53,460 make a double sell-out for a magic night
First, they moved the stage back. Then they called the fire marshal. Finally, all of the front-of-house lighting and structures were adjusted to open greater sightlines. Like Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, Kenny Chesney’s Sun Goes Down 2024 Tour sold out more than once at Charlotte, North Carolina’s Bank of America Stadium, but because Chesney is so fan-forward, he kept asking his people to find more seats.
And the energy was palpable. From the moment Chesney came down the drum riser, charging into the lifestyle defining “Living in Fast Forward,” it was a night of massive energy, audience shout-along that wrested the songs away from the man from East Tennessee, and enough major songs to sustain three careers. Under a clear sky with myriad stars, the country songwriter/superstar blazed through a 29-song set that included the high energy “Here And Now,” buoyantly percussive “Summertime,” erotically-charged “Somewhere with You” and femme empowering “Big Star.”
“Some nights, you can feel it before you ever start singing,” Chesney said. “Charlotte, North Carolina made their presence known from the moment they saw us. It was pandemonium, and they were not afraid to sing so loud we couldn’t hear ourselves at times.”
As crazed as fans were, nothing prepared No Shoes Nation for Kelsea Ballerini, clad in a backless brown leather jumpsuit. She cruised out of the wings for “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy,” laughing and working the T during the Chesney breakthrough smash like a couture model on the catwalk. But the yearning can’t leave/can’t stay “Half of My Hometown” melted the capacity-plus crowd, who sang along softly, before the pair revisited “You & Tequila,” the Grace Potter duet that’s one of Chesney’s most enduring hits.
When Chesney and his white-hot band returned for the encore, even the hushed “Anything But Mine” couldn’t slow down the audience. Raising their cell phones aloft with the flashlight on, the bowl of the stadium looked like the night sky turned upside down; by song’s end, the gentle sing-along had turned into a yearning performance by the crowd.
“You can tell how much people love these songs when you hear them sing, or feel the energy when they realize what they’re hearing,” Chesney explained. “Last week, we didn’t do ‘Tractor’ or ‘Anything But Mine,’ and it’s in trading songs that we’re going to keep this tour fresh. The more people hear what they don’t expect, the more engaged and excited they become.”
Once again, presented by Blue Chair Bay Rum, Sun Goes Down 2024 brings all the high-velocity energy and songs people know by heart back to America’s favorite football stadiums.
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