Kenny Chesney has been a huge star for the better part of three decades, but there’s one artist in particular who had a major influence on him that he’ll never forget. In a new interview on the Connective Tissue with John C. McGinley podcast, Chesney opened up about seeing Bruce Springsteen in concert, revealing that the show in question was life-changing for him.
“We talk about our friend Bruce Springsteen up in Jersey,” he said. “When I saw him, my life changed. And so I think that’s connective tissue.”
Bruce Springsteen’s Songwriting Greatly Influenced Kenny Chesney
Part of the impact the Boss had on Chesney was Springsteen’s songwriting and the way his words influenced the country star, something Chesney told McGinley he hopes to do with his own fans.
“When you can change someone’s life through what you do and through music and songs and your own life and how you wrote about it, it’s pretty profound,” Chesney said. “And that’s what I always try to think of and try to remember when I’m on stage is that there’s somebody out there… maybe they don’t even know your music. Maybe they came with a friend, and when they leave, it’s different than when they came. I think about that a lot when I’m up there.”
Why Chesney Truly Loves Songwriting
The chart-topping singer/songwriter explained that in putting his own life in a song, he has to hope that the audience will care and that they find a commonality in the experience Kenny Chesney is sharing through music.
“That’s why songwriting is really hard,” he mused. “To get a good one, to write something in a short period of time that will connect so profoundly with someone, is really hard to do.”
“I say this a lot, one of the reasons I truly love songwriting and I really love music is because you never know how someone’s going to accept it. You never know what a song or what a performance will do to someone, how it will change their life,” Chesney continued. “I always think about when I’m on stage, there might be a kid in that audience that has never been to a concert ever before. And if I do my job and I connect with that kid, he may have music in his life for the rest of his life.”
Springsteen Previously Offered Chesney Advice
Chesney, who has previously covered Springsteen songs such as “One Step Up,” has gotten the chance to meet Springsteen, and the rocker imparted some sage advice — take time off.
“One night when we were playing in New Jersey, Bruce sat on my bus with me, and we talked for a couple of hours, and he told me something that hit me really hard, and it’s stuck with me ever since,” the East Tennessee native recalled. “He said, ‘Kenny, you can write half a song on a piece of paper, and you can put that piece of paper away in a drawer for five years, and you can go back to it, and that song will still be there. But life isn’t like that. And whatever you’re doing, don’t miss your life, too.’ And I thought about that all year. I’ve been giving to one thing for so long that I just realized that had to change.”
While he’s since applied that advice, Chesney hasn’t stayed away from the road, keeping up his schedule of stadium tours. His latest outing, the Sun Goes Down Tour, begins on April 20 with support from Zac Brown Band, Megan Moroney and Uncle Kracker. The trek will hit stadiums across the country before concluding with a three-night run at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts in August.