Kenny Chesney Reveals the Intentional Way He Honored Late Songwriter Brett James on His Forthcoming Album

Kenny Chesney is paying tribute to his late pal. During an appearance on TalkShopLive, the country singer revealed that his forthcoming album, Silver Sands Marina, ends with a track that the late Brett James co-wrote with Tony Lane.

“My friend Tony Lane and my friend that’s passed on, Brett James, had written a song called Shot Glass, and I never heard it. Brett’s publisher sent it,” Chesney said. “I knew exactly how I wanted this album to end, and then I heard ‘Shot Glass.’”

The song, Chesney said, ends with the line, “Tell me how did all that fit into a shot glass?“

“To sing that song, you have to have lived a little bit. You have to have a little bit of perspective,” he said. “So when I heard ‘Shot Glass,’ I thought about the subsequent songs on the record, how did all those emotions fit into that shot glass, and that’s the very last line of the album.”

Kenny Chesney Reveals How “Shot Glass” Reminds Him of Brett James

Now, when he hears the song, Chesney said he looks back on his friendship with James, who died in a September 2025 plane crash.

“I now think about my friend Brett and his life, and how much fun we had together, and all the journeys we went on, all the sunsets, and boat trips, and songs written during that period,” Chesney said. “How did all that fit into a shot glass?”

It’s a feeling that Chesney believes many can relate to.

“I think everybody out there has those moments in their life that they say cheers to that are really big in a weddings, whatever, divorces maybe,” he said. “… How does all those emotions fit into a shot glass?”

Asking that question, Chesney said, made him feel “so incredible.”

“That was very intentional on that song ending the record,” he noted.

“Shot Glass” is the 11th song on Silver Sands Marina. The previous 10 tracks include three collaborations. There’s one with Lily Meola, another with Megan Moroney, and a third with Colbie Caillat.

The album, Chesney’s 21st LP, is due out Sept. 25.

Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for BMI