For Immediate Release
31 January 2005
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Kenny Chesney Kicks Off Keg With Something "Random"
Somewhere Sells Out 1st Dates in 2 Hours, Does 120,000 Be As You Are 1st Day
Lands on the New Cover of Country Weekly
 

    Charlottesville, VA/Winston Salem, NC:  When you've sold more concert tickets than anyone but Prince, how does the man who's the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year kick-off a new year? By leaving the production at home and barn-storming a few college bars, of course!
   
    And with two shows in Green Bay and a third in St. Paul all sold out in less than 2 hours -- as well as over 120,000 copies of his intimate Be As You Are: Songs From An Old Blue Chair sold on the 1st day alone -- the soft-spoken singer/songwriter has plenty to celebrate.

    "There's nothing like getting out here, getting right in the faces of those kids," laughs the man from Luttrell, TN known for the size and energy threshold of his shows. "When you're playing a college bar, there's nowhere to run; you just have to stand there and deliver. Even though we've been off for what felt like 6 months [it was actually closer to 3 1/2], I'm lucky 'cause my guys just fall right into it."

    "The Energizer bunny has nothing on this guy," raved The Richmond-Dispatch. "On a bitterly cold night Thursday, Chesney heated Starr Hill to hotter than asphalt under a hot rod's burning rubber. For more than three hours and a throat-thrashing 48 songs, the country superstar offered little by way of predictability. Befitting a tour named Keg in the Closet, the show seemed like a frat party sans fraternity. Chesney played as if on the fly and off the cuff. This was not a typical Chesney show. The sold-out and college-aged crowd of 450 knew little of what to expect. No set lists. Apparently no time limits."

    Equally random as the song selection -- from Steve Miller to Hank Williams, Jr -to Bob Marley, not to mention George Jones -- was the presence of Rolling Stone's Random Notes section, who sent a photographer into Charlottesville, VA's Starr Hill to capture the mayhem for their news section.

    "Someone said they told my publicist that the album was gonna debut #1, but what they really wanted was to capture the mayhem of these shows," says Chesney with a laugh, "and that's what they got. It's sweaty, fast, sloppy, fun. Everything playing a college bar is supposed to be. We had a blast."

    Like tickets for the college tour, which rolled into Winston-Salem, NC to play Wake Forest fave Starr Hill, copies of Be As You Are: Songs From An Old Blue Chair were flying out of stores and at various parts of the week hard to come by. Still, with all of that, the deeply personal project looks like it could squeeze by rap sensation The Game, who bowed with over 600,000 copies the week before.

    "My throat's gone, but I couldn't be happier," says Country Weekly's brand new cover boy. "I'm gonna have to be quiet all today (Sunday), Monday and part of Tuesday to be ready for Jay Leno Tuesday night, but that's okay. Getting to play 4 hours straight at Starr Hill -- that IS midnight to daylight -- well, that's about as much fun as you can have."

    Chesney will perform "Old Blue Chair" on "The Tonight Show" tomorrow night (Feb. 1). His Country Weekly -- tagged "Wish You Were Here" -- should be arriving on shelves now. More Somewhere In The Sun Tour dates will be on-sale soon, so grab 'em if you can -- just know you've only got a few hours before they tend to be all gone.
 

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