For Immediate Release
5 July 2005
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Kenny Chesney Stadium-Sizes USA Today
America's Paper Goes Full-Page, 4-Color Behind The Scenes July 6th Edition


   Nashville: When Kenny Chesney decided that he wanted to play in football stadiums, he knew he was a little too small for the Sunday afternoon action or Monday night variety. So after taking control of the University of Tennessee's hallowed shrine of college football Neyland Stadium -- to the tune of 67,000 crazed fans, it wasn't long until the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music's reigning Entertainer of the Year set his dreams on football fields in other towns not his own.

   With Boston's Gillette Stadium coming up July 23 and Pittsburgh's Heinz Field due for July 30, the good folks at USA Today have decided to roll out their full-page feature capturing just what it takes to mount a show of this size. Having gone behind the scenes at Chesney's almost 50,000 in attendance show at Washington, DC's FedEx Field, the national daily newspaper spent three days before the man, whose Guitars, Tiki Bars and a Whole Lotta Love Tour was outsold last year only by Prince's multiple-night in many cities Musicology Tour, even arrived in D.C. documenting what it takes to expand an already top-selling tour by almost three times.

   "The USA Today guys work so hard at digging beneath the surface of the story, I'm always glad to let them 'behind the curtain'," says the quiet-talking superstar from Luttrell, Tennessee, in an obvious allusion to "The Wizard of Oz". "How many people would send a shooter, a reporter and a graphic artist out for three days before the show even starts -- just because they're so committed to getting it right?"

   "They do what they do as hard and as full-on as we do," Chesney continues. "I mean, it was cold and raining for a lot of it, even during the performance, and there were all the USA Today people, standing there, dripping wet, getting their facts straight, making sure they had the shots they needed, and that' a pretty cool thing to witness. And for all the fans who have no idea what happens before they walk through the door, well, this is a good shot to get a sense of how much goes into one of these shows that they have no idea about. I mean, it's not just me and the band jumping up there -- there's a whole mess of people making it happen. I'm lucky to have the best team out there, and now everybody's gonna know why."

   In addition to USA Today covering the preparations for the first of Chesney's three Somewhere In The Sun Stadium-Sized shows, look for the singer/songwriter to open up to CBS' "Sunday Morning"'s Rita Braver for a profile on the award-winning public affairs documentary on July 24. With his Somewhere In The Sun Tour rolling hard -- and adding dates where they can, including a 3rd show in Atlanta sold clean in less than 40 minutes -- the man whose Be As You Are: Songs From An Old Blue Chair marked his third debut at #1 on Billboard's all-genre Top 20, this time with no single or tour to support it, has just seen his Country Music Association Album of the Year When The Sun Goes Down top quadruple platinum certification like his No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems and Greatest Hits before it. As "Keg In The Closet" revs up the charts, evoking frat house revelry and high jinks, it's summer without stopping for Chesney & Company, who wouldn't have it any other way.

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