brothers of the sun tour

Brothers of the Sun Tour featuring Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw

Bandsintown merch.

concerts and tour dates

Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

Home › Live Sound

Tour Profile: Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw

Brothers of the Sun 2012

By Steve La Cerra

Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney

Photo: AP/Mark J. Terrill

Kicking off June 2 at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw’s Brothers of the Sun tour will play to more than a million and a half fans in 22 stadium shows over the course of this summer.

In addition to music from his extensive catalog, Chesney and his band are debuting their newest release Welcome to the Fishbowl (BNA Records), including the hits “Come Over” and “Feel Like a Rock Star,” the duet with McGraw. It’s a huge undertaking, boasting state-of-the-art P.A. and video, special guests Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and Jake Owen, and an encore that promises to rock the house.

A tour of this magnitude has serious audio responsibilities, being expertly handled by Bryan Vasquez (front of house), Phill “SidePhill” Robinson (monitors for Chesney and guests) and Bryan “Opie” Baxley (monitors for Chesney’s band). Lights, staging and P.A. are provided by Morris Light and Sound (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), and each of the three engineers is using a Midas PRO9 digital desk to handle approximately 60 inputs from the stage. Front-of-house P.A. is an Electro-Voice X-Line with XLC boxes for the delay system.

Vasquez—Chesney’s FOH engineer for the past 12 years—explains the nature of this particular tour: “We’ve done stadiums in the past, but these are back-to-back Saturdays and Sundays. We’ll roll in Friday morning for a normal stadium load-in, giving us the option of a soundcheck on Friday night. But after the show on Saturday we head for the next city, and that puts a squeeze on us. We won’t have time for soundchecks before the Sunday shows. It’s going to be run-and-gun. In order to make this work, we have two separate rigging packages out, plus some redundant peripheral gear like snakes to front of house. So we can roll in the second day with the P.A. and the lighting rig, fly it, set up the consoles and band gear and do the show.”

Chesney and his entire band are using in-ears. Drummer Sean Paddock and keyboardist Wyatt Beard have their own mixers onstage, while the rest of the band use Sennheiser 2000 Series wireless systems, with JH Audio JH16 Pro earpieces. Chesney is using the Shure PSM 1000 ear system, also with JH Audio JH16 Pros.

Supplementing the ear mixes are wedges (Nexo 45 N-12 arrayable line monitors) and fill speakers. Baxley creates “seven stereo ear mixes for Kenny’s band, but each one of those mixes also has a wedge for low end and fill, and we have sidefills for the guys downstage. We started rehearsals with just the ears, and once we got the mixes comfortable for each musician, we added what they felt was missing in the wedges and fill speakers. The ears do reproduce those frequencies, down to around 50 Hz, but you miss the feel factor, that air movement that you get in a live setting where there are a lot of wedges or where it’s a smaller stage. There’s a lot of separation between each guy on such a big stage.”

From left: Phill Robinson, Bryan Vasquez and Bryan Baxley

Photo: Jill Trunnell

Robinson concurs, saying, “The fills and wedges help keep up the energy onstage. When we started doing bigger shows three or four years ago, we built a ‘T’ out to the audience, and it was simply not possible to carefully watch both the band and Kenny while Kenny was out on the T. That’s why we split up the monitor mixes. When Kenny’s in front of the proscenium in the sound field of a 60-cabinet P.A. system we have to make sure that the energy stays the same and that there’s no feedback. The start of the show is a little nerve-wracking because Kenny flies in from front of house on a rig that puts him 12 feet above the crowd, directly in front of the P.A. With a giant P.A. that can fill a stadium, it gets interesting some days to make it loud enough without feedback.”

“As Kenny flies around,” Vasquez adds, “I’ll pan his vocal very slightly to the left as he is in front of the right side of the P.A. and vice versa. After working with Kenny for 12 years, I’m able to kind of anticipate problems before they happen.”

Chesney’s vocal microphone is a Shure Axient AXT200 wireless transmitter with a KSM9HS capsule, set to hypercardioid. According to Vasquez, “Kenny likes to cup his hand around the capsule of his vocal microphone. The amazing thing about this Shure is you don’t get that change in tonality, or the feedback, that you get with other microphones when cupped. There’s no outboard processing whatsoever—I just use the preamp in the Pro9, and I try to use as little compression as possible so I can let it breathe.”

It may come as a bit of a surprise that all three engineers use minimal processing, almost all of which is onboard the Pro9s. Baxley says that he uses one of the Pro9’s onboard Klark Teknik reverbs in an unconventional manner for the top snare drum microphone: “You know how you can dial in the LF or HF on the reverb? We’re actually using that on the snare top mic to get a little bit more 250 Hz out of the snare—we’re doing it with the reverb, not the EQ. I have the reverb inserted on that channel and I use the dry/wet mix to make sure that the level of the snare is the same whether the insert is in or out. It sounds crazy that I am using a time-based processor on an insert, but it works.”

Baxley also notes that he does not use gates on the drum mics because Paddock plays brushes in one or two spots and likes to be able to back his dynamics way down without worry that he’ll hear gates popping in and out. Mics for the drum kit include Audio-Technica AE5100 for hat and ride, ATM650 for snare bottom, AT4081 ribbons for overheads (“They sound like you’re standing next to the kit,” states Baxley), Heil PR28 for toms, Shure SM57 for snare top, and Shure Beta 52 and Yamaha SubKick on the kick drum.

Vasquez notes that some of the guitar amps are “placed offstage and some of the guys have cabinets behind them. The offstage cabinets are placed inside big foam-lined boxes with Shure SM57s—30 years and still working! Bassist Steve Marshall has an 8×10 cab onstage, but I take my signal from the balanced line output of an Avalon Vt-737, and he uses the other output for his rig. I don’t mike the cabinet, it’s just the Avalon.”

You Can Leave Yer’ Hat On According to Robinson, Chesney’s main requirements for his ear mix are “clarity, a lot of vocal and some reverb. I have a [Yamaha] REV5 stuck at the bottom of the rack as a comfort from the ‘old world’ for Kenny’s vocal. It’s a ’verb I can adjust on the fly without need for a menu.” (In Robinson’s absence, Baxley quips, “I think that Phill has been using that thing for almost 14, 15 years now. He is married to that reverb. If it goes down, he’s screwed!”)

“During soundcheck,” continues Robinson, “I’ll wear my baseball hat because the timbre of the mic can change depending on the type of hat Kenny wears. His main hats are a straw cowboy hat that doesn’t give me any problems, but he also has a black cowboy hat that is stiffer and more reflective. When you have 75,000 people screaming at your head, all that sound is coming up, hitting that hat and bouncing back into the mic.”

Put Me on The Guest List, Plus 8 Although Chesney and McGraw have toured together previously, this one is unique due to the encore. All members of both bands take the stage. Luckily for the three engineers, that doesn’t mean the number of inputs from the stage is doubled. As Vasquez explains, “In Kenny’s band we have three main guitar players: Clayton Mitchell [lead], Kenny Greenberg [rhythm] and Jon Conley, who doubles on guitar and fiddle. Jim Bob Gairrett is our steel guitar player who also plays acoustic guitar on some songs. Some of the guys have more than one guitar rig. For example, Clayton plays a stereo rig, and a mono dry rig, all miked with SM57s, but I leave the channels up all the time. He has the ability to go back and forth as he chooses and they’ll always be there. This means that some of the inputs for the guests are already in place from Kenny’s band, which makes things a bit more manageable.”

“Tim’s band is sharing much of our instrumentation,” Baxley elaborates, “because most of our guys have separate rigs coming through two channels—for example, one for a Strat and another for a Les Paul. So if my guy is playing the Strat for a song, then the guest will take up his Les Paul rig. The monitor mixes for the guest players are run from Phill’s desk because he has open mixes. It’s just a few more channels.”

At this point in the show, Robinson and McGraw’s monitor engineer, Jonny B, are tag-teaming, working together to create 11 more wireless ear mixes from the same Pro9. All those ear mixes—combined with wireless vocal mics for Chesney and McGraw and the wireless instrument systems—yield a significant amount of RF activity. Since the DTV reorganization, Baxley has noticed “smaller and smaller gaps for us to fit in our wireless channels, especially when we get to bigger cities. For example, out in the Meadowlands [New Jersey], there are a lot of TV and cell towers. You fire it up and it’s a bit of a headache. Stadiums like that where there’s a lot of TV coverage sometimes have a wireless coordinator who might come in on our first day and help us find some holes for our systems, but we’re usually self-sufficient.”

“Terry Fox is our keyboard tech and general fix-it guy,” Robinson adds. “He has a wireless workbench in his world and I have a wireless scanner in my world, so together we figure out what everybody needs and set up frequencies.”

Vasquez, Baxley and Robinson all agree that one of the big challenges of this tour is maintaining consistency night to night. The tour carries a mic package, but Baxley says they “take it a step further and use the same microphone on the same instrument every night. For example, we have four identical Heil PR28 mics for the toms, but we’ll make sure that the same mic is used for the same drum each night. It sounds a little crazy, but we want it consistent throughout the whole tour.

“On the days we don’t get a soundcheck, the band is really relying on us to get it right during line check. They’ll only have about five minutes to tinker between Tim tearing down and our video rolling to start our portion of the show. They’ll never play as a band until the first song starts on Sunday.”

Nerve-wracking indeed!

Steve La Cerra is Mix magazine’s Sound Reinforcement Editor and mixes front of house for Blue Öyster Cult.

Cover Story: Kenny Chesney—Taking Here and Now to Another Level, Part 2

Cover Story: Kenny Chesney—Taking Here and Now to Another Level, Part 1

John Lennon Tour Bus Still Rolling After 25 Years

The Killers On The Loose: Brandon Flowers & Co. Tour The World

Thomas Rhett Tour Has A ‘Home Team’ Advantage

Mixing The Iron Maiden ‘Legacy Of The Beast’ Tour, Part 1

MIDI Association Taps Focusrite’s Tim Carroll

Mixing The Iron Maiden ‘Legacy Of The Beast’ Tour, Part 2

Watch CBS News

McGraw & Chesney's Brothers Of The Sun Tour Breaks Summer Records

August 27, 2012 / 4:48 PM EDT / CBS New York

It's been a memorable summer for Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney . Not only have the pair spent the summer on the road with opening acts Grace Potter and Jake Owen , but the 22 city tour also became the highest selling tour of the summer surpassing over a million tickets sold.

Chesney and McGraw wrapped up the 23 show tour in Foxboro, MA with a two-night encore this past Saturday, the only city that featured a double night of country. By no means was it coincidental, as both nights brought in 111,209 tickets sold. Dan Murphy, Vice President of External Affairs for Gillette Stadium, called the show "a record for the biggest country music event in New England history."

Thanks to all the fans for a great # brothersofthesun tour this summer with @ kennychesney , @ gracepotter , + @ jakeowen ! bit.ly/PjZqu1 — Tim McGraw (@TheTimMcGraw) August 27, 2012

This isn't the first taste of record breaking Chesney and McGraw have seen on the Brothers of the Sun Tour. Just last year, Chesney broke a 29-year-old record for the most tickets sold in the New York/New Jersey area on his Goin' Coastal Tour with 55,239 tickets sold. This time, Chesney broke his own record as the Brothers of the Sun Tour sold a shocking 56,285 tickets!

This tour marks the ninth tour of Chesney's last 10 where ticket sales have reached over one million. But it easily could be the most memorable of tours: The tour kicked off in a sunny Tampa , Ashton Kutcher caused a ruckus in Anaheim, CA, a Chesney impersonator was kicked out of the Nashville date and Scotty McCreery hit the stage in Charlotte .

-Jodi Phillips / The New 103.7

Featured Local Savings

More from cbs news.

See it: Coyote caught on video in Central Park

Here are the best ranked high schools in the Tri-State Area in 2024

NYC building tiny homes for bees: Take the tour

Knicks celebrate comeback over 76ers: See their playoff schedule

• What's Hot:
• WKDQ Cash Cow
• Win PBR Evansville Tickets
• Teacher of the Month
• VHS Pet of The Week
• Coffee with a Cop
• Closings & Delays
• Weather Updates

More Seats Open For Brothers Of The Sun Tour In Indianapolis

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter

The Brothers of the Sun Bus is sold out, but you can still buy your tickets for the concert in Indianapolis on July 28th.  More sandbar seats were just opened up and we have all your info here.

Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw Reunite For

2012 'Brothers of the Sun' Tour

Additional floor and sandbar tickets just released!

Live at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN

The production is set for the summer’s most anticipated musical event as Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw reunite with the ‘Brothers of the Sun’ Tour. Tickets start at just $29.50 with additional floor and sandbar tickets now available. The 18-date stadium tour finds Chesney, who consistently has crowds "eating up his every word and move," joined by “master showman” (Huffington Post) McGraw for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The Indianapolis show will be on Saturday, July 28, 2012 at Lucas Oil Stadium. 'Brothers of the Sun' will also feature special guests Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and Jake Owen.

TICKET INFORMATION:

Tickets are on sale now and available at the Lucas Oil Stadium box office, Ticketmaster or charge by phone at 800.745.3000 . Additional fees may apply to ticket prices.

More From WKDQ-FM

‘Brothers of the Sun’ Tour with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw Surpasses One Million Ticket Sales

The “‘Watch The Throne’ of country music concerts” ( Chicago Tribune ) can now be crowned king. The ‘Brothers of the Sun’ Tour, with Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, has officially hit the one million ticket mark, cementing its position as the hottest tour of the year. The announcement comes just after Pollstar declared the tour the highest-grossing of 2012 thus far, more than doubling the grosses of Roger Waters and Coldplay.

“I’m so grateful to all of the fans that have made this tour such an amazing success and a nonstop party night after night,” Chesney said. “Being out on the road with Tim has been incredible and we still have a lot of songs left to sing this summer.”

‘Brothers of the Sun,’ with Chesney and McGraw, marks the ninth consecutive tour that Chesney has reached the million-tickets milestone, following last year’s ‘Goin’ Coastal’ Tour. Chesney’s latest single, “Come Over,” which was called “one of this summer’s hottest songs” by NPR “Morning Edition,” was officially certified gold by the RIAA this week, and his album Welcome To The Fishbowl currently sits at No.2 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart.

• Win $30,000 Cash
• 'American Idol' Star's Death
• Kenny Chesney Tour Setlist
• Colt Ford Heart Attack Drama
• Listen to Taste of Country Mornings!
• Carrie Underwood Sings Toby Keith

Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw Brothers of the Sun Tour Sells One Million Tickets

As expected, the Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw trek, the Brothers of the Sun Tour, has surpassed the one million mark in ticket sales. The tour launched in June and has quickly become one of the summer's hottest shows, regardless of genre. Pollstar recently named the tour as the highest-grossing trek of the summer, topping other big name artists including Roger Waters, Coldplay and the Dave Matthews Band.

Thanks to the high volume of ticket sales, the Brothers of the Sun Tour has been crowned king of the Chicago Tribune's Watch the Throne of country music concerts title, cementing its position as the hottest tour of the year.

"I'm so grateful to all of the fans that have made this tour such an amazing success and a nonstop party night after night," Chesney said. "Being out on the road with Tim has been incredible, and we still have a lot of songs left to sing this summer."

The Brothers of the Sun Tour marks the ninth consecutive tour that Chesney has reached the million tickets milestone, following last year's 'Goin' Coastal' Tour. It's official: Fans love Chesney and turn out in droves to see him play live.

The tour continues on next weekend with stops in New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Click here for a full list of the remaining tour dates for the must-see trek.

More From Taste of Country

• Manage Account

Kenny Chesney & Tim McGraw Reunite for Stadium Tour

Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, who famously toured together in the early 2000s, will reunite for the 19-date Brothers of the Sun stadium tour, beginning June 2 in Tampa. The tour also features specia…

By Ray Waddell

Ray Waddell

• Share this article on Facebook
• Share this article on Twitter
• Share this article on Flipboard
• Share this article on Pinit
• + additional share options added
• Share this article on Reddit
• Share this article on Linkedin
• Share this article on Whatsapp
• Share this article on Email
• Print this article
• Share this article on Comment
• Share this article on Tumblr

Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw , who famously toured together in the early 2000s, will reunite for the 19-date Brothers of the Sun stadium tour, beginning June 2 in Tampa. The tour also features special guests Grace Potter & the Nocturnals , and Jake Owen , and will play weekends at mostly NFL stadiums across the country, wrapping Aug. 25 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.

See latest videos, charts and news

Kenny Chesney

The artists are clearly stoked about the prospects of touring together again, and their enthusiasm was evident when interviewed Friday. “To do it the way we’re going to do it next summer, this will be more than just a tour for me,” Chesney tells Billboard.biz. “To go out there on the road with a guy you’ve been friends with for a long time and made a lot of music with already, with all the songs and music that will be played next summer, this is going to be real special for me and Tim. But, to be honest, I think the people that are going to benefit the most are the fans.”

'Broadway Bares' Announces 2024 Vegas-Themed 'Hit the Strip' Burlesque Benefit

Those fans, “are going to see things they just don’t get to see,” McGraw tells Billboard.biz. “What we’re looking forward to as much as anything is getting out there and making each other better, because we want each other to get better, to be on stage together and come up with things the fans don’t have any idea they’re going to see. Things will happen when we’re on stage and making music together that we didn’t have any idea we were capable of doing, or even knew we wanted to do. It’s just going to evolve, and that will be a cool thing.”

Trending on Billboard

The tour reunites a dynamic touring duo that first toured together as part of the George Strait Country Music Fest stadium tours and then later as a run of mostly sheds in 2001 headlined by McGraw that moved 662,469 tickets, according to Billboard Boxscore. Chesney will close the Brothers shows-“technically,” he adds. McGraw will join Chesney on stage in a way similar to how the Zac Brown Band took the stage with Chesney’s outfit as a finale this past summer, but “we’re going to do even more,” Chesney adds.

“Technically I am closing, but Tim and I are going to give the fans their money’s worth,” Chesney says. “If I was being correct about it, I’d say me and Tim are closing. We’re going to try and change it up every night, have as much fun as we possibly can.”

The careers of both artists have grown exponentially since they last toured together, with both broadening their artistic horizons while remaining among the elite acts in their genre at retail, radio and on the road. Chesney has become the biggest ticket seller in country music, taking home his sixth Top Package award at the 2011 Billboard Touring Awards Nov. 10 in New York .

“When I went out with McGraw in 2001, I was just trying to find my place in the world, to learn all I could,” Chesney says. “The two years I went with Strait out on the stadium tours, and the year I went out with McGraw, that changed my life. It’s so wonderful that a decade later Tim and I are still doing it, still trying to record the best songs that we can and still having fun doing what we’re doing. The chemistry and the friendship and how much we’ve both been through in our lives to get where we are today, we’re going to bring all of that, every emotion, to the stage, and I think that’s going to be really fun for the fans to watch.”

For his part, McGraw, a three-time Grammy winner who has rung up 32 No. 1 singles and remains a touring force, also has become an accomplished actor, with prominent roles in such notable films as “The Blind Side,” “Country Strong,” and “Friday Night Lights.”

“Ten years ago when Kenny and I toured, he was just getting his feet under him, and now he’s gone on to have incredible success,” says McGraw. “I’m sure I’m wrong, but I can’t remember when two artists at the top of their games that have such a history together have gone out and done something like this.”

Chesney says he and McGraw have been “toying with the idea” of touring for a couple of years, “but the timing wasn’t right yet,” he says. “This all started with me asking Tim to do one show with me next year just to see where he was with the idea. We had a conversation about it, and decided if we’re going to do that, why don’t we just do the whole year? It says a lot about Tim that he wants to do this, because he doesn’t have to. I respect the hell out of him.”

McGraw agrees the topic of touring has come up when the pair get together, “then we go on about our business and our life and do the things we do. It just never seemed like the right time. But next year, 2012 has sort of a magic to it, it’s been 10 years, it’s a great time in my career, in his career, all the pieces fit together. It seems like a perfect way to kick off next summer.”

For Louis Messina , producer of Chesney’s tours, Brothers of the Sun is a promoter’s dream. “Come on, McGraw and Chesney together? It’s my dream,” Messina says. “They just want to go out there and rock it. To me, the fans are going to get their money’s worth like you wouldn’t believe. I told Kenny and his band, every night Tim’s gonna be wanting to kick your butt – in a friendly way – and you’re gonna be wanting to kick Tim’s butt-in a friendly way. So the fans are going to get the best of Tim McGraw and the best of Kenny Chesney every single night. They both want to own that stage.”

McGraw, who started hanging out with Chesney when they were both new to Nashville in the early ’90s, admits there is a competitive aspect to the relationship. “We’re great friends, but we’re also competitive guys, too,” he says. “We played basketball when we were on tour last time, his guys against my guys, and got in heated competitions. Of course, you know we kicked their ass. But he’s a great competitor, as am I. The beauty of what we’re going to get out of this, the crowds are gonna be great, the money’s gonna be great, the fun we’re going to have is gonna be great, but the fun we’ll have pushing each other, I think we’re going to make each other better.”

Chesney thinks the tour will be good for both the touring industry and the country format. “When you can have two guys that have been lucky enough to have been as successful as we have the past decade to go out and tour together, that’s uncommon, and there are a lot of factors that keep that from happening with a lot of acts,” he says. “It doesn’t have to happen, but it is, and it’s special. I can’t wait, I wish it was summer right now.”

Even with two of the biggest stars in music-not just country music-on the bill, Messina says ticket prices will be roughly the same as Chesney’s regular stadium shows, only increasing by $4 or $5 per ticket on the lower levels and remaining the same as last year in the upper deck. Though Chesney’s 2011 Goin’ Coastal tour was “basically sold out” in moving 1.3 million tickets, Messina thinks a different staging configuration that adds more capacity will compensate for added production costs. “Instead of raising ticket prices extraordinarily, we’ll get to where we need to be selling more tickets,” Though Messina did not confirm, given the box office clout of McGraw and Chesney on the same bill, it is likely that dates will be added in some cities. As it stands, this tour has all the makings of a blockbuster.

Outside of the possibility for a few shows here and there, the Brothers tour will for the most part be the extent of both artists’ road work in 2012. “I think we’re going to do the shows we do with Tim and that’s gonna be it,” says Chesney. “I’m going to work on other things, other projects, and I’m constantly working on the record, though I’m not sure when that’s coming. We may go overseas-maybe. But as far as the States, the shows I’m doing with Tim are the only ones we’re gonna do.”

McGraw has a similar plan. “I’ll probably do a few [live] things, but not a whole lot,” he says. “That will be a lot of people we’ll be in front of every night [on the Brothers tour]. Some of those places, we’ll probably end up doing two or three nights. And who knows, places we get to stay for a couple of nights, Kenny and I may pop up at a few honky tonks while we’re out there.”

Beyond the road work with Chesney, McGraw says he is considering several film projects; given that Brothers will play weekends, scheduling other work would possible. “There are three or four things we’re looking at, trying to get the scheduling right,” McGraw says. “Movie projects are like a house of cards; one day they can go up and the next day they can fall down.”

While McGraw and Chesney have already convened for several brainstorming sessions about how the show will play out, they’ll likely get together early next year to move the vision forward, “just the whole idea of what we could put together to make it the most special tour of the summer, for any genre,” Chesney says. “I think it’s going to be one of the best tours in the world next summer, not just in country music. With Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and Jake Owen, it’s going to be a fun night of music. I’m glad I’m on stage, but I wish I could be in the audience too.”

Tickets for the Dallas, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, East Rutherford, Detroit, and Foxboro shows will go on sale Dec. 3 through Ticketmaster. On-sale info for the remaining dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

Brothers of the Sun Tour 2012:

Sat. June 2 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium Sun. June 3 – Atlanta, GA – Georgia Dome Sat. June 9 – Dallas, TX – Cowboys Stadium Sun. June 10 – Kansas City, MO – Arrowhead Stadium Sat. June 15 – Philadelphia, PA – Lincoln Financial Field Sat. June 23 – Nashville, TN – LP Field Sun. June 24 – Charlotte, NC – Bank of America Stadium Sat. June 30 – Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Field Sun. July 1 – Cincinnati, OH – Paul Brown Stadium Sat. July 7 – Chicago, IL – Soldier Field Sun. July 8 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Field Sat. July 14 – Anaheim, CA – Angel Stadium Sat. July 21 – Denver, CO – Sports Authority Field at Mile High TBA – Indianapolis, IN – Lucas Oil Stadium TBA – Cleveland, OH – Cleveland Browns Stadium Sat. August 11 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium Sun. August 12 – Washington, DC – FedExField Sat. August 18 – Detroit, MI – Ford Field Sat. August 25 – Foxboro, MA – Gillette Stadium

Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox

Want to know what everyone in the music business is talking about?

Get in the know on.

Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Billboard Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

optional screen reader

Charts expand charts menu.

• Billboard Hot 100™
• Billboard 200™
• Hits Of The World™
• TikTok Billboard Top 50
• Song Breaker
• Year-End Charts
• Decade-End Charts

Music Expand music menu

• R&B/Hip-Hop

Culture Expand culture menu

Media expand media menu, business expand business menu.

• Business News
• Record Labels
• View All Pro

Pro Tools Expand pro-tools menu

• Songwriters & Producers
• Artist Index
• Royalty Calculator
• Market Watch
• Industry Events Calendar

Billboard Español Expand billboard-espanol menu

• Cultura y Entretenimiento

Honda Music Expand honda-music menu

Tim McGraw Previews New Music for Old Friends

Tim McGraw enjoyed a taste of his native Louisiana Saturday afternoon when he hosted a good old fashioned crawfish boil for members of the Music City media before performing that night at Nashville's LP Field on the Brothers of the Sun tour with pal Kenny Chesney .

The Cajun-themed soiree took place on the rooftop of a building above Nashville's Cumberland River with a scenic view of LP Field gleaming in the distance. Guests were treated to gumbo, salad, strawberry shortcake and piles of boiled corn, new potatoes and crawfish. Tim munched on an ear of corn and casually chatted with guests following a brief round of questions.

"Nashville is my home. I've been here since 1989," Tim said. "I haven't played Nashville in a while, except for a few benefits and stuff."

Tim acknowledged there would be a sea of familiar faces at the show. "I have three daughters. Two will be in high school next year, one will be a sophomore and one will be a freshman. And with all the network of family and friends -- my mom lives here, my two sisters, Faith's brother and [the family members of] the band -- they all know me, so it's hard to impress them!"

Tim has been working with longtime producer Byron Gallimore on a new album, his first since signing with Big Machine Records. Fans are getting a little preview during the Brothers of the Sun tour. "We're doing two new [songs] in the show, 'Mexicoma' and 'Truck Yeah,'" Tim said. "They're going over great. For any artist, the most fun you have in a night sometimes is playing new stuff, especially new stuff that already sounds like a hit. And these two songs, when we play them the reaction is like they've been out ten years already. They already sound like hits. They're a lot of fun."

When asked how far along he was in recording the new album, Tim said they are at the mixing stage and he expects the record to be out sometime later this year.

"I try to put everything I can into my records," Tim says. "There's certainly a freshness and a new energy around everything I do. I feel inspired. I feel like a brand new world opening up. I think there's so much more left in my career. I think there's more ahead of me than has ever been behind me."

After wowing the crowd at LP Field Saturday night, the Brothers of the Sun tour headed to Charlotte, NC on Sunday where Tim welcomed a special guest. "Big thanks to @TheTimMcGraw for having me out and letting me sing I Like It, I Love It on that stage w/you! It was awesome! You're the man!" Scotty McCreery tweeted after the performance.

This weekend, the Brothers of the Sun tour, which features Jake Owen , Grace Potter and the Nocturnals , Tim and Kenny, continues on with stops in Pittsburgh at Heinz Field on Saturday and at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday.

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

More From TheBoot

• Latest News
• Colorado History
• Environment
• Social Justice
• Transportation
• Latest Food & Drink
• Openings & Closings
• Restaurant Guide
• Top 100 Bars
• Top 100 Restaurants
• Latest Arts & Culture
• Visual Arts
• Concert Calendar
• Concert Reviews
• Just Announced
• Local Music
• Touring Artists
• Latest Cannabis
• Ask a Stoner
• Dispensary Guide
• Colorado Cannabis Laws
• Psychedelics
• Strain Reviews
• Find Weed - Presented by Weedmaps
• Westword Burger Week
• Westword Feast
• Westword Out to Brunch
• Westword Pizza Week
• Westword Tacolandia
• Arts & Entertainment
• Cannabis & More
• Food & Drink
• Music & Venues
• Shopping & Services
• Readers' Choice
• Newsletters
• Advertise with Us
• Flipbook Archive
• Promotions & Free Stuff
• Support Westword
• Where To Find Westword In Print
• Sign Up/Sign In

Brothers of the Sun Tour hits Denver

July 23, 2012 4:00AM

More slideshows

Meow Wolf Brings Vortex to Denver's Junk Yard

Brandon Johnson

Westword Music Showcase Night One: Dancing Across RiNo

Jacqueline Collins

Westword Music Showcase 2022 Sounds Off in RiNo Art District

Sneaker Ball Draws a Crowd as Jared Polis Celebrates Start of Second Term

Related locations.

Empower Field at Mile High

1701 Bryant St., Denver Central Denver

303-433-7466

Additional Slideshows

Governor Jared Polis celebrated the start of his second term at the Sneaker Ball for All bash at Mission Ballroom on January…

By Evan Semon

The rainy weather couldn't put a damper on the second day of the Westword Music Showcase, which filled the three stages at…

By Jacqueline Collins

Westword Music Showcase returned last night with dozens of local bands playing at nine different local venues around RiNo. Despite the rain,…

Vortex is here! Meow Wolf's outdoor festival opened a portal in Denver this weekend, filling the Junk Yard, a new venue in an…

By Brandon Johnson

Tour the Legendary Barnum House!

The Barnum House became part of Denver lore through the embellished stories of Robert Failing, a onetime owner who called himself Bart…

By Claire Duncombe

Itchy-O Celebrates Hallowmass at Summit Music Hall

Itchy-O is back with Hallowmass. The 57-member musical performance troupe kicked off a three-night stand at Summit Music Hall on October 29;…

• View This Week's Print Issue
• Arts & Culture
• Things To Do
• Advertise With Us
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Westword Careers
• Shop Cover Art
• Voice Media Group
• Dallas Observer
• New Times Broward-Palm Beach
• Miami New Times
• Phoenix New Times
• V Audience Labs
• V Digital Services

Nearby Communities

• Seminole Heights, FL
• Temple Terrace, FL
• Carrollwood-Northdale, FL
• Brandon, FL
• Bloomingdale-Riverview, FL
• Westchase, FL
• St. Pete, FL
• Safety Harbor, FL
• Clearwater, FL

State Edition

National edition.

• Top National News
• See All Communities

This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Win 'Brothers of the Sun' Tour Tickets

Raymond james stadium will give away 80 tickets for the brothers of the sun tour featuring kenny chesney and tim mcgraw for the next two months., alessandra da pra , neighbor.

From Tampa Sports Authority:

For the next two months, Raymond James Stadium will give away 80 tickets through its Facebook and Twitter ( @RJStadium ) pages to the Brothers of the Sun Concert Tour featuring Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw with special guests Jake Owen and Grace Potter and the Nocturnals on June 2.

Four pairs of tickets will be given away each week in the form of random contests on either social media platform. In addition, Raymond James Stadium will also have two longer duration contests throughout the two-month period before the concert: a photo contest and a video contest.

Find out what's happening in Tampa with free, real-time updates from Patch.

For the video contest, fans are encouraged to send in one creative video of them singing or lip-syncing to their favorite Chesney or McGraw song. Fans can submit entries by sending their video to [email protected] .

Raymond James Stadium is only accepting the first 35 videos it receives so it's best that fans get theirs in as soon as possible. The winner will be announced on May 18 via Facebook and Twitter and will receive a "Family 4-pack" that includes four tickets to the show, a parking pass and concession money.

For the photo contest, fans submit their best photo impersonation of Chesney, McGraw or both by either emailing [email protected] or sending a message to Raymond James Stadium over Facebook. Entries will be put into a Facebook photo album where fans can vote on which photo they like best by either "liking" or commenting on it. Whoever has the most likes and comments combined will win a pair of tickets and a parking pass.

The winner will be announced at 5 p.m. on May 4 via Facebook and Twitter.

Complete contest rules for the video and photo contest are available on www.raymondjamesstadium.com .

Tampa is the first stop for this 19-date nationwide tour. The tour finds Chesney, who consistently has crowds "eating up his every word and move," joined by "master showman" (Huffington Post) McGraw for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 'Brothers of the Sun' will be the first time in 10 years that Chesney and McGraw have hit the road together.

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch? Register for a user account.

More from Tampa

Breakaway music festival takes over raymond james stadium this weekend.

Where Rents Have Increased — And Decreased — The Most In Florida

Is This Really FL’s ‘Most Iconic Food’? The Food Network Says So

The Marley Brothers: The Legacy Tour grooves into Deer Lake Park in September

Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-Man and Damian Marley are reggae stars touring together on the Legacy Tour

You can save this article by registering for free here . Or sign-in if you have an account.

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

Article content

The Marley Brothers: The Legacy Tour is certainly the reggae gig to see this season when it comes to Deer Lake Park on Sept. 5.

The Marley Brothers: The Legacy Tour grooves into Deer Lake Park in September Back to video

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

• Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
• Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
• Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
• Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
• Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

• Access articles from across Canada with one account.
• Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
• Enjoy additional articles per month.
• Get email updates from your favourite authors.

Sign In or Create an Account

The tour opens in Burnaby before continuing on through other U.S. dates. Tickets are on sale April 19, at 10 a.m. at livenation.com or ticketmaster.com .

On their first lengthy tour as a family band, Bob Marley’s sons Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-Mani and Damian will be hitting the road in celebration of what would have been their late father’s 80th birthday. The late Jamaican music star is one of history’s most influential artists, whose musical legacy has been carried on by his successful solo act sons.

Collectively, the Marley brothers have 22 Grammy Awards between them. The most recent winner being Julian with the 2024 win for best reggae album. The tour announcement notes that the show will include both the brothers’ various hits as well as classics from Bob Marley’s timeless catalogue.

Given the busy tour schedules that the various sons all maintain, this is a rare chance to experience the first family of reggae music in all its soulful singing.

[email protected]

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add VancouverSun.com and TheProvince.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here .

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber: For just $14 a month, you can get unlimited access to The Vancouver Sun, The Province, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Vancouver Sun | The Province .

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Highway 1 lane closures causing bottleneck traffic to be rescheduled

Man dies after second 'terrifying' stabbing in white rock, police hunt for killer, man found with kilos of cocaine and hells angels 'propaganda:' b.c. government lawsuit, there's a b.c. connection to the massive success of global pop star diljit dosanjh, vaughn palmer: mixed views on meaning of haida gwaii deal portends court fight.

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here . By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy .

You've reached the 20 article limit.

You can manage saved articles in your account.

and save up to 100 articles!

Looks like you've reached your saved article limit!

You can manage your saved articles in your account and clicking the X located at the bottom right of the article.

Bob Marley's sons go on tribute tour for their father. There are two shows in Washington

A pr. 19—No one can deny the massive cultural impact Bob Marley had. His music is still consistently listened to, his face and likeness is on merchandise everywhere, and a movie about his life is in theaters now.

For decades, Bob Marley has remained an icon.

Several of the reggae superstar's sons are continuing his legacy, amassing 22 Grammy's between the five of them: Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-Mani and Damian.

This fall, the Marley brothers will perform together for the first time in two decades, on a 22-show tour across North America, and tickets are now available for general sale.

Here's what to know.

Marley Brothers tour in Washington

The Marley Brothers: The Legacy Tour, produced by Live Nation, begins in Vancouver, BC on Sept. 5.

Then they head to Ridgefield near the Washington-Oregon border on Sept. 6, with a performance at the RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheatre.

The brothers go to Auburn after, at the White River Amphitheatre on Sept. 8.

Shows include a mix of original songs and classic Bob Marley hits, according to the press release from Live Nation. The tour is meant to celebrate their father's music, influence and legacy.

"As the world nears what would have been Bob Marley's 80th birthday in 2025, there's no greater homage than experiencing his music live through his sons, who carry on his enduring influence across popular culture," the press release states.

Tickets are available now, starting at $55.35 per ticket in both Washington locations. VIP tickets are also available.

This story was originally published April 19, 2024, 11:01 AM.

(c)2024 Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The Bacon Brothers Release New Album 'Ballad of the Bacon Brothers'

The duo will also be embarking on a tour, which kicks off June 22 in Primm, NV.

The Bacon Brothers, featuring Michael and Kevin Bacon, unveil their new album, Ballad Of The Brothers via Forosoco Music / Forty Below Records.  

The album is out now, and available to order  here  on CD, Vinyl, and digital download. 

Michael Bacon stated, "Old Bronco is a song inspired by Kevin's truck, a 1969 Ford Bronco, a pandemic impulse buy. Her name is Miss Betty. He loves the truck and says, "It's old, I'm old, and that's what the song is about". Continues Kevin, "It's a great audience participation song; we have a lot of fun playing it live. And Michael added a mouth engine at the end… it's a little-known technique." 

The siblings have spent the best of three decades creating their own mix of folk, rock, soul, and country music. They call that diverse sound "forosoco," it's taken them worldwide, from headlining gigs in Japan and Europe to American performances at iconic venues like Carnegie Hall, the Grand Ole Opry, and Gruene Hall. 

Their musical exploration continues with the band's twelfth release, Ballad Of The Brothers. It's a record that highlights the similarities between Kevin Bacon (known worldwide as an A-list Hollywood actor) and Michael Bacon (celebrated as an Emmy-winning composer) and the differences, too. 

For Michael and Kevin Bacon, their album, Ballad Of The Brothers marks the continuation of a musical partnership that began long ago in Philadelphia, where the two siblings were raised on a soundtrack of 1970s singer/songwriters, Philly soul bands, and classic rock acts,. They're creating their own soundtrack now, and like many artistic endeavors, the work is never truly done.

Jun 22-----Primm, NV--------Star of the Desert Arena Jun 28-----San Juan Capistrano------Coach House Concert Hall Jun 29-----Montclair, CA----The Canon - Montclair Jun 30-----Ojai, CA-----------Sterling Venue Ventures @Libby Bowl Jul 12------Derry, NH---------Tupelo Music Hall Jul 13------Lynn, MA----------Lynn Memorial Auditorium Jul 14-----Tarrytown, NY----Tarrytown Music Hall July 19----Alexandria, VA---Birchmere July 20----Alexandria, VA---Birchmere July 25----Westport, CT-----Westport Country Playhouse July 26----Batavia, NY-------Batavia Downs Gaming July 27----Clayton, NY-------The Clayton Opera House Sep 20----Des Plains, IL----The Des Plains Tour Sep 21----St. Charles, IL----Arcada Theatre Sep 22----Louisville, KY-----Bourbon & Beyond

Photo Credit: Jacob Blinkenstaf

TICKET CENTRAL