Concert review: Kenny Chesney sings the same old songs at U.S. Bank Stadium

Ross Raihala, Pioneer Press
·3 min read
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If something seemed familiar about Kenny Chesney’s concert Saturday night at U.S. Bank Stadium it’s because, well, he played virtually the same set list as he did when he previously headlined the Vikings stadium in May 2018.

The 54-year-old country star did drop a few numbers from 2018 to make room for a pair of songs from his 2020 album “Here and Now,” the title track and the album’s opening cut “We Do,” the only selection of the evening that wasn’t a single. Beyond that, it was a repeat of four years ago, a carefully crafted evening of hits drawn largely from 1999 to 2012, an era where nearly every song he released hit the Top 5 if not No. 1. (While he remains a potent hitmaker, he’s no longer the country radio powerhouse he once was.)

What’s so unusual about this choice is that Chesney has a massive catalog from which to choose. All but four of his 70 singles landed in the Top 40, with 31 of them hitting the top of the charts. One might think fans of Chesney’s music would want him to change things up each time they dropped hundreds of dollars to see the guy perform. On top of that, this tour was originally scheduled for 2020 and was delayed numerous times due to the pandemic. So he had plenty of time to work on a new set.

Then again, Saturday’s show was also a reminder that Kenny Chesney concerts are about more than music. Taking a cue from Jimmy Buffett, Chesney sells his audience a fantasy, a No Shoes Nation lifestyle of sunny beaches, nostalgic afternoons and evenings of frolic fueled by his own Blue Chair Bay Rum. And he’s got believers for sure, as he performed for a cheering, well-lubricated capacity crowd. (It’s worth noting that Chesney studied advertising and marketing in college. Also, the full title for his current tour is “Blue Chair Bay Rum Presents Here and Now 2022 Fueled by Marathon.”)

As always, Chesney isn’t so much a singer as he is an entertainer. He tends to shout on the upbeat songs (the majority of the set) and relies on backing vocals to prop him up during the slower ones (which are few and far between). He also bungled his way through “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems,” an early hit and his entry into the bumper sticker country pantheon.

And yet, Chesney kept his energy level dialed up to 10 throughout. He was already dripping in sweat by the third song of the night, “Til It’s Gone,” and wore his drenched red tank top as a sort of badge of honor. When he wasn’t singing/shouting, he was sprinting back and forth across the T-shaped catwalk that extended onto the stadium floor.

Current Academy of Country Music Female Artist of the Year Carly Pearce opened the evening, followed by Chesney’s frequent tourmates Old Dominion (who joined Chesney during the main set for “Save It for a Rainy Day”). The big news, though, was the presence of Dan + Shay, who spent the last four months of 2021 filling arenas around the country, including Target Center in September.

Much like the headliner, the “Tequila” hitmakers offered a near-mirror image of their previous local show, with about a half-dozen songs cut to keep it to opening-act length. While much of Chesney’s audience ignored the pair, they did prove they were able to deliver a semi-compelling performance without the high-tech stage they toured with last year. Credit vocalist Shay Mooney, who wields the sort of powerful and loud, showboaty voice that was all the rage back when “American Idol” was still a thing.

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