Kenny Chesney Sings Acoustic Version of 'You and Tequila' at Key West Bar: 'Feeding My Creative Soul'

The country star stopped by Captain Tony's Saloon for an unannounced acoustic set

Country artist Kenny Chesney attends day 3 of SiriusXM at Super Bowl LIV on January 31, 2020
Kenny Chesney in 2020. Photo:

Cindy Ord/Getty 

Kenny Chesney is stripping things down.

The country star, 55, dropped by a local Key West hotspot for an impromptu acoustic set, and shared video of the intimate performance to his social media on Monday.

“Feeding my creative soul at Capt. Tony’s. Thanks to everyone for allowing me to sit in,” Chesney wrote.

In the clip, Chesney plays an acoustic version of his hit 2010 song “You and Tequila” while wearing blue shorts, a white T-shirt and a backwards hat at Captain Tony’s Saloon, a longstanding Key West watering hole.

The track, a collaboration with Grace Potter, is featured on the singer’s album Hemingway’s Whiskey, and was nominated for best country duo/group performance at the 2012 Grammy Awards.

Though he’s known for selling out big arena and stadium crowds year after year, Chesney is no stranger to a small Key West show; he did a surprise show at Key West Theater in 2021, and has played many times at Sloppy Joe’s.

Captain Tony’s has a special musical history of its own; Jimmy Buffett played there regularly in the 1970s and gave the bar a shoutout in the first line of the title track on his 1985 album Last Mango in Paris.

Chesney wrapped his I Go Back Tour with Kelsea Ballerini in July after nearly two dozen shows.

Kenny Chesney and Kelsea Ballerini
Kenny Chesney and Kelsea Ballerini. Kevin Mazur/Getty

In March, he celebrated his 55th birthday aboard a private plane with friends, including Ballerini, after performing in State College, Pennsylvania.

The "Heartfirst" singer helped lead a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday" for Chesney while performing at Penn State University's Bryce Jordan Center.

"I'd be a bad friend if I didn't ask all of you at this sold-out show on a Saturday night at Penn State to sing happy birthday," Ballerini, 29, said in the video Chesney shared, before leading the crowd of over 15,000 in a rendition of "Happy Birthday" in honor of the acclaimed country singer.

"Thank you, @KelseaBallerini and State College, PA, for the birthday song," he wrote alongside the video. "What a night."

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