Fan Story ~ Tamie & Kenny Chesney

Tamie has been a Kenny Chesney fan for a long time...she became a fan of his back in 1995 and has never looked back! Back then, Kenny was just another singer trying to make his way to the top and was a long way from the super stardom that encompasses him today.

Tamie was lucky enough to meet Kenny several times. She traveled a lot and went to roughly 6 Kenny Chesney shows per year As with most artists that are just starting out, Kenny met with his fans at every show...most times she would go backstage and Kenny began to recognize her at the shows. It's safe to say that after those early years, Kenny was in her heart to stay!
Fast forward to the Kenny Chesney of 2008. As we all know (and love!!) Kenny has reached a phenomenal level in his career, selling out 60,000 seat stadiums in an economy that sees people struggling to get by in everyday life. People are traveling from hours away to see a Kenny show because they know, that at least for that day, they'll have "no problems." For masses of people, this day has become an event that they plan their summer around and the party just seems to keep growing and growing and growing...

Of course for die-hard fans like Tamie, while it's so exciting to see his success, it also must be a little bittersweet to not be able to go backstage and "know" Kenny like they did in the old days. But being the great fan that she is, none of that really matters to her...she is just so proud of Kenny and all that he's accomplished. She still goes to a bunch of shows every single year...sometimes as many as 10 per year and she travels all around the country to do it.

Tamie is an active member in Kenny's fan club where she's always helpful to fellow fans when needed...she's glad to share stories of the old days to fans that weren't around back then and she's always in a cheerful mood when chatting with her Kenny friends. Although a lot of things have changed in the last 12 years, Tamie's dedication to Kenny and his shows has not.

That dedication paid off this past weekend in Houston, TX. Through her local TV station, Tamie won a backstage pass to once again meet Kenny before his performance at Reliant Stadium. Tamie was so excited...and naturally, a little bit nervous. Would he remember her after all this time? After all, it had been at least 6 years since she'd spoken with Kenny and he meets hundreds of people every single day. Either way, Tamie was excited and thankful for the opportunity to see Kenny on a more personal level once again.

So the big day arrived and Tamie finally headed backstage to see her man! As Tamie approached, Kenny reached out and gave her a hug...when she asked "do you remember me?" Kenny replied "yes I do, Tamie." How cool is that?! After all these years and all of the shows and all of the fans that he meets, Kenny remembered Tamie! They chatted, they hugged (3 times!!!) and Kenny was just as happy to see Tamie as she was to see him! Kenny intently looked through a photo book that Tamie had made...page by page, he looked through all of her pictures while she chatted away with him. When he was done looking at the book, he signed it for her, most appropriately "Tamie, thanks for being such a great fan. Love you! Kenny Chesney '08"
This is quite honestly the best M&G picture that we've ever seen...of any fan and any artist. Maybe it's because we know Tamie's story and how it has all come full circle for her...maybe it's because we're Kenny Chesney fans and are happy that a fellow fan got this experience...or maybe it's just because Kenny looks so damn HOT!
In this business, careers and a fan's devotion very rarely last as long as Kenny's and Tamie's have...he's worked so hard at giving his fans music to live by and shows to live for. With as much success as he's had, a lesser person may forget their roots and care a little less about the people who helped them achieve success...well, Tamie's story assures us that even when Tamie is surrounded by 59,999 other fans in a stadium, Kenny Chesney has not forgotten.