Josh Anderson/Associated Press
Kenny Chesney at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville in June 2009.
Josh Anderson/Associated Press
Kenny Chesney at the CMA Music Festival in Nashville in June 2009.
Kenny Chesney and Steve Miller surprised the patrons of Tootsie's Orchid Lounge on Tuesday, March 2, with an impromptu performance after the two taped an episode of CMT's "Crossroads" at the Ryman Auditorium (former home of the Grand Ole Opry). After the Ryman show, the two followed the path of country legends from the 1940s to the 1970s, by crossing the alley from the back door of the Ryman to the back door of Tootsie's. The two then took the tiny stage and performed Miller's "Fly Like an Eagle."
The two performed many of Miller's hits, including "Take The Money & Run," "Abracadabra," "The Joker" and "Rock'n Me," and Chesney's hit "Livin' In Fast Forward" as well as the Hank Williams classic "Mind Your Own Business" and Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Love Struck Baby."
In a press release Chesney said: "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 sneaking in the back door of Tootsies. Kristofferson drank there, and Willie, Hank Williams, and 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!
"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 anything…."
The episode of "Crossroads" is expected to air in July.
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Comments » 1
TNgirlygirl writes:
I wish I'd been there!!
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