An emotional performance. Earlier this year, the country music community lost a songwriting legend, Brett James. James, his wife, and stepdaughter were tragically killed in a plane crash in North Carolina. After failing to launch his career as a solo artist, James struck gold as a songwriter, penning some of today’s biggest hits in country music. James penned 27 #1 hits, including songs like “Jesus, Take The Wheel” for Carrie Underwood, “When The Sun Goes Down” and “Out Last Night” by Kenny Chesney, “The Truth” by Jason Aldean, “The Man I Want To Be” by Chris Young, and “Somethin’ Bad” by Miranda Lambert. While Brett James penned songs for many heavy hitters, with artists sharing stories about working with him, Kenny Chesney was one longtime collaborator whose words cut a little deeper when he remembered his late friend and colleague. James and Chesney worked heavily together, with James penning many hits from his catalog, including “When the Sun Goes Down,” “Out Last Night,” “Just to Say We Did,” “You Save Me,” “Dancin’ for the Groceries,” “Flip Flop Summer,” “Keg In The Closet,” and more. After processing the heartbreaking news for a few days, Kenny Chesney broke his silence and shared a tender note with fans regarding how much Brett James meant to him. Chesney admitted that writing about James made it all feel too real, and he was in denial after learning that his friend was gone. “A very difficult goodbye to my Brother Of The Sun, Brett James. I haven’t wanted to post cause I didn’t want to believe it. Brett and I shared a unique bond. A Brotherhood. A kinship. We wrote ‘Reality’ and ‘Out Last Night’ on the same afternoon sitting on my pool deck in the Virgin Islands two days after Christmas. We had a lot of authentic life fun writing songs together over the years and I’m sure going to miss it. It’s hard to process his creative soul being gone. This kind of loss. I feel as if part of my creative soul went with him. It will be a void in my life and creativity forever. I’ve never known writing songs or being on the road without him. Half the songs in my shows are songs he wrote or songs we wrote together. So it’s impossible for me to do shows moving forward and not think about him. I can’t believe I’m saying it but adios Brett James. Thank you for being a lifer, for being a shirtless, sunburned troubadour, for your friendship, your songs and all the laughs. Save me a seat at the After Party!” Kenny Chesney closes out his post by sharing some lyrics from “Knowing You,” which was penned by James, Adam James, and Kat Higgins and appeared on his 2020 record, Here and Now. “God we were so alive I was a kid on a carnival ride Holding my breath til the moment you were gonna leave me too soon But I’d do it all over ’cause damn it was good Knowing You” View this post on Instagram Chesney’s words paint a vivid picture of a man who was full of life, laughter, and love. And now Chesney hopes to celebrate his music by continuing to play his songs on stage. However, the first time that Chesney played a tune he and James penned together was a very raw moment for the Tennessee native. During a recent appearance on CNN Podcast’s All There Is with Anderson Cooper, Chesney and Cooper reflected on many of the losses he’s endured in life. From the loss of friends to the loss of beloved pets, the two really dove deep during their conversation about grieving in life’s difficult moments. Naturally, the loss of Brett James was brought up in conversation. “I’ve lost someone recently, someone that I created with for a very long time. My friend, Brett James, who was killed in a plane crash a couple of months ago. And it’s been hard because we were brothers and we were songwriting partners. And we came from different places. But I mean, he wrote so many of my songs and those that he didn’t write with me, I wrote with him. His creative energy and his creative soul changed my life. There’s a huge part of my show that is- that’s our creative energy. And then all of a sudden that stops.” Chesney says. Cooper then asks whether, when he sings the songs they wrote together, he feels James’s presence. In short, the answer is yes. Chesney recalled the first time he sang “When The Sun Goes Down” at Farm Aid earlier this year, which was the first time he performed a song James wrote since his passing. Chesney admits that his friend’s death felt very raw and fresh in that moment. “So the first time I sang one of his songs after he passed was at Farm Aid with Willie Nelson in Minneapolis. And all of a sudden it hit me. I was going to do a song called ‘When the Sun Goes Down,’ which he wrote by himself. And it was the first time it was really- the wound was really open. It was really fresh, his passing. And I had to go up there and sing that song.” While some might think it’s too hard to sing songs that evoke vulnerable emotions, Chesney has vowed to himself that he will keep singing Brett James’ songs to celebrate his life and legacy. “And I haven’t had to sing it since. But I’m going to, because I’m not going to let that stop me. It’s almost like in a celebratory way now […] Brett was just one of those guys that, I mean, I thought was always gonna be around. And it’s been really, really, really difficult. And it was a moment that really hit the whole town of Nashville really hard. Because he just didn’t create for me, I mean, he was a creative machine and a soul and a great- you know, a great guy and a dear friend […] I don’t know, he was just a brother and it would just-  he had a bad day in a plane, you know, and it sucks.” Brett James was a talent unlike any other, and the songwriter and artist community is still mourning his loss deeply. Kenny Chesney singing the songs that they wrote together in his sets will keep his legacy and presence alive. I am sure that Brett James was smiling down as Chesney sang “When The Sun Goes Down” on that Farm Aid stage. Check out the performance while you’re here: View this post on Instagram The post “The Wound Was Really Open” – Kenny Chesney On Performing “When The Sun Goes Down” For The First Time After Brett James Passed Away first appeared on Whiskey Riff.