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USA Today
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Kenny Chesney delivers vibrant, visually arresting feast at Las Vegas Sphere
Kenny Chesney delivers vibrant, visually arresting feast at Las Vegas Sphere Show Caption Hide Caption Kenny Chesney, June Carter Cash among Country Hall of Fame inductees Kenny Chesney, Tony Brown and June Carter Cash's family speak after they are named the 2025 Country Music Hall of Fame inductees. LAS VEGAS – About a third through the second night of Kenny Chesney's groundbreaking residency at the Sphere, the gregarious country superstar dipped into his 2004 hit 'I Go Back.' It's a song steeped in nostalgia, with lyrics that reminisce about wistful moments. High school gyms. Hearing John Mellencamp on the radio. A friend gone too soon. The accompanying video – well, better classified as all-encompassing graphics that sucked you into the visual vortex – of football fields and basketball courts pulled at the hearts of 17,000 people as Chesney sang of days gone by with his typical earnestness. But for all its nodding to the past, the song represented a milestone in Chesney's awards-laden, 30-plus-year career as he performed it May 24. As he looked around in awe of the crowd and the enveloping video, there was as much a sense of 'How did we get here?' as 'Let's look back.' Chesney, 57, is the first country singer – and the first solo artist, despite an ace six-piece band – to play the game-changing venue. His two-hour show, a technicolor wonder, continues for sporadic dates through June 21 and are his only live performances of the year. It's as much a concert as a sonic and visual roller-coaster ride pairing one of the most acclaimed stars of country with the evolving technological wizardry of the Sphere. From the opening deep-sea dive that morphed into a fleet of pirate ships bobbing on the ocean while Chesney bopped through 'Beer in Mexico' – his skinny jeans tight, his sleeveless shirt baring biceps – a carefree vibe permeated the show. Las Vegas Sphere concerts: All the bands that are playing and how to get tickets For years, Chesney has been a reliable stadium filler, a guy who feeds off his fans' adrenaline as he clocks tens of thousands of steps scampering around the stage. While he was slightly limited to roam given the Sphere's structure, Chesney found ways to maintain a lifeline to the front row of fans on the floor as he bent down during 'Keg in the Closet' to smack a palm or accept a Nevada license plate emblazoned 'Sphere.' 'Not only do we see you all, we feel you tonight,' Chesney said in one of his frequent humble acknowledgements of the crowd. Typically, Chesney's concerts offer few embellishments. So to see a Ferris wheel looming over him (' 'Til It's Gone'), a live shot of No Shoes Nation devotees blasted onto the 240-foot-tall backdrop ('No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems') and Chesney on a towering cell phone surrounded by vibrantly colored fish (the prescient 'Welcome to the Fishbowl') elevated the fun quotient. At his opening show May 22, Chesney brought Kelsea Ballerini to the stage. But on this night, Grace Potter, who croons with Chesney on 'You & Tequila,' was the guest of honor to sing that Grammy-nominated hit from 2011. It was a breezy stroll for the pair, but when Potter, whom he introduced as 'one of my best friends in the world,' broke out her signature Flying V guitar, Chesney knew things were about to get rock-y. 'We were in Vegas that last time this happened,' he said, before the familiar sawing guitar notes of Rod Stewart's 'Hot Legs' filled the room (Chesney and Potter covered the song during his 2013 shows at the now-defunct Hard Rock Hotel). It was a playful, if milquetoast version of the song sans Stewart's raspy vocal leering, but also an indication that Chesney plans to shake up the setlist each show and maybe debut more deep cuts. The melancholic 'Seven Days,' from 2010's 'Hemingway's Whiskey' album, made its first live appearance at Chesney's opening Sphere show and he revisited it again for night two, complemented by a foggy lighthouse scene. During 'Big Star,' fans will relish the vintage photos of Chesney posing with music icons including Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn and Taylor Swift while sinking into the sensation of being dropped into a pinball machine. It was also another reminder of Chesney's longevity in an unforgiving industry. As he cranked out the country rock of 'Living in Fast Forward,' which plopped the crowd into the driver's seat on a NASCAR track, Chesney punctuated the lyric, 'I still got some miles to go.' It was an ideal capper to a song that summarizes the focused Chesney. Even three decades into his career, he's hardly slowing down.
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
Former UFC prospect signs with the BKFC following three years of suspension due to illegal betting
November 5, 2025, turned the tide for three athletes in the world of MMA when head coach James Krause, Jeff Molina , and Darrick Minner were suspended on the grounds of a suspected illegal betting scandal. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Minner was suspended for not revealing a knee injury prior to the bout, which eventually led to his defeat against Shayilan Nuerdanbieke. Molina, on the other hand, was suspended for placing an illegal bet on Minner's bout while keeping his teammate's injury a secret. After more than two years, Molina, in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, revealed his future plans to move away from the UFC and join the BKFC . Flyweight fighter Jeff Molina places BKFC as the best promotion in the combat sports of MMA Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship has garnered significant popularity since its launch in 2018. While talking to Ariel Helwani, former UFC prospect Jeff Molina talked about how the fighter might not wait till November 5, 2025, to get over with his suspension. Instead, he plans to move out of the UFC and step into the BKFC. The flyweight fighter announced his new step at the Ariel Helwani Show. 'I am super excited to announce. I am signing with BKFC. Talked with Feldman this morning and I'm stoked. ' he continued to express his experience at the promotion, '10 on 10 would recommend man. It's th experience. Like I've been to dozens of UFC's [events], some of the biggest cards. I went to the Sphere Show. I've been to probably four or five BKFC's. Nothing compares to BKFC. I'm not just saying that because I've recently signed. The entertainment factor is through the roof. There's nothing more exciting. The experience is is super cool. The fights are as raw as I can get' The fighter even went on to explain the combat pattern that is common in the promotion. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 'I've always been fancied as a striker. I love grappling. I was at jiu-jitsu practice this morning, that would be the only downside of me doing bare knuckle is, I won't grapple while I'm in camp, but I think my style is perfect for this.' Molina revealed his unfulfilled desire to be a two division champion. 'I can be the the face of bare knuckle at 125 and even 135. I really I think I was made for the sport. Certainly, fights can be pretty brutal and gruesome… But f*** it. Let's do it. I really think I can be a two division champ. I'm 27 years old. I'm in the prime of my career. I've been training throughout this time and I'm ready to go.' Also read: Even though the fighter was scheduled to step back into the Octagon once the suspension would have been over towards the end of the year, Molina will now end his UFC career with a record of 3-0. The date for his BKFC debut has not been announced yet.
