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Chesney tour a very
reliable client for
their gear providers
The Chesney tour
runs smoothly due to
the loyalty and trust
of their longstanding
promoters and crew.
Kenny still uses the
same third party promoters
he did when
he began headlining
tours eight years previous.
“Some of the
shows,” Wannebo
states, “have to go to
Live Nation and other
regional promoters,
but Kenny has never
forgotten the guys
that helped him out
on the front end, so
there are some smaller
promoters around
the country that always
get their shows.
He doesn’t just blanket it out to one of the
big boys.”
The Chesney family also takes care of its
fans. Due to the state of the current market,
the Chesney team tries to keep costs
low to provide a relatively inexpensive yet
spectacular show. The average cost of a
Chesney show is $67, which is much lower
than some acts of similar size.
“We keep an affordable ticket,” says
Wannebo. “Up front on the floor here is
probably $105, but you can buy a $35 ticket.
They try to have some sections that are
around $25 even.”
Taming Technology
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The ticket pricing policy allows venues
to still sell out, regardless of the country
being in the midst of a recession, and that
is made possible by careful, precise financing
in the production department. The
Chesney tour didn’t squander all its profits
on technological upgrades in the first few
years.
“I think we’ve done a pretty good job
of a protracted progression. Between Mike
Swinford the designer and myself and Kenny,
collectively, we’ve done a pretty good
job of just growing and growing and adding
technology and just staying at a sustainable
pace of acceleration through his
career.”
The tour’s modest spending has helped
prepared it for the unpredictable; if this production
is not recession proof, then it is at
least recession resistant. How badly has the
recession affected the production? Wannebo
replies, “Not that bad. Some markets we’re
still blowing out the way we have, some
markets we’re still doing great business. But
people are just holding onto their money a
little longer.”
With the money saved through reconfiguring
existing equipment and with Wannebo’s
approach to economical production,
the Chesney family is able to comfortably
take care of their crew. At the end of the
tour, Chesney takes his whole crew to the island
of St. Thomas for a week-long vacation.
“We flew out 116 people down there,”
Wannebo said. “He puts them up in the Westin,
always throws a big party on some other
island, and we all jump in a bunch of boats
and head over to Peter island,” says Ed, with
a Caribbean grin across his face.
Arena Rock, Country Style
Carefully-managed spending keeps ticket prices low—$67 on average.
“Some markets we’re still blowing out the way
we have, some markets we’re still doing great
business. But people are just holding onto their
money a little longer.” —Ed Wannebo
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From the pleasant, relaxed atmosphere
of the load-in at AT&T Park, it was apparent
that the Chesney
team believes the carrot
is a much better
motivator than the
stick. “Yeah, the crew
will go to the wall for
him. I mean, he certainly
wants to make
sure everybody has a
good time and is appreciated
for what
they have done, and
he wants their input
into the show.” The
mutual respect that
all of the members
of this multi-faceted
production have for
one another makes
the tour seem more
like a traveling family
reunion than a mobile
job site.
The show also
demonstrates the
great leap forward
that the country music
touring market has taken in the past
decade, making the lines between it and
the rock ‘n’ roll industry so blurred as to
be unrecognizable. The evolution of this
industry is due to pioneers like Wannebo
who took the business models of the huge
arena-style rock tours and adapted them
to country artists.
So what does the future hold for this
country superstar? How about playing
out of the country, for starters? Ultimately,
the decision is up to Chesney and
his manager. But if this Knoxville-born
hairstylist’s son can hang in with the big
boys at the 15 th highest grossing tour
spot worldwide as he has been doing, he
might as well spread his music overseas.
For now, Chesney is on his eighth U.S. tour
and is more popular than ever. Wannebo
attributes that to his wonderful family.
“Everybody’s doing their part — the
publicity side and the production side,
we’re delivering, they’re selling, Kenny’s
delivering out there. That’s the big thing.”
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