Kenny Chesney photo courtesy of Sony BMG Nashville.
Aug. 19, 2009 — The primary career goal for country singers revolves around making a living with their music, but one other sign of how well they’ve established themselves comes with business opportunities outside of music. Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith and Trace Adkins are just the latest in a long line of artists to venture into other avenues.
Kenny is endorsing a new line of clothing, Toby’s building his restaurant chain, and Trace is preparing to become a comic-book hero.
The tradition of music stars entering other industries is quite varied. Kix Brooks and Martina McBride have developed their own wines, Willie Nelson put his name on a biodiesel fuel, Kenny Rogers and Roy Rogers were associated with fast-food chains, Reba McEntire has become a fashion designer, and Tim McGraw has his own brand of cologne on the way.
Kenny, Toby and Trace are adding to the legacy with their new forays:
• The Blue Chair Bay clothing line, inspired by Kenny’s sense of casual dress, gets its official launch Sept. 1 during the MAGIC Marketplace fashion event in Las Vegas. The line includes khakis, ballcaps and T-shirts. "These are the things you wear when you're just being yourself, unplugging with nothing to prove," Kenny says, "when you've got nowhere to go, nowhere to be, and you want to be comfortable but still look good."
• Toby is launching another outlet of his I Love This Bar and Grill restaurant chain in Pittsburgh, according to WPXI-TV. Toby’s already opened locations in Las Vegas, Oklahoma City, Kansas City and the Phoenix area with Southern food, fried bologna sandwiches and deep-fried Twinkies on the menu. Set to open in late 2010 near the Monongahela River, the new store will be just five miles from Heinz Field, where Toby’s set to perform in a fundraiser Sept. 11 to raise a memorial for Flight 93, the plane that crashed in Western Pennsylvania when passengers revolted against terrorist hijackers in 2001.
• The November launch of the Luke McBain comic book, with a hero modelled after Trace, has been a learning experience for the fabled tough guy. "Now I'm becoming enlightened about this whole subculture that does exist in this country," Trace told The Riverside Press-Enterprise, "these people who are just crazy about comics." And maybe about Trace?
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