Kenny Chesney Previews New CD

Usually when you see Kenny Chesney, it’s on a big stage in a huge stadium.  This was very different.  A small group of music reporters and radio programmers gathered in a second floor loft in Nashville’s Cannery Row to get a sneak peak at Kenny’s new album, “Life On a Rock.”  The setting definitely fit the project:  Low key, intimate, and personal.  We were all told repeatedly there would be no photos, no video, and we should silence our cell phones.

On a small unlit stage, there was a stool and a small bar table.  On it, we were told, was Kenny’s own laptop.  After a brief introduction from Kenny’s longtime publisher, the music began.  The song was “When I See This Bar.”  As the song ended, Kenny came on stage and sat at the table.  He told the crowd, “This album is about how life moves fast, and we move faster.  A decade can pass.  Next thing you know, friends are gone, and you realize how special they were.  This song, ‘When I See This Bar,’ is the root of this record.  I wrote it without music.  Just me and a pen and paper.  When I was done, the record had something to build around.”

Kenny then introduced the next song, “Spread The Love,” written with and featuring The Wailers.  Back in 2008, Kenny included The Wailers on his hit “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven.”  That song began a friendship between Kenny and Family Man of The Wailers.  Kenny said, “I got to thinking about The Wailers.  What was the thread of their music?  Love.  I wrote a song with them called ‘Spread The Love.'”  Another song on the album, “High In a Coconut Tree,” is a duet with Willie Nelson.  Kenny produced Willie’s “Moment Of Forever” album in 2008, and the two have sung several duets over the years.

The arrangements, the melodies, the instumentation, the singing on the album all reflect Kenny’s longtime association with the Virgin Islands, the lifestyle there, and the people he’s met while living there.  The next song on the album was inspired by one of those people, a man named Lindy.  “I wrote this song in 2006.  I wrote it without a timetable, no expectations, no boundaries, no formula or format.  When I wrote it, I never envisioned playing them.  ‘Lindy’ is another brush stroke in my life.  I never had a conversation with Lindy.  But you could tell when you looked in his eyes, he was a good person.  The thing I loved about him was he loved music.  I was walking past a church one day, looked in, and Lindy was playing piano.  I didn’t know he could play piano.  Even though he lived a different life from me, we had a lot in common.”

Kenny talked about the process of making this album: “I got to be still, and if you know me, that’s hard.  I tried to capture the moment and not let them slip away.  That’s what this record is.  It’s so authentic.  I took the pictures on the album cover.  I was away from my regular life, and was able to capture intimate moments, and that’s what I’m proudest of.”

The last song on the album obviously was the most important one for Kenny.  It’s a song he wrote called “Happy On The Hey Now.”  As Kenny explained, “The Hey Now is a boat.  We had a lot of fun on it.  This song is grounded in ways I didn’t see coming.  Kristi was part of a circle of friends that defined my life.  She didn’t care who I was or what I did.  Kristi was good at life.  She died before her time.  I wasn’t going to put this song on the album, because it’s so personal.  This song made me rethink everything.  I love what I do, and I’m happiest when I’m on stage.  But these songs started to push me towards an artistic shift.  This record was what my soul needed.”

Kenny then took questions from the reporters.  The last one was “Does it scare you to release this album?”  Kenny replied, “It is scary.  There is so much emotion.  So many people in my life.  Once I had these songs written, I was so vulnerable.  It’s scary, but it feels right.”

Kenny Chesney’s new album, “Life On a Rock,” will be released on April 30th, which also happens to be Willie Nelson’s 80th birthday.  Kenny will co-host Country Countdown USA on the wknd of May 4-5 to discuss this album, and play his Top 10 hit “Pirate Flag.”

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