Kenny Chesney To Receive BMI President’s Award

BMI will present Kenny Chesney with the BMI President’s Award at the 64th annual BMI Country Awards, to be held at BMI’s Nashville office on Nov. 1.

BMI will also crown the Country Songwriter, Song and Publisher of the Year, as well as salute the writers and publishers of the past year’s 50 most-performed songs from BMI’s country catalog. In related news, BMI announced that it will include data from digital streaming services and satellite radio for the first time to determine the most-performed country songs of the year.

BMI President and CEO Mike O’Neill will host the ceremony with Jody Williams, BMI Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations, Nashville.

The BMI President’s Award is presented to songwriters who have distinctly and profoundly influenced the entertainment industry. In receiving the award, Chesney will join an impressive list of past honorees that includes P!nk, Willie Nelson, Brooks & Dunn, Pitbull, Adam Levine, Gloria & Emilio Estefan, and Toni Braxton.

“Kenny Chesney is first and foremost a songwriter,” says Williams. “Not only has he earned the respect of the songwriting community, but he has also developed into a top-notch recording artist who re-wrote the concert touring experience by selling out stadiums year after year. He is a friend to up-and-coming artists and songwriters and is as inspiring as he is talented. It is time to salute him for a career that has brought so much to so many, and is far from over.”