Kenny Chesney now holds the record for the largest single-day concert crowd in the history of Nashville’s Nissan Stadium.
On Saturday evening (May 28), the country superstar broke a record previously held by Eric Church when he brought his Here And Now Tour to the home of the Tennessee Titans, where he performed for 57,211 fans.
The “Knowing You” singer set the single-day concert attendance record (separate from football attendance and multi-day concert events) with over 57,000 tickets sold.
Thank you Nashville for a record-breaking beautiful night. We will take you with us the rest of the summer. #HereAndNowTour #KCNashville pic.twitter.com/mQZCUZnrc0
— Kenny Chesney (@kennychesney) May 29, 2022
A representative for Nissan Stadium told Music Mayhem that Chesney broke Eric Church’s 2019 single-day concert attendance record. Church, who performed for 56,521 fans in May 2019 on his Double Down Tour when he broke Taylor Swift’s attendance record (56,112), now follows behind Chesney and was just 690 tickets short of holding the top spot for the largest concert crowd in the stadium’s history.
“At the Kenny Chesney concert on May 28, 57,211 fans rocking the house set a new single-day concert attendance record at Nissan Stadium,” Adam Nuse, Senior Vice President of Business Operations for the Tennessee Titans, told Music Mayhem. “This is a big milestone and we’re so proud to host events of this caliber. We’re looking forward to the rest of our summer calendar in the months ahead.”
Chesney, who is the only country artist on Billboard’s Top 10 Touring Acts of the Last 25 Years every year for the last thirteen, originally set the attendance record in 2018, after he broke One Direction’s 2014 attendance record.
While Garth Brooks has recently performed for 70,000 fans across two nights at Nissan Stadium, it’s unclear what Brooks’ single-day attendance was. However, it is evident that the final daily count were not more than Chesney’s show on Saturday night (May 28).
Kenny Chesney Surprised In Nashville With A Performance Alongside Kelsea Ballerini
Kenny Chesney also surprised the sold-out crowd in Music City with special guest Kelsea Ballerini, who joined her fellow East Tennessee native for a performance of their chart-topping collaboration, “Half Of My Hometown.”
After welcoming Ballerini to the stage, Chesney took a moment to recognize what being a part of the award-winning song meant to him.
“When I moved to this town, first of all, I grew up in East Tennessee and she grew up in East Tennessee,” Chesney said. “We drove down some of the same roads together… went to a lot of the same places to eat with our families. We listen to the same radio station and listened a lot of people tell us we couldn’t do certain things that we have dreamed in our life, but I came to this town with a head full of dreams and a heart full of music.”
“And when I heard this next song, this person and this song truly validated my dream and I’m very proud to stand up here. We shared a No. 1 record this year and we have yet to celebrate it, so we get to celebrate it in Nashville here at Nissan tonight!” Chesney continued before going into “Half Of My Hometown.”
Donning matching outfits (red shirts and blue jeans), Chesney and Ballerini then emotionally performed the RIAA Gold-certified tune. As their duet came to a close, Ballerini was overcome with emotion as she realized in that moment that her lifelong dreams have become reality alongside one of her musical heroes.
“Y’all, dreams really do come true,” Ballerini tearfully said as they concluded their performance and shared a hug.
Chesney then gushed, “the wonderful Kelsea Ballerini everybody,” as she exited the stage.
Chesney later praised Ballerini and how special it was to share that moment with her on stage in Nashville.
“Being here in Nashville where so many dreams came true, seeing Kelsea on the verge of making the same kind of mark, it made me realize how strong this connection is. It’s not just fun or hooks or guitar riffs, it’s one massive heart that we all share,” Chesney said in a press release.
“To have that is the greatest gift, greatest reason for doing this, and tonight really hit me in the soul,” Chesney added.
Kenny Chesney’s Here And Now Tour 2022 kicked off on Saturday, April 23 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The tour will continue through August 27, where the trek will wrap up with back-to-back nights at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
Tickets are available HERE.