Zac Brown Grateful for Kenny Chesney’s Helping Hand

The guys in the Zac Brown Band are looking forward to spending time with Kenny Chesney on his Goin' Coastal tour, which kicks off tonight (March 17), especially since they know they will be in good hands. Zac Brown says he recently learned first-hand why Kenny has such a stellar reputation in the music community.

"First of all, everyone who is around him says Kenny takes care of his people, second to none," Zac Brown tells CMIL. "He's an incredible guy. I can attest to that, because we got stuck at the airport one time. I called Kenny, and he had already gone to bed. I woke him up and he's like, 'Hey pal, what's going on?' I said, 'We're stuck. I gotta charter a plane. Can I charter your plane?' He said, 'Give me a minute.' He has his pilot call me and send his jet out to pick us up and get us to a radio show the next day. We wouldn't have made it there [without him]."

That's not the only memorable part of that trip, Zac notes. In spite of making it there in the nick of time, they had to scramble to get new instruments and a new wardrobe. "All our luggage was on the plane," the ZBB frontman continues. "We had to go to Guitar Center and buy instruments. We went to Wal-Mart and bought Dickies-like clothes. We were all in shorts and travel clothes, so we all bought black work suits, Dickies work suits. We ended up making it happen. We showed up right before we needed to go on stage with some bunk guitars and stuff, whatever we had to throw together. I didn't know Kenny that well, and he sent his jet to pick us up. That was my first thing, where I knew stories about him were true."

The Goin' Coastal tour runs through the end of August. The Zac Brown Band are also busy planning their inaugural Southern Ground Festival, held April 8-10, featuring some of their signature dishes, plus entertainment by several well-known artists, including Amos Lee, Nic Cowan, Blackberry Smoke and the Secret Sisters. Keep track of their schedule here.