Country Music Hall of Fame member Kenny Chesney is one of the most successful country artists of the 2000s, a superstar who has sold millions of albums and become one of the biggest touring acts of the century in any genre.
Kenny Chesney: Living in Fast Forward, presented by Blue Chair Bay Rum, looks at the drive and vision that propelled him to those lofty highs as well as the blur he experienced as everything reached peak intensity. Along the way, he found creative freedom and learned to take time away in the islands to unplug, crucial steps in fashioning a long, varied, and sturdy career that continues to be relevant in the present day.
Exhibit Highlights
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Chord Chart
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This handwritten Nashville Number System chord chart for “You and Tequila” was used in the studio when Kenny Chesney recorded the song in 2010. Featuring guest vocals by Grace Potter, the song was released as a single from Chesney’s album Hemingway’s Whiskey and went to #3 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. “You and Tequila” was co-written by Matraca Berg and Deana Carter and first recorded by Carter, in 2003.
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Guitar
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During his college years at East Tennessee State University and into the 1990s, Kenny Chesney played this Fender Concord acoustic guitar in performance and used it to write songs. Country artists and songwriters he encountered along the way—including Kent Blazy, Dean Dillon, Harlan Howard, Porter Wagoner, Karen Staley, Whitey Shafer, and Sheb Wooley—signed the instrument.
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Audio Tape
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Kenny Chesney recorded a demo of “When She Calls Me Baby” onto this cassette tape on June 1, 1992. Co-written with Rick Williamson, the song was re-recorded for Chesney’s debut album, In My Wildest Deams, released in 1994.
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Jersey
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Kenny Chesney wore this number jersey when he was a wide receiver on the Gibbs High School Eagles football team.
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Football
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This football commemorates Kenny Chesney’s three sold-out shows at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, August 23–25, 2024.
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Guitar
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Eddie Van Halen of the rock band Van Halen signed this custom-built replica of his iconic “Frankenstrat” guitar for his friend Kenny Chesney. With a gold marker, he wrote, “Kenny! Hope you enjoy this guitar as much as I have.” At one of Chesney’s California concerts in 2006, Eddie and his brother and bandmate, drummer Alex Van Halen, joined Chesney onstage to perform two Van Halen hits, “You Really Got Me” and “Jump.” Chesney described the experience as “one of the highlights of my touring life in all my summers on the road.”
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Guitar
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This Gibson Melody Maker electric guitar with painted skull and crossbones has been played consistently by Kenny Chesney in concert. Steven Tyler, lead singer of the rock band Aerosmith, signed the instrument.
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Jacket
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Kenny Chesney wore this varsity jacket as a member of the Gibbs High School Eagles football team. The 1985 Highlander Braggin’ Bowl Champions patch on the jacket commemorates the team’s victory in the postseason game in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
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Chair
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Waking up in this weathered, wicker rocking chair on the beach as the sun rose over Peter Bay on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands provided Kenny Chesney with the inspiration to write “Old Blue Chair.” The song was first released on his 2004 album, When the Sun Goes Down, and reappeared on his next one, Be as You Are (Songs from an Old Blue Chair). The chair was prominently featured on the front and back covers of Be as You Are and in the 2005 music video for “Old Blue Chair.” Chesney has cited the song of reflection as his favorite because it’s “a portrait of my soul. It stamped a time in my life.”
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Hat
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This is one of Kenny Chesney’s Atwood Marfa pinto palm leaf hats, which have become an inseparable part of his look.
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Shirt and Jeans
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Kenny Chesney wore this No Shoes Nation tank top and these Diesel Safado jeans when he performed at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts, August 26, 2022.
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Plastic Fish
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This is a life-size, plastic replica of the 235-pound blue marlin Kenny Chesney caught in the Caribbean in 2003. After having the fish mounted, he named it “Marley” in honor of reggae musician Bob Marley. The fish became Chesney’s tour mascot and is often displayed onstage as a reminder to not to take himself too seriously. Nicknamed “Marley 2,” this replica washed away from Chesney’s home during the 2010 flood but was found several miles downstream in the Cumberland River and returned to him largely intact.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
The exhibition Kenny Chesney: Living in Fast Foward runs Thursday, July 23, 2026 through June, 2027, at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Nashville.
Exhibit Presented by Blue Chair Bay Rum
