Kenny Chesney has announced he will donate all of the proceeds from his new album, Songs For The Saints, to help hurricane victims in the Virgin Islands recover from Hurricane Irma.
“I wanted to make a record that shows the spirit and resilience of the people who live on those islands,” said Chesney. “To me, it’s about the hope, the strength, the joy, and the courage they are bringing to the task of rebuilding after a kind of destruction no one has ever seen before.”
The album is due out July 27.
“I didn’t necessarily have ‘a plan,’ but these songs needed to be written,” Kenny recalls. “And a friend said, ‘You should call the album Songs for the Saints, make it something that honors the people and the life on those islands, but also provides for them long after what happened has fallen off the news cycle.’ It hit me, that was what I was already doing and hadn’t realized it.”
With every ask being vetted through Kenny’s Love for Love City Fund, the songwriter is working hard to make sure the money is truly going to the island to help restore lives, rebuild houses and create park restoration that will endure rather than merely patching the holes. “In the Virgin Islands and the other surrounding islands, there is so much more to the needs than just materials. It’s going to take time, careful thought and making some good decisions. It’s an education, but it’s also part of doing this in a way that will matter.”
Beyond selling Love for Love City t-shirts and hats at every tour stop, Songs for the Saints will raise money for the continued Virgin Island recovery and restoration. As Kenny says, “I never in the world thought I’d talk to FEMA people, but every day, there was a new problem to solve. I’ve never made a record in the middle of such chaos and anxiety, but I took every bit of that into the studio – and you can hear it in the vocals. Looking back, what a beautiful way to make a record for people I love so much. And now, I can give that music back to them in a way that makes a difference.”
