Kenny Chesney wins Entertainer of the Year at "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards," on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2008, live from the Sommet Center in Nashville on the ABC Television Network. Photo courtesy of the Country Music Association.
Jan. 9, 2009 — Kenny Chesney’s tabbed his 2009 road show as the Sun City Carnival Tour, and he’s appropriately tabbed two of the brightest new stars in the business as opening acts: Miranda Lambert and Lady Antebellum.
Both artists have already been unveiled as attractions for Kenny’s sold-out Aug. 15 date at Gillette Stadium, the home of the New England Patriots. Other dates on the tour — including other stadium concerts — are still being held in confidence.
"This tour is going to be a wild ride," Kenny promises. "Miranda came out and did a few shows with us, and the energy is the right stuff. She rocks hard, but she's country from a place most people forget it's coming from. And she knows how to have fun, which is as much a part of it as anything."
Kenny’s said previously that he expects the tour to begin in April. And he’s made a habit in recent years of playing smaller clubs in the Southeast on his Keg In The Closet Tour before the bigger tour kicks off.
In the meantime, he’s present on the radio with Mac McAnally, who joins him on "Down The Road," currently ranked No. 9 on the USA Today Mediabase country singles chart. Mac was named Musician of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards in November. He’s also noted as the author of Sawyer Brown’s "All These Years," Ricky Van Shelton’s "Crime Of Passion," Alabama’s "Old Flame" and Kenny’s concert staple, "Back Where I Come From."