Kenny Chesney | Tortuga Music Festival

Kenny Chesney has new music on the way, but he’s taking time to make sure he gets it right. Chesney sat down ahead of his set at Tortuga Music Festival with Audacy’s Katie Neal to talk new music and share when fans can expect some new tunes. “The one thing I can say about it [new music] is it’s still in motion,” Kenny shared. “People ask me when it’s going to come out and the best answer I have is, ‘When it’s done.’” He continued, “It’s easy to rush it and it’s easy to put music out when people think it might be time, but I think I’ve earned the right to get it right. I mean, I love it now, but I want to be in love.” According to Kenny, he isn’t the only one who has to be in love with the sounds before releasing new music. The tracks also have to get approval from his work camp and family. “Lucky for me, I don’t have a lot of ‘yes,’ people in my camp,” he shared. “And that’s really important. I have a lot of people within my circle, within my camp that have really good song sense. It all starts with my producer Buddy Cannon also, I can’t get anything past him. I’ve been blessed that way.” He continued, “Honestly, my family in East Tennessee, they are our audience, they really are. When I’m home for Christmas or Thanksgiving, they’ll tell me everybody they love, they’ll tell me what they hate. All the new artists, all the songs they love.” While it sounds like we may have some time before hearing new music from Kenny, there’s one thing we can be sure of — it’ll be top tier once it arrives. Hear more by checking out Kenny’s entire conversation with Katie Neal above. Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal