Kenny Chesney Gets To The “Here And Now,” Sets Stadium Tour For 2022

Kenny Chesney
Courtesy Essential Broadcast Media – Kenny Chesney

Good news for No Shoes Nation: Kenny Chesney’s “Here and Now 2022” stadium tour, previously billed as the “Chillaxification Tour,” postponed twice thanks to COVID, is back on the calendar, launching April 23 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. 

The country megastar has penciled in stadiums in 18 cities, including two at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., to close out the run Aug. 26-27, 2022. Those who purchased tickets for shows that were postponed will be able to use them for the rescheduled dates but refunds are also immediately available for the next 30 days from the primary source point of purchase.
“When we hit pause on our 2020 tour, I never thought we would go much past the fall, let alone into 2021,” Chesney says of the long-delayed outing. “The idea that it would be three years before I would stand in the end zone of Gillette Stadium, where No Shoes Nation was born, wasn’t something any of us could conceive.”
While pandemic mass-gathering restrictions are gradually lifting and some large-scale tours and festivals have rescheduled in 2021, for Chesney, several factors played into the decision to wait until 2022 in order to guarantee a full-blown Chesney extravaganza. Working once again with promoter Messina Touring Group, concern for fans, last-minute changes in health protocols, and  the challenges of mounting stadium concerts week after week with shifting local crews all pointed to waiting.
“With every city, county and state having their own protocols, with capacity numbers shifting every day, I didn’t want to announce until we knew we could come full on… strong… and without a care in the world. I always want to be that place where you can let go, feel safe and have the time of the summer. After a lot of work on a lot of people’s parts, a lot of cooperation from the folks at the stadiums, the places we’re coming and the teams we share those venues with, we’re ready to announce the ‘Here And Now 2022 Stadium Tour.’”
Sponsored by Blue Chair Bay Rum, the “Chillaxification Tour” was shaping up to be one of 2020’s — and then 2021’s —  biggest stadium tours with Florida Georgia Line, Old Dominion and Michael Franti & Spearhead sharing the bill. According to Chesney’s camp, a new lineup will be announced in the coming months. 
As for the tour name change, Chesney explains, “Literally, here and now. In the moment. All of us together, like we’ve been so many times, but fresh and alive and in the music. That’s why we’re calling it ‘Here And Now 2022’. It’s the perfect name for this tour.”
By any name, a Kenny Chesney tour promises to be a highlight of the year, let alone the summer. The “People’s Superstar” averages 23,765 tickets sold per show and a gross of $2,109,260. While he could limit his routings to primary market football stadium, his “Songs For The Saints Tour” tour went to his fans in several secondary market arenas in April and May 2019, averaged 11,906 tickets sold and gross of $1,011,902.
“Like it does for everyone, the idea of music, live music, fills me up,” Chesney explains. “Nothing is so in the moment, so completely alive. I want to start 2022 with the awesome rush that embodies everything playing for No Shoes Nation is. We’re calling the tour Here And Now 2022, because when we get together, there is only the present – and it’s so electric and good, I know I don’t want it to end. I just want to be 100% there with all of you.”
 
 
Blue Chair Bay Rum Presents Here And Now 2022 Fueled by Marathon
April 23           Raymond James Stadium                   Tampa, Fla.
May 7              Busch Stadium                                    St. Louis, Mo.
May 14            American Family Field                       Milwaukee, Wis.
May 21            Mercedes-Benz Stadium                    Atlanta, Ga.
May 28            Nissan Stadium                                   Nashville, Tenn.
June 4              AT&T Stadium                                   Arlington, Texas
June 11            Heinz Field                                         Pittsburgh, Pa.
June 18            Lincoln Financial Field                      Philadelphia, Pa.
June 25            Soldier Field                                       Chicago, Ill.
July 2              GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium  Kansas City, Mo.
July 9              Bobcat Stadium                                  Bozeman, Mont.
July 16            Lumen Field                                       Seattle, Wash.
July 23            SoFi Stadium                                      Inglewood, Calif.
July 30            Empower Field at Mile High              Denver, Colo.
August 6         U.S. Bank Stadium                             Minneapolis, Minn.
August 13       MetLife Stadium                                East Rutherford, N.J.
August 20       Ford Field                                           Detroit, Mich.
August 26       Gillette Stadium                                  Foxborough, Mass.
August 27       Gillette Stadium                                  Foxborough, Mass.