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Report: Kenny Chesney won't tour next year
Kenny Chesney plans to take a break from his die-hard touring schedule and not book any major tours for the summer of 2010. The country superstar told Entertainment Weekly that his stadium show this week, on Sept. 19 in Indianapolis, will be his last big gig for quite some time.
Chesney told EW the pace of constant touring--since 2004--as well as the responsibilities that come with sitting at the helm of his business enterprises, has seemed to be wearing him down. He said he recently realized he was missing out on a big part of his life--including spending quality time with friends and family--because of his relentless performance schedule.
Chesney said there wasn't a particular precipitating incident that made him want to take some time off. "It's just something that's been building," he told EW.
However, he said a recent conversation with Bruce Springsteen helped him realize that he had been giving his all to one thing for so long that the time had come for change. "One night, when we were playing in New Jersey, Bruce sat on my bus with me and we talked for a couple of hours, and he told me something that hit me really hard, and it's stuck with me ever since," Chesney told EW. "He said, 'Kenny, you can write half a song on a piece of paper, and you can put that piece of paper away in a drawer for five years, and you can go back to it, and that song will still be there. But life isn't like that. And whatever you're doing, don't miss your life, too.'"
Chesney said he will continue to record and will possibly play some one-off shows next year, but as far as a large-scale stadium tour--it's not in the cards.