Kenny Chesney Brings His Mom Onstage to Sing With Him in Denver

Kenny Chesney brought a very special duet partner onstage to sing with him during the Denver stop of his 2022 Here and Now Tour: His mom, Karen Chandler.

The singer invited his mom out to share the spotlight during his performance of “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” a No. 1 hit from his 2018 No Zip Code album. In the studio version of the song, Chesney’s duet partner is David Lee Murphy, but the song took on a sweet new meaning as a mother-son duet.

Chesney wrapped his arm around his mom as they sang together, holding a microphone up to her as she sang along, beaming with pride and joy.

The crowd that night, at Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High, boasted more than 60,000 fans, but Karen didn’t seem nervous at all as she sang and danced alongside her superstar son.

“Give mom a big round [of applause,]” Chesney said as Karen left the stage at the end of the song, and the fans happily obliged.

According to Pop Culture, Chesney’s mom gave birth to him at 19 and got divorced when he was still very young. She instilled in him the importance of learning to be happy on his own terms, instead of seeking validation from a relationship.

“She said, ‘Kenny, I just want you to know I’d rather be miserable alone than miserable with somebody else.’ That makes a lot of sense to me,” the singer previously recounted.

Country Now also reports that the singer’s mother taught him how to handle life’s curveballs with ease. “She’s been through a lot in her life. And she’s handled it. And she’s come it, I believe, with a lot of grace and a lot of style. And I’ve learned a lot from that,” he reflected.

The pair remain close to this day. Backstage at Chesney’s Denver show, Mom even joined the band’s “pre-show dance ritual,” stealing the show as Chesney hopped in to bust out a few moves of his own.

“What a blast and what joy!” the singer noted in the caption of his post.

Chesney’s show in Denver was filled with high points, but it was also touched by tragedy: At the end of the night, a concertgoer fell to her death from the rail of an escalator. The singer subsequently issued a statement saying he was “devastated” by the incident.

“Life is precious. Sharing music brings us together and that love we share makes us so much more,” his statement read in part. “For the lady who came to share that love, there are no words. For her friends’ and family’s loss, I grieve with them and for them.”