Kenny Chesney and Megan Moroney delivered the first-ever live performance of their duet that released earlier this month.

Chesney welcomed Moroney to the stage as a surprise guest at his electrifying Sphere show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The “I Go Back” megastar shared a few photos from the duo’s debut performance of “You Had To Be There” on Instagram on Thursday (May 29). He said Moroney “lit up the room” when she joined him on stage at the immersive venue.

Moroney wrote “You Had To Be There” as a Christmas gift for Chesney, who included the Am I Okay? artist in the lineup of his summer stadium tour in 2024. It was a full circle moment for Moroney, who sat in section 312 when she attended Chesney’s headlining concert in May 2018 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. She shared a screenshot of her ticket purchase when she announced her collaboration with the soon-to-be-inducted Country Music Hall of Fame member. Seven years after that show in Georgia, Moroney had “a different point of view,” she wrote in the lyrics, referencing her journey from sitting in the stadium to performing on stage. Chesney said “as far as I know, nobody has ever written a song for me. And if that’s true, I’m really glad that ‘You Had To Be There’ is the first one.”

Chesney kicked off his highly-anticipated run of shows in Vegas earlier this month. He surprised the opening night crowd with fellow East Tennessee-born country star Kelsea Ballerini to perform their duet, “half of my hometown,” and more. Reigning Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson met Chesney when she attended another recent performance. These are the remaining Kenny Chesney LIVE at Sphere Las Vegas dates:

Friday, May 30
Saturday, May 31
Wednesday, June 4
Friday, June 6
Saturday, June 7
Wednesday, June 11
Friday, June 13
Saturday, June 14
Wednesday, June 18
Friday, June 20
Saturday, June 21

“I’m always looking for ways to deepen the way No Shoes Nation experiences this music,” Chesney said in a statement when he announced his Sphere shows. “Over the years, they have shown me through their own response to these songs how passionate they are about what they mean, how these songs are part of their lives. When people give you that much heart, I want to give them even more.

“When we started talking about all of the possibilities playing Sphere offered, I was all in,” he continued. “Just the idea of 4D technology and the impossibly dialed in sound raises the experience for No Shoes Nation, literally immersing them in music, visuals, sound and being together. To me, this is going to be a whole new way of rocking the fans, and I can’t wait.”

Kathi Yeager