NO Kenny in 2014

Kenny Chesney, who was deemed “King of the Road” by The Wall Street Journal earlier this year, is taking 2014 off from the road. “I love touring more than anyone in the world,” Chesney tells The Hollywood Reporter. “I love the band, the crew, the whole team — and it’s weird to not be looking at next year’s stage design, but I shouldn’t make albums to service the tour. So I’m going to put the music first, dial it back and do the strangest thing in the world: not hit the road next summer.” This marks the second time since 2001 that Chesney will be haulting his touring schedule. Instead, the superstar plans to focus on his music. “We have so much fun out there … with the fans, the other bands … It’s summer camp with guitars and a great sound system,” the Tennessee native explains. “And when we hit that stage every night, and hear the crowd, that’s the best drug in the world. How you take a year off from that is hard; but music is the reason I do all of it, so right now, when I’m coming off an album that took me places I didn’t know I was gonna go, I think that’s what I should be exploring.” The next album will be the follow-up to Life On a Rock, which hit stores in April of this year. “You get to a point when you’ve made a lot of albums and you need to challenge yourself, to really make the record the focus, to ask yourself what you want to say … and not just cut songs because they fit what people expect,” he says. “It’s a lot harder to find those songs than you’d think, and writing takes time — to think, to live, to be.” Fans can catch Chesney on the No Shoes Nation Tour through August. We’re giving away a travel package to attend one of three shows on Chesney’s No Shoes Nation Tour. Click HERE to enter for a chance to win.