Kenny Chesney Closes Out Sun Goes Down Tour With Love Letters to No Shoes Nation

After three years of closed doors due to the COVID shutdown, the Gillette Stadium welcomed eight-time Entertainer of the Year, Kenny Chesney with open arms, allowing him to perform the three final shows of his Sun Goes Down 2024 Tour within its walls. Chesney's setlist highlighted the key moments of his career and revisited the messages of perseverance, looking for the good, love, life and joy that have given him so many adoring fans.

The 22nd, 23rd, 24th and final shows of his tour ended with emotions running high. “The last night is always so hard,” Chesney said, “because you’ve shared so many things over a few months… You get close, you have fun, and you live. But this year, this tour has been even more so because every single person who came to see us brought just as much heart to the shows as my road family and I brought. It was something you could feel everywhere we went.”

The evidence of the bonds that Chesney has created were palpable during the entire three-night series. No Shoes Nation -- the fan club that was duly named after Chesney's song, "No Shoes, No Dirt, No Problem" -- enthusiastically sang along to every song, embracing the messages that the performer was sending into the crowd.

"Boston," a story about a free spirited bar tender following her dreams hit home to the New England fans. The lights stayed on as the crowd sang the last chorus of their anthem with gusto, Chesney nodding along on stage. The crowd also sang "Boys of Fall" as if it was their own on the last night while glimpses of Tom Brady, various Patriots and coaches premiered on screens around the stadium.

“It really felt like No Shoes Nation came to sing,” Chesney marveled. “These songs were their life, too, and they were going to sing them back to us. I felt like I was seeing – and hearing – everything we played in another dimension because I could hear all those lives in their voices.”

The love letters that were sent to No Shoes Nation were joined by additional notes from Uncle Kracker and Megan Maroney. Receiving the biggest response, the performance of "When the Sun Goes Down," and "Drift Away" with a reprise of "Follow Me," by Uncle Kracker had the crowd singing at the top of their lungs.

During the weekend, Maroney gained a mischievous reputation for pulling an unforgettable prank which involved a ride on a child-sized tractor as she performed a cover of "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy." Though Maroney toned it down on the last night to a "Best Summer Ever"/"We <3 Kenny" t-shirt, she still met Chesney's energy and made it a night to remember. Her own song "Am I Okay" was performed with heart and saw the crowd cheering on at a whole new level.

“Watching Megan really come into her power this summer has been one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time,” Chesney shared. “She is a triple threat writer/singer/performer – and she’s found the space she wants to work from. Mark my words: she’s here for the duration.”

With “Young,” “American Kids,” “Save It For A Rainy Day,” and “Get Along” giving the show the idealist joyful atmosphere, it would be no surprise if these love letters became a reoccurring summer correspondence.