Kenny Chesney kicked off his Pirates & Poets Tour this past weekend in Uncasville, Conn., but he was hardly alone out front. He brought his band, of course, and LeAnn Rimes opened the show. But he also put the crew to work as auxiliary musicians, had an engaged woman on stage in her bridal veil, and brought up a youngster - no more than six years old - who worked the front part of the stage so well Kenny called him "a natural."

Though Kenny spent four months hatching the production for the Pirates outing, he still hadn't done a full public show for six months, and the rust showed a bit. He forgot a verse of "Never Wanted Nothing More," so — what the heck — he did the song twice.

"It felt great to be back on stage — and what a great audience to kick off this tour with," Kenny said. "They made me glad to be getting back on the road, singing for the fans again, because there is nothing in the world like the people who love our music."

Word is the show lasted a little more than an hour and 40 minutes. Kenny kept it high-energy, doing just two ballads through the entire set.

Now that he's kicked off the tour, the first of his 14 stadium dates is set for Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C. He shares the stage that day with LeAnn, Brooks & Dunn, Gary Allan and Luke Bryan.