Kenny Chesney is gearing up for his free Flora-Bama-Jama concert on August 16th at the Flora-Bama Lounge, a bar with a beach on Perdido Key, where Orange Beach and Gulf Shores meet on the border of Alabama and Florida. Kenny says that the venue has quite a history — in fact, it inspired the song “Flora-Bama” on his upcoming album, The Big Revival — and now, Kenny’s ready to bring together his No Shoes Nation fans and blow out the day in a big, big way. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)

• Your iTunes pre-order of Kenny’s September 23rd album, The Big Revival, will get you the instant-grat tracks “Flora-Bama” and Kenny’s current smash single, “American Kids.”
• Kenny talks about what he’s been doing on his “summer vacation.” (AUDIO INFO BELOW)

  Kenny Chesney talks about the venue for his Flora-Bama-Jama concert and the song that the venue inspired on his upcoming album, The Big Revival. (2:04)
“You know, the Flora-Bama is special for a lot of reasons, other than just where it sets. It’s right on the Florida Alabama line, but to me, the reason that the Flora-Bama is special is the people. It’s the atmosphere. It’s the history. It’s all the music that’s been played there and all the memories that have been made there and all the relationships and friendships that have been born there. You know, and all that stuff, to me, mixed together with (laughs) fried food and rum and the smell of spilt beer and all the wonderful, free-spirited souls who love music, life, and that choose to let that place help them let life roll off their shoulders. And to me, that’s what I love about the place. And I love places like that. You know, I feel like this song could in a way be the national anthem to No Shoes Nation. I really do (laughs) because it seems to really wrap its arms around the spirit of it all and the spirit of this place. And it describes, to me, all the people in my audience: the wonderful, eclectic, passionate fans to a tee that we have that make up No Shoes Nation. And it’s been a great place also for creative people to hang out. You know, when I first moved to Nashville and there was a lot of songwriters that would go down there and play. They’d have these songwriting events at the Flora-Bama, and a lot of my heroes would go down there and play and still do. So many years have come and gone. This year is the 50th anniversary of the Flora-Bama. And so a lot of years have come and gone, but the one thing that remains the same is the feeling that you get when you walk in that place. You know, that feeling is the same. And that’s a feeling I love in my life, and I’m glad to share it with everyone in No Shoes Nation through this song. And it might not be a single on the radio; it may be too regional for that, but this kind of song will be a part of that culture for a while, you know? (laughs) And I’m proud of that.”

  Kenny Chesney says that he’s really looking forward to his Flora-Bama-Jama concert this week. (1:51)
“You know, the guys have been rehearsing now for the Flora-Bama show for a couple of days, and I haven’t gone in there yet because they’re learning some of the new music on the record, off The Big Revival, and so I’m goin’ in there in a couple of days to start singin’ those songs and the show that we’re gonna try to present at the Flora-Bama — we don’t really know what that is; we don’t have a set list yet, and we might not have a set list until that day, which is kind of cool ’cause we’re gonna have a lot of new music we’re gonna play, and who knows, we’re gonna play for a while that day, but it’s exciting to get the calls, you know? I got a call from Jill the other day. Jill and Ed Wannebo, my production manager, they’re in town, and they’re excited. And to get those calls, everybody’s excited to get together again. And I haven’t seen the band, we haven’t played together as a band on stage since Foxboro, since last year, since almost a year ago. So, we’re starting that process. You know, I’m gonna go in there and rehearse for a couple of days, and main thing for me is I just gotta sing some more. You know, my voice was in pretty good shape when I was doin’ the vocals for this record, but I haven’t sang since then. You know, your vocal cords are like a muscle. It’s like anything else. If you don’t use ’em, you know, they get weak. So, I gotta get in there and sing so I can (laughs) hopefully sing a lot of these songs at the Flora-Bama — and remember the words to these songs! I haven’t sang any of these songs, you know, in a year or over, so…but it’ll come, you know? And we’re lookin’ forward to the energy; we’re lookin’ forward to the crowd. You know, it made me feel so good that so many people wanted those wristbands, that they cared, and it’s just gonna be a fun, fun, fun day of music and gettin’ everybody together and just enjoyin’ the atmosphere and the environment of the Flora-Bama. And it’s a perfect place to play music, and it’s a perfect place to play music for No Shoes Nation. I think that that’s what I’m lookin’ forward to the most is just seein’ everybody and the connection and to hear the cheer of that crowd again, you know, ’cause it’s been awhile. And I’m lookin’ forward to that, man.”

  Kenny Chesney talks about what he’s been doing with his time off the road. (1:44)
“A lot of people have asked me what I’ve been doin’ this summer, and what I’ve been doin’ with my time off. Honestly, I have…I’ve felt like I’ve been a cocoon in the studio since last October, and I mean, I’ve traveled some, and I’ve gotten away from music for a little while, but my focus and my vision has been on making music that I think that we can go out there on the road next year and really put the pedal down to, and I think we’ve done that. I mean, we’re still workin’ on that, but honestly, I haven’t done a lot (laughs) of different things with my time off. I mean, like, it’s been good to be off the road; it’s been good to be out of the cycle of being on the road and doin’ everything that you do, bein’ on that treadmill. But, I tell ya, I really miss certain things about it, I don’t miss certain things about it so much, but I’m sure by the time next year rolls around I’ll miss all of it. But I’ve been so busy in the studio really workin’ hard on this music that I haven’t had a lot of time. I can’t believe it’s this far into 2014, and it’s not gonna be that long until we start rehearsals and until we start dialing in what we’re gonna do and how we’re gonna present ourselves next summer, and…but we had to get the music right first, and so that’s where we are now, and it’s been frustrating — it’s been challenging — it’s been very exciting, too, all at the same time, and that’s what the creative process is all about, you know? And…but for me, it’s where it all starts, and so that’s what I’ve been doin’ with my time off, and along with doin’, like I said, doin’ some traveling and gettin’ away from it, too, which I’m gonna be doin’ more of this fall and gettin’ ready and gettin’ my mind right to go out there and take the fans on another ride.”