Chesney’s ‘Summer In 3D’

The film – “Kenny Chesney: Summer In 3D” – may very well be the best opportunity for fans to see their hero up close and personal, for the performer has said he will not tour next year.

But that doesn’t mean he won’t do the occasional one-off. The artist is planning on doing 8-10 dates during 2010 and is already booked for the Bayou Country Superfest in Baton Rouge May 30 and the Bamajam Music & Arts Festival in Enterprise, Ala., June 5.

However, when it comes to months of playing city after city, Chesney is sitting 2010 out. Which means his concert film may be the closest thing many fans get to a Chesney concert.

In a posting on his Web site, Chesney credited U2 with inspiring him to do his own concert film.

“I’d seen U2’s movie and was blown away,” Chesney said. “It was like something I’d never seen – and I wondered what would happen if we tried to capture some of what was going on like that… How would it look, because this is more straight up… When we did, everyone who saw the footage agreed, and we started taking this project very seriously.”

“Summer In 3-D” was shot over six nights in five cities during Chesney’s 2008 tour and shows him performing in stadiums in Pittsburgh, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle and Indianapolis.

“It’s crazy how up close this puts you,” Chesney said. “To me on that stage, I feel every single one of my fans – all the way to the very top of those stadiums. But this is like having everyone right there onstage with us, and it’s a rush … I had no idea what we do could go to film quite like that.”

But the film isn’t limited to Chesney’s stadium shows. In Pittsburgh, the cameras followed the country artist as he and his band performed a special concert aboard a houseboat, according to USA Today.

“We did a 35-minute show with all the tailgaters, right on the water,” Chesney said. “Unless you’re down there, nobody gets to see that.”

“Kenny Chesney: Summer In 3D” will be released through Sony Picture’s Hot Ticket division. According to Variety, this is the first 3D film for the “alternative content division.”

Click here for the Kenny Chesney Web site.

Click here to read the complete USA Today article.

Click here to read the Variety article.