What do you get when you mix country mega-stars Kenny Chesney and TimMcGraw with the prospect of a summer stadium tour? It’s quite simple: You get an epic production that will cover over 19,000 miles and 21 stadiums with over 20 buses and 80 tractor trailers.
The “Brothers of the Sun” Tour is ready for its kick off on June 2 in Tampa, Florida and will take the longtime friends, along with openers Jake Owen and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, over 19,458 miles in 88 days by the time the tour wraps on August 25th in Foxboro, MA.
This tour is a far cry from Chesney’s early days. “It doesn’t seem that long ago when it was just 14 of us crammed into a 12-bunk bus we called ‘the iron lung,’ ‘cause it leaked diesel fumes inside the bus,” said Chesney. “There weren’t enough bunks for everybody so we took turns sleeping on the couch and floor, but we were living our dream and having fun. And even though we have a lot more stuff now, we’re still having a blast and just as passionate about playing music and taking it out to the fans, whether it be in a club or stadium.”
“It’s been a lot of fun rehearsing in Nashville, but rehearsals are over. It’s time to pack the trucks and head to Tampa,” added McGraw. “I’m pretty sure there are towns in Louisiana with smaller populations than we have on our road crew. It takes a village and a lot of hard work by a lot of people, but I’m just excited for the fans because we’ve got one hell of a show planned for them!”
While on the road, the giant tour crew (283, to be exact) will eat like royalty thanks to a traveling catering staff. In addition to three hot meals a day, each show day will have a “Stage Bar & Grill” that will serve classic BBQ faves like hamburgers and hot dogs on stage from 10am until 9pm. Manning the grills will be random crew members, ranging from the stage manager, various truck drivers and even members of Chesney’s band.
With such a huge production that includes stadium shows on both Saturdays and Sundays, there will actually be two separate teams building and then tearing down the stage over a 91 hour period. This epic set will include an LED video wall with nearly 2,400,000 pixels for sharpness and clarity, as well as 80 strobes and 48 Syncrolites that are placed throughout the stadium to send five foot diameter beams of light crisscrossing the night sky.
In describing this tour, one word comes to Chesney’s mind: passion. “I use the word ‘passion’ a lot because it takes a lot of passionate and dedicated people to make this happen day in and day out,” said Chesney. “And most of the people that were with us a decade ago are still here. We’re a family.”
For tour dates, check out: https://tickets.kennychesney.com/
