KENNY CHESNEY BURNS THROUGH HIS FIRST 2026 SHOW
Kenny Chesney walked through a stiff 21.5 MPH wind to take the stage at the 13th Tortuga Music Festival; but those gusts were no match for the high energy performer. With the sounds of the No Shoes Nation-empowering “We Do” ramping up the anticipation, the East Tennessee songwriter/superstar leaned into the honky tonk-tilting “Living In Fast Forward” as he took his place at the top of the T. The crowd was deafening as he delivered his guitar-forward hit about putting it all in the songs.
Chesney’s set came out of the chute hard – “Fast Forward” sweeping into “Young,” slamming into “Beer In Mexico,” then straight into the propulsive “Keg In the Closet.” Clearly savoring the crowd, who filled the two-story cabanas on the street side, packed the balconies of neighboring hotels and overflowed well over half mile of beach, Chesney was exuberant for his sixth headlining appearance at Tortuga.
A dozen songs into the bursting with positive energy set, the calypso-informed “When The Sun Goes Down” introduction took the anticipation to another level. When the second verse rolled up, Uncle Kracker sauntered onto the stage, trucker hat to the side and a black Monster Magnet Superjudge t-shirt on. In a weekend based on friendship, ocean conservation and enjoying the beach, it was the perfect surprise; the pair romped through Kracker’s breakout “Follow Me” and ubiquitous take on Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away.”
“With Kracker playing the festival, we had to do it,” Chesney said after. “Nobody makes me laugh harder, brings more soul to that stage or understands this crowd better – and it’s hard to believe anyone can love music as much as we do, but he does.”
Despite a strict sea turtle protection curfew of 9:55 p.m. on Fort Lauderdale Beach, there was plenty of music to come. The momentum of Kracker’s mini-set built with the banjo-forward “Get Along,” the song meant to remind people our common ground is often bigger than our differences. Even with gusts close to 28 miles per hour, that positivity anchored the night.
In that sweep of emotion, the spring break/summer vacation romp “All The Pretty Girls” felt perfect for Lauderdale beach. But nothing prepared the audience for a denim’n’diamante three-piece mini skirt-set clad Megan Moroney to come bouncing from the wings in full sparkle mode. Blinding in her custom Paige outfit with rhinestone fringe, Moroney’s exuberance made the moment that much more as the crowd lost their collective minds when the young woman who’s the Academy of Country Music Awards’ leading nominee took the stage.
“Megan at our first show in 2026 sets a pretty high bar,” Chesney says. “But between our duet [his 2024 Christmas gift from Moroney, ‘You Had To Be There’] and ‘Am I Okay?,’ her music fits so well with ours, it’s always so much fun when we can sing together. Talk about hitting the beach!
“There’s something about Tortuga – the ocean awareness, how historic this beach is or just the people who’re here singing all these songs back to us, this energy really sets the tone for us. No Shoes Nation was born to come together, forget about everything and really be in the moment, and when we’re here, it’s a whole other level.”
Chesney’s set came out of the chute hard – “Fast Forward” sweeping into “Young,” slamming into “Beer In Mexico,” then straight into the propulsive “Keg In the Closet.” Clearly savoring the crowd, who filled the two-story cabanas on the street side, packed the balconies of neighboring hotels and overflowed well over half mile of beach, Chesney was exuberant for his sixth headlining appearance at Tortuga.
A dozen songs into the bursting with positive energy set, the calypso-informed “When The Sun Goes Down” introduction took the anticipation to another level. When the second verse rolled up, Uncle Kracker sauntered onto the stage, trucker hat to the side and a black Monster Magnet Superjudge t-shirt on. In a weekend based on friendship, ocean conservation and enjoying the beach, it was the perfect surprise; the pair romped through Kracker’s breakout “Follow Me” and ubiquitous take on Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away.”
“With Kracker playing the festival, we had to do it,” Chesney said after. “Nobody makes me laugh harder, brings more soul to that stage or understands this crowd better – and it’s hard to believe anyone can love music as much as we do, but he does.”
Despite a strict sea turtle protection curfew of 9:55 p.m. on Fort Lauderdale Beach, there was plenty of music to come. The momentum of Kracker’s mini-set built with the banjo-forward “Get Along,” the song meant to remind people our common ground is often bigger than our differences. Even with gusts close to 28 miles per hour, that positivity anchored the night.
In that sweep of emotion, the spring break/summer vacation romp “All The Pretty Girls” felt perfect for Lauderdale beach. But nothing prepared the audience for a denim’n’diamante three-piece mini skirt-set clad Megan Moroney to come bouncing from the wings in full sparkle mode. Blinding in her custom Paige outfit with rhinestone fringe, Moroney’s exuberance made the moment that much more as the crowd lost their collective minds when the young woman who’s the Academy of Country Music Awards’ leading nominee took the stage.
“Megan at our first show in 2026 sets a pretty high bar,” Chesney says. “But between our duet [his 2024 Christmas gift from Moroney, ‘You Had To Be There’] and ‘Am I Okay?,’ her music fits so well with ours, it’s always so much fun when we can sing together. Talk about hitting the beach!
“There’s something about Tortuga – the ocean awareness, how historic this beach is or just the people who’re here singing all these songs back to us, this energy really sets the tone for us. No Shoes Nation was born to come together, forget about everything and really be in the moment, and when we’re here, it’s a whole other level.”