“When I Got the News, I Was Shocked”: Kenny Chesney Reacts to Being Named in POLLSTAR's Top Ten Touring Artists of the Millennium
By Maxim Mower
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Kenny Chesney has responded after being the only country artist to be included in POLLSTAR's newly unveiled Top Ten Touring Artists of the Millennium list.
POLLSTAR, which compiles data from across the touring industry, has revealed the Most Popular Touring Artists of the Millennium, featuring 25 heavyweights that range across an array of genres, including Ed Sheeran, U2, Elton John and The Rolling Stones.
Coldplay have taken the No. 1 spot, after amassing a whopping 24,805,126 tickets sold since 2001. Chesney has earned the No. 7 position, after selling an impressive 18,198,369 tickets in a quarter of a century, courtesy of his high-octane summer tours.
During the same 25-year period, the ‘No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems’ hitmaker has grossed a colossal $1.3 billion, selling an average of 18,917 tickets and grossing an average of $1.4 million per show. Chesney has headlined 962 shows since 2001.
POLLSTAR's Most Popular Touring Artists of the Millennium (Since 2001)
In an official statement, the Knoxville native has expressed his mix of surprise and gratitude at this unexpected accomplishment, “When I got the news, I was shocked. I only really think about all those faces smiling, laughing, singing - it’s the most beautiful sea of love and joy imaginable. I have never really considered how many; just how much fun everyone’s having. But when you look at this list, see names of people who set the bar in so many ways, it takes your breath away”.
He expands, “And a list like this? The numbers don’t lie. To think we played to over 18 million people since 2001 – even with the time we had to take off – is mind-blowing for a kid from East Tennessee”, before paying tribute to his beloved fanbase, “But it says everything about the passion No Shoes Nation brings to this music”.
Following a wildly popular residency at Sphere Las Vegas this summer - making Chesney the first country artist in history to headline the immersive venue - the ‘Everything's Gonna Be Alright’ crooner returns in 2026 for another blockbuster residency.
The ‘Just To Say We Did’ singer-songwriter reflects on how this summer presented a unique opportunity, “Sphere pulled me into so many songs the fans know and love in new ways. And it deepened how I see them. That production consumes you, so we’re going back even harder and fuller. Sphere’s intimacy lets me do songs I can’t play in a stadium, things we love or something I haven’t played in forever. So that freedom to bring things down lets us take the show a lot of places, which makes it fun and even surprising to me and the band many nights”.
Chesney concludes by stressing that this new accolade has added fuel to his fire, “After news like this. It makes me want to get out there right now and play. There’s no feeling like that moment when we hit the stage, the people’s energy drives straight into us and we turn around and give it right back. To share that transfer of passion back and forth? It takes you to new levels of how good you can feel, takes away what bothers you and sends you out in the night ready for a brand-new day”.
It's been a momentous year for the tropical country trailblazer. As well as storming onto the Sphere Las Vegas stage, Chesney released his first book, HEART*LIFE*MUSIC.
The ‘I Go Back’ legend wrote the project with his good friend, Holly Gleason, with HEART*LIFE*MUSIC surging straight to the peak of The New York Times’ prestigious Hardcover Nonfiction and Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction Best Seller rankings.
After all the accomplishments and experiences that 2025 has brought with it for Chesney and his loyal No Shoes Nation fanbase, we can't wait to see what 2026 holds. Perhaps a new record, following his lauded 2024 album, BORN? Fingers crossed...
For POLLSTAR's full list of the Most Popular Touring Acts of the Millennium, see below:
- Coldplay
- U2
- Ed Sheeran
- Dave Matthews Band
- Taylor Swift
- Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
- Kenny Chesney
- Metallica
- Bon Jovi
- Elton John
- P!NK
- The Rolling Stones
- Beyoncé
- André Rieu
- Madonna
- Guns N’ Roses
- Eagles
- Phish
- Iron Maiden
- Luke Bryan
- Roger Waters
- Paul McCartney
- Toby Keith
- Billy Joel
- Depeche Mode
For more on Kenny Chesney, see below:
