“Having looked at my life in ways I never thought of,” says the man Wall Street Journal called “the King of the Road” about the process, “I realized: I’ve always loved sports, music and the sea. But the idea I’d chase this dream came together in Johnson City, trying to learn Doc Watson picking from Jack Tottle, playing Quarterbacks and Chuckey’s, and going to Russia with East Tennessee State University’s Bluegrass Band.
“For me, going back to East Tennessee State University where all of this began was the only way to kick this book tour off. Hopefully, someone in the audience who’s wondering about their own dream might find what they need to get serious about whatever it is they’re chasing.”
And if he’s leaning into his heart, it stands to reason that Chesney would hit Boston the next day. With his legendary Gillette Stadium shows, including a three-day run in 2024, No Shoes Nation was named in 2012 and he passed a million fans in 2018, as well as the friends he’s made from the region over the years, the 8-time Entertainer of the Year will appear at Back Bay Events Center Nov. 2 at 7pm.
“Whether the friends I made in the islands long before this journey kicked into gear, Ginny Brophy who welcomed a kid with nothing going on at WKLB, the crazy fun with Grace Potter, sailing and more with Ethel Kennedy around the Nantucket Sound, conversations with the Globe’s Steve Morse or Super Bowls with Robert Kraft and his organization, there’s been something about the people of New England that recognizes the kid from East Tennessee in me. I like to say, ‘They believe me,’ but I think it’s more they know the same grit and passion that’s driven me and my team all these years.
“I know these are intimate events,” Chesney continues. “But I want everyone to really be able to hear, absorb and feel like we’ve come together before they dive into the book. There’s a lot there, and a lot that went into it – and I want to have very real conversations about all of it to give people a real sense of the role where they live has played in my journey and the man I wanted to be and – hopefully – became.”
Chesney will be joined by two-time LA Press Club Music Critic, friend and co-author Holly Gleason for freewheeling conversations to enrich reading Heart Life Music, anchoring the places book events will occur. Having found his voice delivering the experiences of coming of age and living life as fully as possible in the 21st Century, the songwriter/superstar wants each event to reflect his relationship with No Shoes Nation, the music and anyone trying to find inspiration to create their own place in the world.
Saturday, November 1
Location: East Tennessee State University Martin Center for the Arts in the ETSU Foundation Grand Hall
Time: 3:00pm
Tickets: On sale this Friday, September 19 at 10am ET HERE
Bookseller: ETSU Bookstore
Sunday, November 2
Location: Back Bay Events Center
Time: 7:00pm
Tickets: On sale this Friday, September 19 at 10am ET HERE
Bookseller: Harvard Book Store
Known for commanding the largest stages nationwide, Heart Life Music ventures to places long gone, makes unexpected music in Jamaica, the Kremlin, New England and Cabo San Lucas, drifts across the waters of the Caribbean, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Beyond meeting and collaborating with heroes, forging transcendent friendships in the islands and beyond, Chesney’s introspective look at the songs and sound that defined No Shoes Nation offers the intimacy of sharing a slow afternoon on the water.
About the Book
Heart Life Music
by Kenny Chesney
with Holly Gleason
On Sale: Nov. 4, 2025 | William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Hardcover ISBN: 9780063423107 | $32.50
E-book ISBN: 9780063423114 | $14.99
Digital Audio ISBN: 9780063423121 | $27.99
Preorder HERE
About The Authors
One of contemporary American music’s biggest names, Kenny Chesney was voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this year and was named Billboard’s No.1 Country Artist of the 21st Century. Selling out America’s major stadiums for two decades and playing to over a million fans every summer since 2002, Variety pronounced him “country music’s only true long-term stadium act.” The East Tennessee songwriter/superstar has over 105 platinum certifications, won the prestigious Entertainer of the Year eight times, as well as holding Billboard‘s record for the most Country Airplay No. 1s with 36 chart-topping songs that define coming of age in the flyover in the 21st Century. This year, the game-changing superstar became the first country artist to perform at the groundbreaking Sphere, taking No Shoes into a whole new dimension. Creating a space to work hard, play hard, love hard and come together in the spirit of celebrating all the moment offers. Heart Life Music is his first book.
Holly Gleason’s work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, the Library of Congress’ National Registry of Sound Recordings, among other outlets. She was the LA Press Club’s Entertainment Journalist of the Year and the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Association’s Independent Journalist of the Year. A former Rock & Roll Hall of Fame/Case Western Reserve Fellow, she’s the creator of Belmont Book Award-winning Woman Walk The Line, and co-authored Miranda Lambert’s New York Times best-seller Y’all Eat Yet as well as Prine on Prine: Interviews & Encounters.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.kennychesney.com ’
