He was there in spirit. Today, Kenny Chesney is the guest on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show, where he talked about his new memoir “Heart Life Music,” in addition to performing “You and Tequila,” and he also talked about his first ever real rejection that gave him just a taste of what it’s like in the music industry. But the most personal story he shared was about his performance with James Taylor and Mac McAnally at the 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, where the trio performed Buffett’s hit song “Come Monday.” Buffett, who passed away in September of 2023 from a rare form of skin cancer, is one of Chesney’s musical heroes, I think you can certainly hear that in his music, and Chesney said it was a surreal moment to not only honor his friend, but get to do it with a legend like James Taylor: “And Mac McAnally, who was in Jimmy’s band. It was an interesting thing to be at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, on top of that, to be paying tribute to a really good friend of yours that was no longer with us. Jimmy Buffett, and then on top of that, literally I looked over to my left shoulder, and that’s really James Taylor sitting beside you. It was one of those moments where I’m going, wow, I never thought that I would be sitting right here and we were backstage.” He went onto reveal that Mac McAnally, who was a longtime member of Buffett’s band, actually had a small urn with Jimmy’s ashes in it, which he kept in his coat pocket during the ceremony. Chesney says it was a special way to ensure Buffett was still part of this special moment in his career: “We were sitting back there warming up, trying to, you know, figure out our parts and stuff and Mac comes up to me and he goes, ‘Look at this,’ and it was a small urn, and he had Jimmy’s ashes in his coat pocket, so Jimmy’s ashes were in Mac McAnally’s coat pocket on stage with us as he was getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.” Chesney explained that Jimmy’s daughter, Savannah, had given it to him so Jimmy could still “join the party,” so to speak: “His daughter Savannah gave it to him, so even after he passed, Jimmy found a way to join the party.” What a cool way to honor his legacy, which I’m sure meant the world to his family and children. It’s sad to think he wasn’t able to physically be present during such a huge moment, but they found a way to include him and did a wonderful job honoring his incredible legacy with their performance, as well. Watch the full video here: Here’s a video of their full performance from the 2024 induction ceremony: The post “Jimmy Found A Way To Join The Party” – Kenny Chesney Says Mac McAnally Had A Small Urn Of Jimmy Buffett’s Ashes In His Pocket At The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Ceremony first appeared on Whiskey Riff.