David Farmer’s time tour managing for Kenny Chesney goes back to 1997, the earliest headlining dates for the “No Shoes Nation” country star who continues to headline stadiums across the U.S. But Farmer’s time with Chesney himself goes back way further.
“Kenny and I had been childhood friends and he wanted a person he could trust and represent him in a respectful way,” Farmer says of being hired to tour manage the soon-to-be touring powerhouse in 1997.
Fast forward to today and the highlights continue. “The 2018 ‘Trip Around The Sun’ was the best tour of my career. Kenny, band, touring staff were in such harmony that it created a seamless experience for all involved.”
Time outside the stadium brings highlights too. “Kenny and I have met a lot of our music and sports heroes along with others that we never thought in a million years we would get to spend time with.
“But I will say that watching over a million fans annually over the past decade-plus welcome, shout, and sing along with one of my best friends in the world has been special to say the least.”
To aspiring tour managers, the advice is simple: “Always represent your artist with class and respect and to treat all on the touring staff equal. I think the qualities that have made me successful as a tour manager would be the ability to build a team, create a culture that folks like to work in, and treating others (other acts, promoters, radio, vendors, etc) with respect, honesty, integrity.”
