Kenny Chesney Makes History in New Jersey

Kenny Chesney shattered the New Jersey/New York area attendance records over the weekend to become the biggest ticketed country show ever in the area. The music superstar, along with tourmates the Zac Brown Band, Uncle Kracker and Billy Currington, performed to 55,000 fans during their August 13 stop at the New Meadowlands Stadium. That tops the previous record set in 1983 at a concert featuring Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings and Linda Ronstadt.

The 'Boys of Fall' singer performed an electrifying set before bringing Zac Brown Band back on stage to perform the Steve Miller Band classic, 'The Joker,' during the final encore. Kenny, an avid sports fan, also invited New York Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher and New York Jets coach Rex Ryan onstage during the final moments of the landmark event, igniting a thunderous response from the sportsmen's hometown crowd.

Kenny's Goin' Coastal tour is the top-grossing country tour of 2011 so far, according to Pollstar. The trek also lands in the Top 10 on Billboard's list of Top 25 Tours, coming in at No. 9 with more than $25 million in gross revenue, with 19 of the 25 shows selling out.

After a much needed hiatus from touring last year, the road warrior returned to form, telling The Boot, "I do feel like I've had time off. It's an exciting time for all of us. To go out there and the love affair that I feel like we experience with the fans is second to none ... That's the reason that I wanted to take a break too, because I felt like I had to protect that at any cost, and now we're ready to go back."

The Goin' Coastal tour will continue through the rest of the month, with dates at Gillette Stadium on August 27 and 28. Click here for Kenny's full tour schedule.