everyone can get into Kenny Chesney's Hard Rock Café show in New York City tonight (Sept. 15). But that doesn't mean you can't eavesdrop. Just go to www.noshoesradio.com to hear the whole thing live. This is the Internet station that bills itself as "the radio station that is all things Kenny Chesney 24/7." So, of course, they'll have all the equipment there tonight when he plays this Ambassadors of Rock show, and you'll get to hear it all from the comfort of your computer screen. There will be preconcert stuff starting at 6 p.m. ET, then the entire concert with Chesney and his good pal, Uncle Kracker. It certainly won't give you that "too-many-beers and too-much-sun" of a real Chesneyfest. But if you close your eyes, maybe even have a few drinks, I'll bet it will feel like you're there.