Last night Kenny Chesney tweeted a picture of his brand new album cover. “Hemingway’s Whiskey” is due out in stores on September 26th. Can’t wait to hear the new album and see what the lead single will be.
While Kenny Chesney has taken a break from his usual summer tour in 2010, Kenny has not slowed down at all. Since announcing his break from touring Kenny has produced a concert movie, “Summer in 3D” and has worked on a high school documentary called “Boys of Fall”. Now Kenny has announced the release of his latest album, “Hemingway’s Whiskey”, which is due out September 28th. Kenny says his new album will reflect the next stage of his music. “I knew I wanted the record to be something more, something that took what I do in my special projects and weaved it into what I do for the mainstream,” says Chesney. “It takes a lot of energy and mental space to be on the road.”
The album’s title track comes from the great song-writer Guy Clark. “I was sitting in my truck and a friend had given me Guy’s album, which had just come out. It’s a song that talks about living life to its fullest, being a man about your responsibilities and not compromising. As soon as I heard it, I knew I had to cut it — and call the album that — because it says everything about the way you live your life, and what life can be if you refuse to buy into limits, which, as someone who’s read all his books, is everything Hemingway’s novels revolved around.”
There will certainly be more details coming out about the new album in the weeks to come, including a lead single. Rocker, Grace Potter, and Chesney have been working on a collaboration, but it has not been announced that their work will be on the new album.
Forbes Magazine has a great article on the top earning country music stars. The article talks about the stability of the country music industry comparatively to the rest of the genres. It also talks about fan loyalty and dedication to artists that continue year after year. Kenny Chesney took the top earning spot followed by Toby Keith. Taylor Swift, with the help of her massive “Fearless Tour”, made a huge move this past year and finished #3. The only real surprise was Carrie Underwood coming in at #10. I would have expected her to be higher on the list. Here is an excerpt from the article. Fans should definitely head over to Forbes Magazine and read the entire piece.
“Unlike success on the coasts, fame in Nashville seems to come with an irrevocable ticket into the hearts and wallets of country fans who, like the heroes of a sad song, are in it for the long haul.”
“Their loyalty is one big reason why Nashville seems to be a time warp back to the days when the music industry was all-powerful and radio stations dictated who would become a star. Over the last year country has remained calm as the rest of the business continues to shed dollars and talent. Country album sales were down only 3% in 2009, compared with double-digit declines in rock, alternative and rap.”
Here is the Top 10 list of earners in country music. The exact monetary figure is an estimate. Check out a slide show of all of the Top 10 along with facts and figures on their earning at Forbes.com.
1. Kenny Chesney – $50 Million
2. Toby Keith – $48 Million
3. Taylor Swift – $45 Million
3. Rascal Flatts – $45 Million
5. Tim McGraw – $30 Million
6. Keith Urban – $28 Million
7. George Strait – $25 Million
8. Brad Paisley – $22 Million
9. Alan Jackson – $15 Million
10. Carrie Underwood – $13 Million
Following the ACM Awards in April, many of the stars stuck around for an extra day to take part in the ACM’s Brooks and Dunn “Last Rodeo” Tribute Concert. Below is a behind the scenes look at the photo shoot with more country music stars sitting together then you have probably ever seen. You can also get a sneak peak at the performance by Kenny Chesney at the Broooks and Dunn Tribute by following the link to HearSomethingCountry.com.
Kenny Chesney’s concert from The Joint in Las Vegas will broadcast live on No Shoes Radio. The broadcast is in appreciation for the support fans gave to Kenny’s Nashville flood benefit show on Tuesday night. You can tune into the concert on the NSR website, as well as on your iPhone through the Kenny Chesney app starting at 8 PM EST for the pre-show. Kenny will take the stage at 11 pm EST.
This will be a great opportunity for fans to get a chance to hear a live show since Kenny has significantly scaled back his touring schedule this summer. Kenny will have 12 concerts this summer with 5 of them at The Joint in Las Vegas. This is a far cry from the 50 plus shows he has been headlining each summer for the past eight years. Though many of the show are sold out there are still some Kenny Chesney Tickets available.
Here is where you can catch Kenny this summer.
May 14th: The Joint @ Hard Rock Hotel – Las Vegas, NV
May 15th: The Joint @ Hard Rock Hotel – Las Vegas, NV
May 29th: LSU Tiger Stadium – Baton Rouge, LA
May 30th: LSU Tiger Stadium – Baton Rouge, LA
June 5th: BamaJam – Enterprise, AL
June 23rd: The Joint @ Hard Rock Hotel – Las Vegas, NV
July 2nd: The Joint @ Hard Rock Hotel – Las Vegas, NV
July 3rd: The Joint @ Hard Rock Hotel – Las Vegas, NV
July 18th: Craven Country Jamboree – Craven, SK
July 24th: Churchill Downs – Louisville, KY
July 25th: Country Thunder USA – Twin Lakes, WI
Aug. 7th: WE Fest – Detriot Lakes, MN
Kmart and Kenny Chesney have decided to work together for a nationwide distribution of Kenny’s movie, “Summer in 3D”. Starting on May 11th, Kmart will be selling a 2D version of the concert film on Kmart.com. The nationwide 3D distribution will follow on June 13th. The concert film will be available in both DVD and Blu-ray.
The collaboration also includes an online sweepstakes that will run through the 20th of June. The Kenny Chesney/Kmart Contest gives fans an opportunity to win great prizes like autographed merchandise and prizes. The grand prize winner will get an all-expense paid trip to Las Vegas to meet Kenny and see him live in concert.
All expenses paid trip to Vegas. I do not really know what that means. It could mean a whole bunch of things. My guess is that there is some fine print around that contest entry. Great contest though. Can’t wait to get my hands on the DVD.
Chris Young landed his second consecutive #1 single this week with “The Man I Want To Be”, which took over the top spot after a two week run by Joe Nichols. After a shaky start (his first three singles never cracked the Top 35) to his career to follow up his victory on Nashville Star, Chris has taken off in 2009 and 2010 to become one of the rising stars in country music. He is even spending his spring and summer out on the road with Alan Jackson’s “Freight Train Tour”.
“Gimmie That Girl” drops one spot to #2 and is followed by Kenny Chesney’s “Ain’t Back Yet”. Kenny is starting to lose plays and it looks like his latest effort will be stopped just a few spots short of #1. Holding steady at #4 is “American Honey” and rounding out the top 5 is Miranda Lambert and “The House That Built Me”, which made a big jump from #7. Eric Church’s “Hell on the Heart” is the only song to enter the Top 10, but it has also begun to lose plays and may stall out right there. The only newcomer to the Top 20 is Jerrod Niemann and his catchy hit, “Lover, Lover”.
Along with the release of her new music video for “Undo It”, Carrie Underwood is making a strong move on the charts with her latest song. In its fourth week on the chart, “Undo It”, has risen to #23 and is both the “Most Increased Audience” and “Most Added” single of the week. The only addition to the Top 60 chart this week is Randy Houser’s “I’m All About It”, which arrives on the chart at #58.
Kenny Chesney has been very vocal during these days following the terrible flooding in Nashville. Here is Kenny asking fans to donate to the Red Cross of Nashville.
Kenny Chesney went on Anderson Cooper’s show on CNN last night to share his story and the story of Nashville during this tragedy. Anderson admitted that the national focus has not been on Nashville and that the media has dropped the ball in bringing attention to this disaster. Check out the clip below and see what has happened to Kenny’s house.
Kenny Chesney tweeted earlier this evening that he is sending CNN’s Anderson Cooper footage of the flooding at his house. The footage is going to air at 10 PM tonight on CNN.
