Foxborough is Ready to Go Coastal With Kenny Chesney

Foxborough Police Chief, Edward O'Leary, presented town selectmen this Tuesday, April 12, with the final safety plan for the Kenny Chesney & Zac Brown Band concert this upcoming summer.

Traditionally, this summer concert has been a one-day music event, however this year it will be split up into a two-day music festival making O'Leary particularly concerned about the safety and security costs.

"We spent a lot of time on strategy," said O'Leary. "In learning from the past, we decided to shake it up and are going to try better to move people along."

O'Leary pointed out that in past concerts, once Chesney hits the stage the number of incidents rapidly decreased. He hopes that by starting the Zac Brown Band at 6:15 p.m, an equally popular act similar to Chesney, that attendees will be able to focus on the event sooner.

Another change to the concert this year was the decrease in the number of concert acts from 5 to 3.

Stadium concert gates will open at 3:30 p.m. followed by Billy Currington performing at 5:00 p.m and the Zacc Brown Band at 6:15 p.m. Kenny Chesney will be the last to perform, closing out the night by 10:30 p.m.

Another safety decision crafted by O'Leary and stadium advisory officials is to prohibit any lots to open before 2:00 p.m. O'Leary acknowledge the traffic issue that could be caused due to opening the lots at the same time. However, he believes "by opening the lots for everyone at 2:00 p.m. is the better methodology for better crowd behaviors prior to the show."

"The important thing is to say 2:00 p.m. and mean it," said O'Leary.

Police patrols will also be intensified throughout Foxborough over the 2 day concert period. 

Chesney's Aug. 27 concert in Foxborough sold out in just minutes. Tickets for the second day, Aug. 28, are still on sale.