Country superstar Kenny Chesney, the reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year and one of the most consistent concert draws of the past few years, is mounting a 34-city, 36-date U.S. tour with LeAnn Rimes on his Corona Extra sponsored Poets & Pirates Tour. The tour kicks off April 18-19 with Chesney performing a solo, multiple-date showcase at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT; Rimes joins him for the full tour on May 1 in Austin, TX. A variety of artists will be joining Chesney and Rimes along the way, including Sammy Hagar, Brooks & Dunn, Keith Urban, Gary Allan, Big & Rich and Luke Bryan.
Chesney has been like money in the bank for concert industry the past few years. He has sold more than a million concert tickets every year for the past six summers, and has consistently ranked among the top ticket sellers according to TicketNews’ exclusive industry rankings. His Flip Flop Summer 2007 Tour was also named the top package tour of the year, according to Billboard and it was second-biggest tour overall last year behind the wildly successful reunion tour by The Police.
“It’s hard to know which cities to play and which ones to take a break from,” Chesney said in a statement. “You want to go everywhere, but then you know you can only do so many cities – and this year’s show is going to be very intense. It’s not necessarily the tricks or the production, though that’s part of it, but just even figuring out the set list, there’s an awful to bringing all this together – and this year is going to be amazing.”
Tickets are priced at $85 and $47.75 and go on sale to the public beginning March 29. “People don’t realize going from arena to amphitheatre to stadium to amphitheatre keeps you on your game,” Chesney added. “Because, you know, I didn’t… I don’t think I really got how different going from one to the other is, until we were in the middle of it last summer. Then you find yourself going, ‘Oh, you can’t do that here…,’ or ‘Oh, yeah, tonight’s that possible…’”
Kenny Chesney Poets & Pirates Tour 2008 tour dates:
April 18-19 Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun Arena
April 26 Columbia, SC Williams Brice Stadium
With Brooks & Dunn, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan, Luke Bryan:
May 1 Austin, TX Frank Erwin Center
May 2 Oklahoma City, OK Ford Center
May 3 Dallas, TX Pizza Hut Stadium
With Brooks & Dunn, LeAnn Rimes:
May 8 Charleston, WV Civic Center
May 10 Baltimore, MD M&T Bank Stadium
With Brooks & Dunn, Sammy Hagar, Big & Rich, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan:
May 21-22 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena
May 24 Cleveland, OH Browns Stadium
May 28 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
May 29 San Diego, CA Coors Amphitheatre
May 31 Phoenix, AZ Univ. of Phoenix Stadium
With Keith Urban, Sammy Hagar, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan:
June 3 Portland, OR Clark County Amphitheatre
June 6 Las Vegas, NV MGM Grand
June 8 San Francisco, CA AT&T Park
With Brooks & Dunn, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan, Luke Bryan:
June 19 Moline, IL I-Wireless Arena
June 14 Pittsburgh, PA Heinz Field
June 21 Chicago, IL Soldier Field
With Keith Urban, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan, Luke Bryan:
July 5 Nashville, TN LP Field
With Keith Urban, Sammy Hagar, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan:
July 13 Atlanta, GA Turner Field
With Brooks & Dunn, Sammy Hagar, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan:
July 17 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
July 19 Philadelphia, PA Lincoln Financial Field
July 24 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts
July 26 Foxboro, MA Gillette Stadium
With Keith Urban, Sammy Hagar, LeAnn Rimes, Gary Allan:
July 31 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Amphitheatre
August 2 Detroit, MI Ford Field
August 14 New Orleans New Orleans Arena
August 21 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
August 22 Raleigh, NC Alltel Pavilion
August 28 West Palm Beach, FL Sound Advice Amphitheatre
August 29 Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheatre
August 30 Jacksonville, FL Veterans Memorial
September 11 St. Louis, MO UMB Bank Amphitheatre
September 13 Indianapolis, IN Lucas Oil Field
