“Help Me… I’m Lost”: Kenny Chesney Admits The Las Vegas Sphere Was So Intense He Forgot His Own Lyrics

It’s hard not to get lost in the immersive experience that the Las Vegas Sphere has to offer.

Kenny Chesney can attest to that. The country music superstar with countless No. 1 hits (like “Summertime” and “When The Sun Goes Down”) played at the shiny new venue last summer, and was actually the first country artist to headline the Sphere. The magnificent music center that took five years to build (and opened in 2023) had previously hosted bands like U2, The Eagles, and Dead and Company.

All of the acts that have played at the high-tech concert space have made their mark (especially Zac Brown Band). Kenny Chesney’s time in the $2.3 billion venue last year can only be described as a huge success. The “Summertime” singer performed 15 sold-out shows throughout his first residency. So in other words, “No Shoes Nation” really showed out.

And why wouldn’t they? The visuals at the state-of-the-art venue are incomparable, and it’s truly stunning what the Sphere can do. So stunning, in fact, that the Sphere can even be distracting for artists that are up on stage.

Chesney sat down with Rob Lowe on the Literally! with Rob Lowe podcast and revealed that on the first night of his inaugural run at the Sphere, he got distracted by the visuals of the LED display surrounding him and forgot what he was singing:

“The first night I went on stage, I was almost distracted. Because I’m up here, we’re playing and doing the show, and there’s an audience in front of us. And I’m used to the stuff going on behind me, but up here (above me) and in front of me and over here in your peripheral… it’s so visual.

There were two moments in the show during songs that I wrote that I was so distracted that I was completely lost in the middle of my own song. I forgot the words. I admitted it to the audience. I went, ‘Okay help me, because I’m lost. I’m looking at all this stuff.'”

Though it was a bit jarring for Chesney, he described it as a bonding moment that he and the audience were able to have.

And connecting with the crowd is very important to the Knoxville native. That was the one concern he had going into his first residency at the Sphere: fans looking at the screen rather than the band. But Chesney recognizes the Las Vegas Sphere is just one of those venues where the artist on stage isn’t the sole reason why the audience is there:

“I was there looking at them, and it’s almost impossible for them – at first – for them to look at you and meet you halfway. They are looking straight at the screen. It’s impossible for them not to. I had to get used to that.”

Country music legend Vince Gill has said much of the same about the Sphere.

All of that being said though, it’s still a great venue for music, and the distracting nature of the state-of-the-art facility isn’t stopping Kenny Chesney from returning to Las Vegas for another run of shows. It was just a couple of days after Chesney was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame last year that he formally announced he’s headed back to the Sphere this summer in his second residency titled, I Go Back 2026, with five shows running from Friday, June 19 to Saturday, June 27:

“I got a little carried away. But after all the guests, all the songs we hadn’t planned on, all the people who came from all over, I just didn’t want to keep it a secret. I knew we were coming back, and if No Shoes Nation had half as much fun as we did, I wanted them to know we’d see them right here next summer. What could be better?”

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Now, anyone that loves some good beach-themed country music is making a point to get out to Sin City to see Kenny Chesney… especially if they missed out the first time around.

Here’s to hoping that the Country Music Hall of Famer can stay focused and not let the Sphere get the best of him once again when he returns to the stage there later this year.