Watch: Nation star Kenny Chesney rings the bell to function Patriots’ second ‘Keeper of the Mild’

Patriots

Whereas he won’t be Tom Brady, Chesney has a particular connection to Gillette Stadium.

Kenny Chesney has been the headliner for concert events at Gillette Stadium greater than every other singer. Matthew J. Lee/Globe workers

The follow-up act for something Tom Brady does needs to be a tricky place, however the Patriots had been capable of get a notable celeb to be the “Keeper of the Mild.”

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Kenny Chesney served because the second-ever “Keeper of the Mild” at Gillette Stadium, ringing the bell previous to the Patriots taking the sphere for Sunday’s sport towards the Dolphins.

Whereas Chesney has clearly by no means performed for the Patriots, he truly has a particular connection to Gillette Stadium. He’s been the headline act for probably the most concert events on the venue because it opened in 2002, performing 21 exhibits there. He’ll make it 22 quickly, as he’ll be acting at Gillette Stadium once more Sept. 27.

Chesney has been near the Patriots’ group through the years, too. The nation singer has attended a handful of Patriots coaching camp practices and has sat in staff proprietor Robert Kraft’s field for video games on a number of events. A type of situations got here throughout one of many largest wins in Patriots historical past, sitting subsequent to Kraft as they watched New England comeback from a 28-3 deficit to win Tremendous Bowl LI.

Chesney, an East Tennessee native, has additionally acknowledged his appreciation for the Metropolis of Boston up to now.

“The guts,” Chesney mentioned in an interview with Haute Dwelling on why he likes Boston a lot. “Passionate individuals who actually care, who actually dig in. Everybody I’ve ever met works laborious, takes actual delight in what they do and performs with the identical type of ardour. The Kraft household, proper all the way down to the folks promoting concessions on the exhibits: I’ve met so many actually high-quality folks. It’s loads like the place I come from, and that’s saying one thing.”

The Patriots donned the previous, purple “Pat Patriot” jerseys for Sunday’s matchup towards the Dolphins. Chesney, after all, by no means performed in these jerseys, however he’s tried on the helmet earlier than.