Pretty cool, IYAM... and I am not a country fan in the least...
Husker coach Matt Rhule joins Kenny Chesney on arena stage in Lincoln
Kenny Chesney seemed to have brought the main set of his Saturday Pinnacle Bank Arena show to a close.
But after an energetic version of “How Forever Feels,” he didn’t leave the stage. Instead he started talking to the audience – which rarely, if ever, happens in tightly scripted arena shows.
“This song wasn’t on the setlist,” he said. “We got into Lincoln a little early. So I had to find a place to work out. We were treated so well at the University of Nebraska football facility. Thank you, coach Matt Rhule.
"Before I left the stadium, I got to go out on the field. Walking out there, I thought about all the memories, of what’s happened there, of what it means. I grew up in a town like Lincoln (Knoxville, Tennessee) where we lean into football. ... I knew right then we were going to do this song tonight.”
Out came “The Boys of Fall,” Chesney’s heartfelt, acoustic-rooted football tribute -- generally not the kind of song that caps a show.
Near the end of the song Rhule and a couple members of the Husker athletic performance staff joined Chesney on stage, throwing the bones and egging on cheers at the conclusion of the concert– much to the delight of the 12,500-plus who packed the arena.
“You guys have a hell of a football coach,” Chesney said. “It was an honor to get to do that song in this place where football means so much to so many.”
That ended that set — at least emotionally. There were a pair of encore numbers for the show, which Chesney, on social media Sunday, called “one loud, energetic, passionate night.” He also posted a photo taken with Rhule, the staff members and the crowd in the background.