Kenny Chesney Announces New Album Out In March

Kenny Chesney has announced a new album project slated for release on March 29, 2024. The new album will be called Born.

Kenny said of the new work he revealed a week after telling fans on his social media that he has been in the recording studio. He noted, "You never want to think it's all about you or that in this crazy world, it's all about your music. I'm just trying to find songs that continue the story of who we are, how we live, breathe, work, rock, kick back, and sometimes get tangled up in feelings that are anything but simple. Then you see people react the way they have to the news, and you go, 'Well, okay...'"

He continued of the album's artwork, "I'd already decided on the cover because it was something clean and simple and true. It's the kind of picture that says everything but leaves plenty of room for everything else. My friend Allister shot it, and it's just me looking straight into No Shoes Nation. When I saw it, it was really the only choice for this record."

Photo Allister Ann 

Chesney added, "As for the title, well, we're still not quite done deciding what's going on here, but one thing's for sure: BORN is absolutely the title track. It's got a lot of heart, a lot of soul – and it speaks the truth about living life and what we're all doing here. Banjo out front, a great big pocket that rocks back and forth, it feels great. But more importantly, it's a lyric that throws out all the options, never tells you what to do, and throws out the one existential truth no matter what you choose: 'One thing's for certain, we've all been living since the day we were born.'"

He concluded, "Normally, we wait until it's all figured out, the T's are crossed, the I's are dotted, but everything about this record's been different – from how much time we've spent, the different ways we recorded and wrote and found songs. So, why not let the fans know as we're finishing up? We make this music for them, so here you go. It's official: BORN, March 29 – and you've seen the cover. Now to the final line-up, and maybe getting a couple more out there."

Many country music superstars embrace the Grand Ole Opry and openly weep when invited to become members of the Nashville institution. However, a handful of country superstars are not members of the Opry.

To become a member of the Grand Ole Opry, you have to be invited, and that decision comes down to Opry management. According to the Opry website, "Opry membership requires a passion for country music's fans, a connection to the music's history, and it requires commitment – even a willingness to make significant sacrifices to uphold that commitment. Often, the Opry seeks out those who seek out the Opry, though decisions aren't based on which artists appear most on the show, either."

In picking new members of the Opry, their site says, "The Opry doesn't simply pass out invitations to the biggest stars with the most hits. Opry management looks for a musical and a generational balance. Opry membership requires a passion for country music's fans and a connection to the music's history. It requires commitment – even a willingness to make significant sacrifices to uphold that commitment."

To become a member, there is a rule that artists need to commit to playing the Grand Ole Opry stage several times a year. However, that rule is often broken by current Opry members (primarily icons and superstars), and it's just okay.

For some country superstars, it may be the commitment they shy away from or not having enough passion for the Opry history to leave the Grand Ole Opry out of their careers. We look at five country music superstars that are not members of the Grand Ole Opry. While all have played it at least once, these five acts rarely play the Grand Ole Opry stage.

Tim made his Grand Ole Opry debut in December 2003. After that, he played it a few times, but never that much, and now he doesn't play the Grand Ole Opry at all. Not sure why.

Faith played the Opry in the late 1990s when her career started to hit. She didn't play the Opry stage much after that.

Vince Bucci/Getty Images

George played the Grand Ole Opry show once, his debut performance on the stage in October of 1982. That was the first and last time, and no one really knows why. There is a theory that he could not make the Opry commitment to play the stage very much because he never lived in Nashville; he has always resided in Texas.

Miranda played the Grand Ole Opry several times in her career, and some of her most recent performances on the Opry stage were in 2014 with then-husband Blake Shelton and in 2015 and 2016. She does not play it often now, and in 2015, she told me when asked about the Grand Ole Opry and someday becoming a member, "It's sort of something I don't talk about or have never asked or say that out loud. It was always a big deal to Blake, so that was something we always talked about, and he became a member, but I'd never really set it out for myself." She added, "It wasn't on my radar before because I focused on that for him, but I would definitely never say no to being a member of the Grand Ole Opry."

Scott Gries/Getty Images

Kenny made his Opry debut in 1996. He has been on the Opry stage a handful of times and once when he paid tribute to George Jones singing his classic, "White Lightning." These days it's very rare to see Chesney on the Grand Ole Opry stage.