“It Was Emotional”: Kenny Chesney on Getting to Experience His Country Music Hall of Fame Induction with His Mother and Father

They often say it's not what we experience in life that really matters, rather, it's who we experience it with.

During a new conversation with Audacy Music's Katie & Company, Kenny Chesney has shed some light on how special his Country Music Hall of Fame induction truly was.

The ‘No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems’ hitmaker was inducted into the hallowed institution during a star-studded ceremony in October, alongside Tony Brown and June Carter Cash. Chesney was surprised by performances from his close friends, Kelsea Ballerini, Megan Moroney and Eric Church as part of a moving tribute.

Chesney began by reflecting, “A lot of people, leading up to that, they would go, ‘How do you feel?’ And I would say, ‘I haven't really accepted it yet’, you know? Because we're still working really hard. I got the book stuff...and it doesn't feel like I'm going into the Hall of Fame. It still seems like I'm rolling, which we are”.

He went on to stress that, once the ceremony began, he felt the weight of the occasion, “Walking into that rotunda, and they say your name over the speakers - ‘Country Music Hall of Famer, Kenny Chesney’, and every living member is in there. You get to a place where it hits you in that moment. The gravity of that moment is truly unbelievable. We had to sit and take a group picture, and there's all of us there, and I'm in that group. That picture will be really big in my house”.

Heartwarmingly, the Knoxville native was able to soak up the entire experience while sat next to his mom, Karen, and dad, David, “I sat beside my mother and father, which was a gift, to be at this place in my life and career and get inducted into the Hall of Fame and still have both of them with us. I sat right beside them”.

Chesney then amusingly joked that his mother couldn't contain her excitement, despite his gentle encouragement throughout, “And the whole ceremony, my mother was squeezing my hand really hard. I said, ‘Mom, you've got to let go a little bit...!’ So it was emotional. It really was. It was, to have all my friends there, and the people that have been on this journey with me...There have been a lot of ups and downs over the years, and to be standing there in that spot, it was just so insane...When I moved to Nashville after college, I didn't see that night coming - ever”.

The five-time CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year has regularly paid homage to the way his parents raised him in recent months, as well as in his new book, HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, co-written with Holly Gleason. Chesney credits his mother with instilling in him a sense of unwavering positivity, while his father imparted discipline.

As he continued to describe how touching his Country Music Hall of Fame induction was, Chesney mused, “To stand up there in that place and in that spot where a lot of your friends and heroes have stood...It hit me, and I accepted it. And when I accepted it, I was like, ‘Oh, wow, this is the most unbelievable feeling in the world, to be validated like that and to be recognized to that level’”.

Chesney concluded by revealing that Church was not originally on the bill of performers, with The Chief getting a call during vacation after a last-minute drop-out, “And our friend Kelsea [Ballerini] came and sang for me. Megan [Moroney] sang for me. And Eric Church...I don't even know who, but somebody got sick and couldn't come. And they called Eric, and he was on vacation at the beach in Florida. They called him, and the next day, he flew up and did a medley. Like, everybody just did one song. Eric did, like, an eight song medley - and put that together in one day. For me”, before gushing, “It was unbelievable”.

It says a lot about the kind of person Church is to make the trip from Florida to Nashville in order to honour Chesney for his induction, as well as highlighting how impactful the ‘She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy’ crooner has been on The Chief's career. The duo toured together on more than one occasions during the 2010s, with Church famously joining Chesney for a fan-favourite live rendition of ‘When I See This Bar’, which appeared on the latter's Live in No Shoes Nation project.

Elsewhere during his discussion with Katie Neal, Chesney confirmed he'd been working on new music this summer, before embarking on his HEART*LIFE*MUSIC tour, as well as shedding light on the creative process behind the book.

Signed copies of Kenny Chesney's new book, HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, are available to purchase below:

Watch the full conversation between Kenny Chesney and Katie Neal below:

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