“It's a Positive Energy, Full-of-Love State of Mind”: Kenny Chesney Underlines What Sets His Loyal ‘No Shoes Nation’ Fanbase Apart

In a world that often feels more divided and fractious that ever, we can find ourselves increasingly leaning on music as a means of escape from this contentious, bitter landscape. As a result, it can feel jarring when the music itself becomes the source of contention, with some artists deciding to align themselves with certain ideological stances, which in turn puts pressure on fans to follow them.

Which makes us all the more grateful for Kenny Chesney's loyal No Shoes Nation fanbase. The ‘No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems’ hitmaker has always endeavoured to uplift, inspire and open our eyes to the wonders of life through his music, and his listenership embodies this same spirit of joie-de-vivre and carpe diem.

During a new interview with Newsweek's Editor-in-Chief, Jennifer H. Cunningham, in promotion of his new book, HEART*LIFE*MUSIC, Chesney has explained what makes his sun-soaked, island-inspired No Shoes Nation such a force for good.

The ‘Just To Say We Did’ singer-songwriter muses, “No Shoes Nation means community to me. There's a lot of people within No Shoes Nation that might not have that community in their own life. It's a positive energy, full-of-love state of mind”.

Chesney expands, “It goes hand in hand with the title of this book - HEART*LIFE*MUSIC - because that means to me, ‘You take what's in your heart, and you live it authentically...’ Luckily for me and my audience, we have music to connect all those dots and help us pull all that through. That's what No Shoes Nation is”.

The country icon goes on to highlight how this joyful, loving mentality permeates his entire camp, from his fans to his crew, “Even in the backstage part of what I do, the people that work for me and everybody out there on the road. I mean, there's 120 people out there everyday with me that roll down the highway together. We come from different backgrounds, we grew up in different places, we have different religious beliefs, we have different political beliefs, we do different things with our lives. But it's the music that brings us all together”.

When questioned by Cunningham about his opinion on other country artists becoming politically vocal, Chesney stresses that he has no issue with this, but that it's not an approach he would ever want to take for himself, “I think they have a right to do whatever they want. I have never been the kind of artist to tell people how to think or how to vote. I don't think it's my place. I don't do it. They can be told that everywhere else in the world, and I think that's why the audience that I've built feels safe in that space, right? They're coming there to love everybody, no matter who you are, what you are, how you grew up - they want to come ad experience the music. Because they're told every other moment of their life how to think. They're manipulated online. Now with AI, they don't know what's real and what isn't. Well, this is real. The community we've created is real”.

At the end of the day, regardless of how charismatic and compelling Chesney himself might be, he'd be the first to point out that No Shoes Nation was built on - and will always stem from - the music. The Knoxville native has made an effort to meticulously craft an adventurous, free-spirited world that revolves around the therapy of friendship, the islands, the sun, the beach, the waves - and a little rum.

Throughout Chesney's discography, you'll find nuggets of wisdom hinting at this loving, kind-hearted No Shoes Nation cri-de-coeur, whether it's the sage, life-affirming advice of ‘Get Along’, ‘The Good Stuff’ and ‘Beautiful World’, or the galvanising sonic caffeine of ‘Here and Now’, ‘Just To Say We Did’ and ‘Til It's Gone’.

Perhaps the most accurate summary of the vibrant, variegated fabric of No Shoes Nation comes from the fanbase's unofficial theme song, ‘We Do’, which finds Chesney singing alongside a chorus of fellow pirates, poets and Pacific preachers, “We gather tonight for a celebration / Under the flag of a No Shoes Nation / Speakin' our gospel, seekin' our truth / Brothers in arms, and sisters in cowboy boots”.

If nothing else, No Shoes Nation functions as a constant reminder of the oft-overlooked magic of life. After all, as Chesney emphasises, who gets to live like we do? We do.

Watch the full interview with Kenny Chesney below:

For more on Kenny Chesney, see below: