Kenny Chesney Surprises Charlotte Crowd with Carly Pearce Duet on “You and Tequila”

Kenny Chesney brought an unexpected moment to his Here And Now Tour stop at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday (April 30), when he invited Carly Pearce to join him for a special performance of “You and Tequila.”

“This is our second night of the tour—we opened last weekend in Tampa,” Chesney told the crowd. “It feels incredible to be doing this again.”

The duet came at the request of someone close to Chesney—his mom, Karen, who was in attendance that night. “She wanted to meet Carly Pearce,” Chesney shared. “So Carly came up to the bus and my mom goes, ‘Are you going to sing with Kenny tonight?’ And I thought, ‘Probably a good idea.’”

Introducing her on stage, Chesney said, “So, if you don’t mind, Carly, please come out.”

Pearce walked out barefoot, wearing a Chesney t-shirt, and joined him for a moving rendition of “You and Tequila.” Originally released in 2010, the GRAMMY-nominated song—written by Matraca Berg and Deana Carter—features Grace Potter and remains one of Chesney’s most beloved tracks. This was the first time he’d performed the song live on tour in quite a while.

Pearce had hinted at a possible collaboration with Chesney in an earlier red carpet interview with Country Now at the CMT Music Awards, saying, “It might be coming.” She also called touring with him a “dream come true.”

“I’ve loved Kenny Chesney forever,” Pearce told Everything Nash. “He’s become a friend and mentor to me over the past year. Getting to watch his show every night is something I’m so excited about—I think he’s the King of Country Touring.”

Pearce is featured on all 41 dates of the tour, along with Dan + Shay and Old Dominion for the 21 stadium shows.

The Here And Now Tour 2022 began on April 23 in Tampa and is set to wrap up with two nights at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on August 27.