After postponing a tour stop last year in Bozeman due to the pandemic, country music star Kenny Chesney announced today that he will now play Bobcat Stadium on Saturday, July 9, 2022.

Montana State University is one of 19 stops on the performer’s Here and Now 2022 Stadium Tour, which begins April 23 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, and ends Aug. 26-27 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Accompanying acts will be announced at a later date.

“When we hit pause on our 2020 tour, I never thought we would go much past the fall, let alone into 2021,” Chesney said in the tour announcement. He added that changing COVID-19 protocols and concerns over fans not being able to attend sold-out shows prompted the decision to delay the original 2020 tour.

“After a lot of work on a lot of people’s parts, a lot of cooperation from the folks at the stadiums, the places we’re coming and the teams we share those venues with, we’re ready to announce the Here and Now 2022 Stadium Tour,” he said.

Tickets purchased for the original date of Chesney’s tour stop at Bobcat Stadium will be honored for the rescheduled 2022 concert, which starts that evening at 6 p.m.

Customers who are unable to make the new date will be able to request a refund until July 16, 2021. Customers can email bto@montana.edu or call 406-994-2287.

Chesney has released 19 studio albums since his debut album in 1994, 15 of which have been certified gold or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and has had 30 No. 1 singles on the U.S. country charts, including “She’s Got It All,” “When the Sun Goes Down,” “The Boys of Fall” and “Get Along.”

He is one of the most popular touring acts in country music and has played nearly 200 stadium shows, which are regularly sold out. Chesney is an eight-time Entertainer of the Year award winner – four times awarded by the Country Music Association and four by the Academy of Country Music. 

“Confirming the new date for Kenny Chesney to play Bobcat Stadium in 2022 is a huge step as we emerge from the pandemic,” said Duane Morris, senior director of MSU Auxiliary Services. “An epic night like this at Bobcat Stadium with a performer of this magnitude will remind us how much we value live music and entertainment in our lives.”

“Like it does for everyone, the idea of music, live music, fills me up,” Chesney said. “Nothing is so in the moment, so completely alive. I want to start 2022 with the awesome rush that embodies everything playing for No Shoes Nation is. We’re calling the tour Here and Now 2022 because when we get together, there is only the present — and it’s so electric and good, I know I don’t want it to end. I just want to be 100% there with all of you.”