Tim Hensley

Though he's known for the supernova trajectory of his own career, Kenny Chesney garnered his break as a songwriter and remains devoted to the craft of lyric and melody - and that love of the creative aspect of music drives the Luttrell, Tennessean to co-produce Moment of Forever from the legendary Willie Nelson and Long Monday by Chesney bandmate and Patty Loveless/Ricky Skaggs veteran Tim Hensley. Both albums arrive instores on Jan. 29.

“There are certain kinds of songs I can't really record with the sort of career I have,” explains the three-time and current Country Music Association and triple and reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year. “But that doesn't mean I don't love them - or recognize how great they are. I love bluegrass… I love great songwriters like Bob Dylan and Guy Clark and Randy Newman, as well as Dave Mathews… so when these opportunities presented themselves, I was honored to be able get in the studio and help bring these two albums to life.”

Moment of Forever was culled in Santa Monica, California and was recorded in Franklin, Tennessee. Co-produced with Chesney's own longtime co-producer Buddy Cannon, it is a deeply pensive work that includes the Kris Kristofferson title track, a few Nelson originals including the searing “Gotta Get Over You Again,” Randy Newman's “Louisiana” and Dave Matthews' “Grave Digger.”

“To sit with Willie Nelson and play songs, to talk about what works and what doesn't - and why, you really get a very deep sense of how songs come together,” the man who played to over a million fans for the 6th year in a row says. “I grew up on his records, amazed at how vast what he could sing might be… but also, realizing what those songs had in common was how true they were to who he was.”

Long Monday reprised the bluegrass jams post-Chesney's turbo-charged arena and stadium shows. Blending songs from legendary American songwriters John Prine (the title track) and Rodney Crowell (“Riding Out The Storm”) with traditional bluegrass standards (“Two Coats,”  “Workin' On A Building,” “Shady Grove”) and originals from Carl Jackson (“Lonesome Dove”) and John Scott Sherrill (“Rock County Wilsons”), along with Hensley's own heaven-sent “What A Sight To Behold.”

“Sometimes you just do it because it's the right thing to do,” says Chesney. “Tim in onstage with us every night, rocking and singing… but his soul is a bluegrass soul and we've had so many great nights, playing after the shows with him during load-out. It was the kind of magical thing people never get to see - and I thought they should be able to. This is what he does and does so well, and I love the idea that we're turning people onto some music me and the guys really love.”

With Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates paving the way for the year's most anticipated concert tour - one that's already sold out its first date at Foxboro, MA's Gillete Stadium for the 4th consecutive year in less than 15 minutes - there's much more music coming from Kenny Chesney, who 10 weeks at #1 with “Never Wanted Nothin' More” and “Don't Blink.” His new “Shiftwork” picks up the momentum… No doubt Long Monday and Moment of Forever will carry that musicality even further.