Brandon Lay is currently serving as opening act for Kenny Chesney on the singer’s Trip Around the Sun Tour, playing stadiums around the country and getting some invaluable advice from the man himself along the way.
Speaking to PopCulture.com after his set at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Saturday, August 10, Lay shared a bit of that advice, revealing that watching Chesney has helped him learn how to keep a crowd entertained.
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Lay has released two singles so far — “Speakers, Bleachers and Preachers” and the current “Yada Yada Yada” — and explained that he makes sure to include cover songs in his set to give the audience something they’ll recognize.
“That’s something I feel like I’ve learned from Kenny, is to keep the momentum rolling,” he said. “It makes for a real fun night.”
Lay and his band perform covers by a range of artists including Merle Haggard, AC/DC and Matchbox 20, creating a diverse set that lets the crowd get to know the singer as both an artist and an entertainer.
“We’re kind of all over the map, so it’s cool to see people’s reactions when they don’t see it coming,” he said. “You got to sprinkle in your influences and make sure it’s a party.”
The Tennessee native has been touring with Chesney since April, with the trek kicking off at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
There, Chesney recounted his own beginnings as a new artist and assured Lay that he understands what the newcomer is feeling.
“First big tour I was on, it was ’92 and I was opening up for George Strait,” Lay recalled Chesney as saying. “We’d play in front of 20,000 people and then the next night we’d go play on the back of the cotton trailer for like, nobody.”
Throughout the summer, Lay has seen his audience grow, thanks to catchy tracks like his debut single, “Speakers, Bleachers and Preachers.” That song name-checks Chesney, and while it’s not the reason Lay got the spot on the star’s tour, it was undoubtedly a full circle moment.
“It makes me feel like I should have put his name in a song a long time ago,” Lay joked of the line. “I don’t know if that had anything to do with getting the slot. It couldn’t have hurt, but when we wrote that song it was quite a literal summation of my experience and Kenny was a part of that.”
The Tennessee native wrote the track with Shane McAnally and Luke Laird and explained that they kept the reference to make the song more personal.
“At the end of the day we were like, ‘If you’re going to write something that’s supposed to be all about you, it needs to be real,’” he said. “So we just went there and it’s been cool to see people respond to it.”
Lay is currently at work on his debut album and shared that touring with Chesney has influenced his writing after seeing how certain songs translate in a live setting.
“I’ve learned so much out here with Kenny this summer,” he said. “Even though I’ve been in Nashville 10 years writing as a staff writer, it doesn’t really guide your writing until you go out and experience something like this. That’s where I’ve tried to be a sponge and soak all that up.”
Photo Credit: Getty / Paras Griffin
