Jake Owen Has a History With ‘Brothers’ Kenny and Tim

When Jake Owen got the call about joining Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw for their 2012 Brothers Under the Sun tour, he just had to smile. The singer, who recently had his first No. 1 hit with 'Barefoot Blue Jean Night,' says it brought back memories of the first major country music show he ever attended.

"The first concert I ever saw -- outside of the country fair or some little theater -- was Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney at Coral Sky (now Cruzan) Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida," Jake tells The Boot. "I was about 16 or 17, still in high school, and I went with my girlfriend and a few friends. I remember when Kenny went into that line about "big orange ball floating in the water," and all those orange balls started floating around, I just thought, 'Wow!' He was awesome. Then Tim's band comes out and it looks like they walked off the bus through the back screen, and all of a sudden Tim comes out.

"That's what I thought about when I heard about this tour. It just blew my mind that there I was, a kid out there on the amphitheater lawn, just a fan of music and a fan of them, and now I'm gonna be out there with them. I really wish I could explain what it feels like but I really can't. You'll just have to see the smile on my face every night when I go out there. It's gonna be amazing, so awesome."

Jake says he has developed a cool relationship with Kenny over the years, having toured with the superstar's Flip Flop tour when Jake's first single, 'Yee Haw,' was released. "He's always been really cool to me. We have had some conversations about the tour. I saw him at the CMA Awards after-party, with Grace Potter. I'm such a fan of hers that to sit there and watch her on the tour will be really refreshing. She's not really country but she'll bring this cool, hip thing to the concert which I'm excited to be able to watch."

Although Jake acknowledges he and Tim don't really know each other, he notes that Tim did stop on the CMA red carpet to shake his hand and tell him he was excited to have him along on the upcoming trek.

Jake says he doesn't plan to change much about his show for the new tour. "What I've been doing seems to be working. I just do what I do, which is get out there and entertain as much as I can. The audience already know Chesney and McGraw, they know what to expect when they come out. With me, people are like, 'Who is this guy?' I want to make them leave the show feeling the same way I felt when I saw Tim and Kenny. Those guys are amazing."

Even though the official kick-off for the Brothers of the Sun tour isn't until June of next year, tickets are already selling at a brisk pace. As of Dec. 3, Kenny had sold nearly 275,000 tickets, exceeding sales for the first eight concert dates on any of his previous tours.

Download Jake Owen Songs | Buy 'Barefoot Blue Jean Night'