CHARMING CROWDS COAST TO COAST

July 20, 2011

Rolling into town with his Goin' Coastal Tour, Kenny Chesney brought sunny good vibes to Vancouver Wednesday night.

From "Summertime" to "Beer in Mexico" the country heavyweight helped the Rogers Arena crowd forget that the warm season has apparently bypassed the city. Tonight's show embraced the good times and rejuvenated fans' spirits.

Getting the show underway was rocker, rapper and country artist, Uncle Kracker, best known for his hits "Follow Me" and "Drift Away". Next up was Billy Currington. The singer-songwriter who hails from Georgia, gave the full house a chance to warm up their vocal chords for the hours of screaming and squealing ahead.

Laid back and rocking the scruffy charm—think a country Jack Johnson—Currington was at ease on stage, embracing his mantra and title of his fourth studio album, Enjoy Yourself. Playing to the crowd, his nearly hour-long set included "Let Me Down Easy" and "Love Done Gone", as he showed them "How Country Boys Roll".

At 9pm when the music started to blare, signalling the end of intermission, fans rushed back to their seats, beer in hand. The show immediately shifted gears from chill and easygoing to sleek and polished.

The lights, the screens, the guitar heavy band, Chesney is an undeniable country superstar. The opening "Live A Little" was loud, but the explosion of cheers was louder as cowboy hats bobbed and boots tapped.

Touring to promote his latest album Hemingway's Whiskey—his sixth to debut atop the Billboard 200 chart—Chesney has a way with his fans. He smiles and they melt, he talks and they holler, he sings and they join in.

After a year away from the tour-grind, the singer-songwriter known for his exceptional live performance, is happy to be back on the road making 60 stops as he travels coast to coast.

Clad in a muscle shirt, jeans and a cowboy hat, Chesney danced around the cross-shaped stage that was surrounded on all sides by cheering fans. At one point almost tripping over a bra thrown onstage, he worked his way flawlessly through "Reality", "Big Star" and "I Go Back", which true to its lyrics, the crowd couldn't help but sing along.

Some fiddling got "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem" started and as recognition dawned on the crowd, the building erupted. The title track from his 2002 album was a deafeningly obvious crowd pleaser.

Chesney then slowed it down for "Anything But Mine" and kept the tone swoon-worthy for "There Goes My Life" and "You and Tequila", before energy peaked with "Living in Fast Forward".

An award winning musician and four-time consecutive winner of the Academy of Country Music  Entertainer of the Year, Chesney effortlessly pulled his weight as a performer, showcasing his talent and charm, all the while treating the sun-deprived Vancouver fans to some brilliant summertime fun.