After a big touring year in 2022, Kenny Chesney wanted to find a completely different way to honor No Shoes Nation for his 2023 concerts.

“When a year is as hot and alive as 2022 was,” Chesney explains, “you don’t want to try to recapture that magic. Or maybe it’s me. I still have the sounds of diesel engines and No Shoes Nation in my head – and that made me ask, ‘What else could I do? What would be something that would put me every bit as much in the music and give No Shoes Nation another reason to believe? How can we reach those people who might not come to stadium shows, who live a little off the obvious path, but who love this music every bit as much…

“And that’s when it hit me: ‘I Go Back.’ That song is about holding all those things that shaped you very close, recognizing how special they are – and keeping them alive any way you can. So, I decided that rather than just go repeat what we did, I wanted to take this band and these songs to a lot of the cities we played on our way up! Let’s call the tour I Go Back – and do just that.”

“I remember coming up, the craziness of so many of those dates,” Chesney says of his tour’s inspiration. “Markets where people were using chain-cutters to get onto the lawn because we were so sold out in the Carolinas… and that’s a kind of energy that should never be left behind. For all those fans – based on how good last year felt – I want to bring what was coming off that stage to you, where you are, so we can all have that kind of experience together!”

With a few more shows to announce, I Go Back 2023 is set to focus on the same musical intensity and high energy performances that marked the East Tennessean’s precedent-setting concerts. Having been raised in Knoxville, Chesney knows the power of bringing music to the fans – and wants to recognize the bond that live shows create among friends of all ages.

“These songs time stamp people’s lives,” Chesney says. “They put people in their lives, but they also serve as the touchstone for memories in the making. For people to come out and either live these songs again, or hear them for the first time? Who knows what will happen? But I know whether it’s ‘American Kids,’ ‘Get Along’ or ‘You And Tequila,’ every single person knows exactly what we’re singing about and singing along to together.”

Chesney also announced that his “Half of My Hometown” duet partner Kelsea Ballerini would be opening for him.

“Kelsea understands everything about where I come from, because she’s from there, too,” Chesney says. “She knows how hard it is to leave, how much you miss all those things that make you who you are… but also how the only way to chase the kind of dream she has is to do just that. It’s a tough call when you love home the way we both do, but for kids like us, there was never really a choice.

“When she texted me to sing on the song she’d written with some of our friends, I said, ‘Let me hear it,’ knowing she knew everything about who I was,” Chesney continued. “As soon as I heard that first verse, I was in. And I have been one of Kelsea’s biggest fans ever since. She’s a writer, a girl who sings from her heart and isn’t afraid to honor where she comes from. To me, there was no other choice for this tour.”

“Music has taken me so many incredible places,” Ballerini says. “Around the world, singing with some of my heroes in pop, alternative and contemporary music, but singing with Kenny is going home. He was the only voice I heard on ‘half of my hometown,’ and when he comes in, it’s just like hitting the Knoxville city limits. So to be able to go out to those cities like the place he and I grew up with an artist who’s accomplished what he has, it’s a lot like going home.”

I Go Back 2023 is Presented by Blue Chair Bay Rum. American Express® Card Members can purchase tickets in select markets before the general public beginning Wednesday, November 23 at 10 a.m. local time through Thursday, December 1 at 10 p.m. local time.

Kenny Chesney I Go Back Tour:
March 25       State College, PA                          Bryce Jordan Center
March 30       Wichita, KS                                  INTRUST Bank Arena
April 1           Oklahoma City, OK                     Paycom Center
April 6           Uncasville, CT                             Mohegan Sun Arena
April 8           Wilkes-Barre Township, PA         Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
April 12         Birmingham, AL                          Legacy Arena at the BJCC
April 14         Jacksonville, FL                           Daily’s Place Amphitheater
April 16         Ft. Lauderdale, FL                       Tortuga*
April 25         Lexington, KY                             Rupp Arena
April 27         Greenville, SC                             Bon Secours Wellness Arena
April 29         Greensboro, NC                           Greensboro Coliseum
May 4            Moline, IL                                    Vibrant Arena at The Mark
May 6            Grand Rapids, MI                        Van Andel Arena
May 9            Grand Forks, ND                         The Alerus Center
May 11          Sioux Falls, SD                            Denny Sanford Premier Center
May 13          Lincoln, NE                                 Pinnacle Bank Arena
May 18          Fort Wayne, IN                            Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
May 20          Evansville, IN                              Ford Center
May 25          Charleston, SC                             Credit One Stadium
May 27          Orange Beach, AL                       The Wharf
July 22           Des Moines, IA                            Hy-Vee Indy Race*
*previously announced