“You Could Just Feel the Jealousy”: Someone Once Stole Kenny Chesney's Hometown Sign - But It Ended Up Somewhere Even Better

When an aspiring artist hits the big time and becomes a star, their inboxes and comments sections are flooded with congratulatory messages and kind-hearted well wishes.

But sadly, a small - but often vocal - minority opt down the route of envy, choosing to try and cut these newborn stars down a few notches instead of toasting their success.

It's a tale that Kenny Chesney touches on in his 2002 anthem, ‘Big Star’, which follows an up-and-coming singer-songwriter who gradually sells out bigger venues. When she starts headlining arenas, a smattering of naysayers reveal the chips on their shoulders (“Her old neighbours swear they're certain / She slept her way to the top”), before the protagonist brushes off her detractors (“She knows you don't get where you're going / 'Less you got something they ain't got”).

During a new conversation with Bobby Bones on the first ever episode of BobbyCast to be released on Netflix, Chesney recalls a moment in his own career when he experienced this kind of jealousy. The duo begin by discussing the big green sign hanging behind them in the studio, which originally stood in Bobby's hometown and proudly reads, “Welcome to the boyhood home of Bobby Bones”.

Bobby jokes that one of the signs ended up with “bullet holes all in it”, with Chesney quipping, “Somebody didn't like Bobby!” The host reflects, “Somebody, I think, is just tired of my name being on the town”, before Chesney observes, “Somebody was jealous of Bobby”. He proceeds to tell his own story of people being envious of him getting a sign in his hometown of Luttrell, Tennessee.

The ‘I Go Back’ hitmaker remembers, “I lived with my grandmother for three or four years. So that meant I knew the road to church on Wednesday night, on Sunday morning and Sunday night. I knew the road to the ballpark where I played ball. That was it”.

He goes on, “That's how I grew up. So when I came in and saw [your sign], I went, ‘Oh, wow’, because they put one up for me in my hometown - and somebody just took it down. They didn't want to see it”, with Bobby suggesting this might have been someone coveting it, rather than being spiteful about his success, “Are you sure that wasn't a compliment? Someone stole it because it was Kenny's sign?”

Chesney laughs, “I don't think so! Maybe...I mean, there's a small chance that that's it. But you could just, I don't know, you could just feel the jealousy or something”.

Thankfully, though, his hometown ultimately put up another sign in an even better location, just moments away from where Chesney lived with his grandmother, “Either way, it was gone and they didn't put another one back. But they did put another one right down from where my grandmother used to live. And this one did make me happy...Right in front of the Luttrell City Hall, there was this big sign growing up that said, “Home of country music entertainer...Chet Atkins”. Well, now there's one of me right beside Chet Atkins. That makes me very happy”.

The five-time CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year winner underlines that, in the end, it worked out, “Because I was a kid looking at that. Now I got my own sign right next to him”.

Akins - who also hails from Luttrell - remains a deeply respected figure in the country music world, having established himself as a guitar maestro in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. For Chesney, who grew up with Akins as one of the biggest idols to emerge from his hometown, it must be a particularly special moment seeing his name alongside Akins for all his childhood friends, family and loved ones to see in Luttrell.

Regardless of whether he got a sign or not - and regardless of whether someone steals this one as well - Chesney has cemented himself as a country music legend, with the ‘No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems’ crooner having pioneered a sunny, island-inspired, rock-tinged sound throughout the 2000s’, 2010s and beyond. With more Sphere Las Vegas dates on the books this summer, a New York Times best-seller under his belt in the form of HEART*LIFE*MUSIC with Holly Gleason and potential new music on the horizon, Chesney has no plans to slow down any time soon - and we're certainly not complaining.

To listen to the full 2026 episode of BobbyCast with Kenny Chesney, see below:

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