Friends, Songs, Stories + A Whole Lotta Rockin’ Ahead
Having spent his summer as the unannounced, walk-on guest at Kenny Chesney’s 19 major stadium concerts, David Lee Murphy’s getting called up as direct support for the Songs for the Saints 2019 Tour. The move seems fitting not just for the number of songs he’s written for the eight-time Entertainer of the Year, but for the intense response his surprise appearances evoked in every single market.
“There is only one David Lee Murphy,” says the headliner. “He is, as ‘Living In Fast Forward’ says, ‘a hillbilly rock star,’ and No Shoes Nation showed that every time he hit that stage! He has a thing about him that is old school country, rocking, laid back, fired up and chilled out... And he brings it every single night.”
Murphy came out for “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” the No. 1 duet of reassurance in trying times from the Chesney/Buddy Cannon/Murphy co-produced No Zip Code, and winner of Musical Event of the Year at this year’s CMA Awards. But he stayed for his chart-topping “Dust On The Bottle” and 1995’s most played song, “Party Crowd,” to equally zealous responses, proving No Shoes Nation’s love of music is deep and wide.
“Last year walking out onstage with Kenny was awesome,” says the Southern Illinois-born and –bred songwriter and artist. “But it was over so fast. I’m excited to have a whole set to be able to play to those fans, because No Shoes Nation takes their music as seriously as any group of fans/music lovers I’ve ever seen. They opened their arms to me last year. And I can’t wait for this year.”
Beyond penning Chesney’s, “Living In Fast Forward,” “Til It’s Gone,” “Just Not Today,” “Bar at the End of the World,” and the iconic “Pirate Flag,” Murphy’s written Blake Shelton’s “The More I Drink,” Jason Aldean’s “Big Green Tractor,” Jake Owen’s “Anywhere With You” and Thompson Square’s GRAMMY-nominated “Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not.”
More importantly, No Zip Code – with its current single “I Won’t Be Sorry” climbing the charts – returns the man who’s had six Top 10s to the realm of today’s contemporary music. Billboard deemed the project, “swaggering” and People called it “a declaration of living without regrets.”
For Chesney, recently profiled in The New York Times for his intersective approach to music through sports, Murphy’s presence on a tour focused specifically on taking his music to the people where they live is obvious.
“People live inside these songs. You can hear it when they sing ‘em back to us every night, and you could feel it when they sang along with David Lee at those stadium shows. He’s as much a member of No Shoes Nation as anyone, and I want these fans to get to experience what makes his kind of country music not just unique, but real.”
