Chesney's Second Greatest Hits CD Drops May 19th
Austin – When it comes to roots, rock and country music, very few establishments set the bar as high as PBS’ “Austin City Limits,” now in its 35th season. The acclaimed show which has – among the many legendary artists — hosted Van Morrison, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, Ray Price, Neil Young, Ray Charles, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Tom Waits, Arcade Fire, My Morning Jacket, Tammy Wynette, the Allman Brothers, Allison Krauss and John Mayer will have a special one hour Kenny Chesney performance, taping May 12.
“There is so much history when you look back at the artists who’ve played ‘Austin City Limits’ over the years,” says the man who has sold over a million concert tickets each of the past 7 summers – and stands as the biggest ticket seller of the 21st century. “If you wanna know about American music, about Texas music, about music that comes out of the South – whether it’s the Allman Brothers and Widespread Panic – or songwriters like Jackson Browne and John Prine, Western swing like Asleep at the Wheel or classic country like Merle Haggard, George Jones, Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette… that’s the place you go.
“And with everything I’ve been able to do in my career, it’s still an incredible honor to be asked to do ‘Austin City Limits.’ That’s a whole other kind of music show…”
For Chesney, who closed out last week’s Stagecoach Festival in Indio, California with a rave review on EW.com – Entertainment Weekly’s online presence — that offered, “This is feel-good music, performed in a no-muss, no-fuss style by a 12 piece band that never overshadows Chesney’s straightforward, muscular style…,” this is an opportunity to offer a more intimate picture of who he is and where his music comes from.
“When you go in there – and you think about all the people who’ve come before you – you really want to stand and play and sing and let the songs have their moment,” Chesney says of his “ACL” game plan. “This is about getting to the basics of what I learned when I first came to town: a good song sung from an honest place. Let people sense who you are, and do it with the best songs possible.”
For Chesney, who releases Greatest Hits Two on May 19, there are plenty of songs to choose from. Since releasing “Young” at the end of 2001, he has scored multiple week #1s including “There Goes My Life,” “Summertime,” “Beer In Mexico” and “The Good Stuff,” as well as chart-topping duets “When The Sun Goes Down” with Uncle Kracker and “Down The Road” with songwriter/singer Mac McAnally.
“I can’t think of a better place to revisit the songs of the past 8 years,” Chesney says. “’Austin City Limits” is all about the music… and these songs – for me – have certainly withstood the test of time. What a great place to play them and get to consider what they’ve meant to me and a lot of other people.”
