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Kenny Chesney & Steve Miller Rock Tootsies into TomorrowCelebrate CMT “Crossroads” Taping By Sneaking Across the Ally 

Nashville: After treating a standing room only crowd at the Ryman Auditorium to almost two hours of music, Kenny Chesney and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Steve Miller decided to celebrate their “Crossroads” taping by deciding to do an impromptu jam at historic Music City night spot Tootsie's Orchid Lounge. After a few moments to collect their breath after leaving the stage, the pair of music men walked down the ally between the Ryman and the storied bar, snuck in the back door and made their way to the front stage and straight into Miller's classuc “Fly Like An Eagle.”

“If you're at the Ryman… and you want to do it the way the old Opry stars did, everybody knows it was out the back door of the Ryman, cross the ally and sneak in the back door of Tootsies. Kristofferson drank there, and Willie. Hank Williams, Patsy Cline. If I was gonna show my friend what this experience was all about - especially after a night as great as our 'Crossroads' taping had been… then we  had to do Tootsies!”

And boy, did they. Taking the stage at a little bit before 11, the pair played until sometime the next morning on the tiny stage in the front window. Beyond Miller classics like “Take The Money & Run,” “Abracadabra,” “The Joker” and “Rock'n Me,” the pair indulged in an improv freestyle blues that leaned into the “Red House” chord progressions, a romping take on Hank Williams Sr's “Mind Your Own Business,” Chesney's “Livin' In Fast Forward” and Stevie Ray Vaughan's “Love Struck Baby.”

“The thing about Steve Miller is he's a music guy, not a genre guy. He loves everything and sees the sweet spot on Hank Sr as easy as he does Jimmy Reed… and that's what makes being onstage with him so much fun - and what makes his songs hit people in so many places at one time. And you know it's funny, because those songs are such a part of who we are, when I looked out at the crowd - at the Ryman  or at Tootsies - you could tell that everyone listening was suddenly 17 years old again and right in that moment of being young, being free and being so alive and in love with music.

“But what's funny, for me, is as much as I have a time and place for every one of those songs… and those are powerful memories, just look at 'I Go Back,' after tonight, those songs for me are going to be standing onstage with one of my idols, getting to live one of those crazy dreams you have when you're a kid. Those impossible dreams are every bit as much a part of the music as anythimg….”

Though no air date has been set, look for “Crossroads” to debut on CMT: Country Music Television in July. As the 4-consecutive Academy of Country Music and 4-time Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year completes editing on “Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3-D” and gears up for his return to the Houston Rodeo Thursday, March 4, rhere's plenty of music to come. Beyond his 3 Academy of Country Music nominations - Entertainer, Top Make and Vocal Event for “I'm Alive” with Dave Matthews - Chesney's “Aint Back Yet” hits the Top 10 the week of its official release and appears to be ready to spend a long time at #1.