Kenny Chesney Houston Rodeo concert launches before summer tour | CPT PPP Coverage

As he closes in on 30 years as a recording artist, Kenny Chesney boasts metrics any singer and songwriter would covet. He’s placed more than 30 singles at No. 1 on the country charts. His 19 albums have sold more than 30 million copies. Consider this: Chesney assembled a “Greatest Hits” album with some of those songs — 23 years ago. His appeal has only grown since then, thanks to a fan base — No Shoes Nation — that plans its summers around his tours the way Parrotheads flock to see Jimmy Buffett. 

And Buffett is a worthwhile point of reference. While that particular beach bum has long been filed under rock and pop, Chesney’s base of operations is in landlocked Nashville, some 450 miles to the nearest coast. But steel drums have long seeped into country music, and Chesney had the good sense to balance his tough-times songs with good-times tunes that often involve sun and sand. His shirt/shoes optional vibe resonated across a three-coast country.

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Chesney will take his boatload of hits on the road this summer. But Chesney’s eighth RodeoHouston appearance affords Houstonians a chance to see him before the temperatures begin to rise and shirts get shed.