“I've Never Been So Glad To Be Wrong”: Kenny Chesney Reveals He Was Initially Worried Megan Moroney Would Struggle as His Opener
By Maxim Mower
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Exceeding expectations.
In his new book, HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, written alongside his longstanding friend Holly Gleason, Kenny Chesney has reflected on number of key moments throughout his career, as well as paying homage to the colourful characters he has met along the way.
Towards the end of the fascinating book, Chesney admits that, before bringing Megan Moroney out on the road with him last summer, he had some doubts as to how she would fare in front of a stadium-sized crowd, particularly during the unenviable early slot.
He muses, “When Megan Moroney was booked to open the Sun Goes Down Tour, I almost regretted the decision. “We're going to watch this lovely girl bleed out onstage”, was all I could think, knowing stadiums are tough, tougher at 5pm in direct sunlight”.
Thankfully, though, Moroney flourished, and as a result, the ‘Tennessee Orange’ hitmaker has earned a strong sense of allegiance from Chesney's No Shoes Nation fanbase.
“It wasn't that Megan wasn't a good songwriter”, Chesney outlines in HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, “She had a presence and love for music you could feel. Adaptable, she'd figure it out. I also knew the last act to be successful in that slot had ten No. 1s”.
Chesney expands by stressing how Moroney quickly allayed any concerns as to whether she could handle that scale of crowd, “This wasn't about her, but reality. If that first set in Tampa was slightly tentative, her second show was stronger. By her third stadium date, Megan hit that stage like she'd designed it. All the young women - and a lot of young men - knew all the words. Suddenly, everyone was singing loud enough you could hear them. It was a love fest in cobalt blue”, referencing the now-iconic blue palette that defined Moroney's Am I Okay? era. Now, the Georgia native has transitioned to the ‘pink’ of her new album, Cloud 9.
Chesney endearingly concludes, “I've never been so glad to be wrong”, with he and Moroney having become good buddies over the course of that stellar Sun Goes Down Tour.
They teamed up for ‘You Had To Be There’ earlier this year, which Moroney penned alongside MacKenzie Carpenter, Micah Carpenter and Ben Williams as a present for Chesney.
They've since joined forces on the Red Carpet at the 2025 CMA Awards after being nominated for Musical Event of the Year, and given their sweet bond and electric creative partnership, we can't wait to see what's next from this chart-topping country duo.
Signed copies of Kenny Chesney's new book, HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, are available to purchase below:
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