Kenny Chesney to Launch ‘I Go Back’ Tour With Kelsea Ballerini – Billboard

Kenny Chesney will revisit some of the tour markets that marked the early days of his career when he launches his 2023 I Go Back Tour. The outing will kick off on March 25 at State College, Pennsylvania’s Bryce Jordan Center the first of 21 dates that will criss-cross the country, including stops in Lexington, Kentucky; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Lincoln, Nebraska and more.

“When a year is as hot and alive as 2022 was, you don’t want to try to recapture that magic. Or maybe it’s me,” Chesney said via a statement. “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.”

Joining Chesney will be fellow Knoxville, Tennessee, native and country artist Kelsea Ballerini. Ballerini and Chesney previously earned a No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hit with their 2021 collaboration on “half of my hometown,” which also won CMA Awards honors for video of the year and musical event of the year.

“Kelsea understands everything about where I come from, because she’s from there, too,” Chesney said in his statement. “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. 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 added. “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.”

See the full I Go Back Tour dates below:

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