As the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Irma nears, Kenny Chesney revealed that though his U.S. Virgin Islands home was destroyed, a shotski survived.
“It was one of a few things that made it through Hurricane Irma, believe it or not, and I just felt like it described the bond, how strong our bond was – between me and the audience,” the country star revealed on “Good Morning America” on Tuesday.
The shotski, an item on which shot glasses are attached, is black and has the words “No Shoes Nation” written on it.
“I decided when it made it through that I was going to bring that shotski back and give it back to the person that gave it to me and that’s what we did,” Chesney, 50, added.
He first spotted the unique item before a 2016 show in Kansas City and got the lucky fan to trade it for a signed guitar.
Having lived and owned a bar on the islands for years, the location also became a source of inspiration and creativity for Chesney.
“It would have been really easy to make a record about the devastation, but I felt it was more important – that we find a thread of hope and find a way to move forward,” he said of new music inspired by the ongoing recovery.
“Usually when you make a record you make it about past experiences,” he explained. “I made this whole record while everything was happening, almost a year ago now. There was no hiding my emotions.”