Following his breakdown in 2023, Hardy has become a stone hedge in country music, highlighting the much-needed conversation surrounding mental health. Continuing to touch on his personal struggles, he recently opened up about how writing one of Kenny Chesney’s #1 hits became a full-circle moment in his recovery.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum recently uploaded the full program filmed on December 6, 2025, from Hardy’s Songwriter Session in support of the Museum’s exhibition American Currents: State of the Music. During the event, Hardy played a number of his penned tracks written for himself and others.
One standout from the night was his performance and reflection on writing Kenny Chesney’s November 2023 single, “Take Her Home.” Hardy recalled penning the track alongside his two best friends and fellow writers, Hunter Phelps and Zach Abend saying, “For whatever reason, I had just struck up a relationship with Kenny Chesney, and I had sent him a couple of songs that he loved, but he had passed on, and you know, the seasoned artists they really know who they are.” Noting the frustration of catering to someone else’s sound he continued, “So it’s like I’ll try as hard as I can to send a few songs and they’re like this sounds like a Kenny Chesney song smash and then they’ll respond and be like ‘eh sounds a little too much like me’ and you’re like ‘how is that even possible?’”
The storytelling-heavy song eventually became Chesney’s 61st top ten single and follows a sappy love story progressing from meeting a girl in a bar, falling in love, to settling down and having a baby. Hardy revealed he had an inkling that it would be a great fit for the “Get Along” singer’s discography. “I immediately just said, man, I wanna send this to Kenny because it’s different enough, it doesn’t sound too much like Kenny, ya know? So I sent it to him, put my phone away, and about twenty minutes later, I look at my phone, and he’s written me back, and he’s like ‘I love this, can I cut it tomorrow?”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t that simple of a process to get the song cut with Chesney, with him then following up with, “‘Well I’m actually going to Italy, can I cut it in a couple weeks,’ and I was like ‘Oh God, this is gonna turn into a couple months, then he’s gonna forget about it.’” Sure enough, Chesney didn’t let go of the song with Hardy revealing, “A couple week’s later, I get a call from Kenny Chesney, and so I answer, and he’s like, ‘Hey, I’m in Italy right now, but I’m coming home three days early to cut your song, is that cool with you? ‘”
During this time in October 2023, Hardy had reached his breaking point, continuing to struggle with the aftermath of his almost-fatal tour bus crash in October 2022. The traumatic experience caused extreme anxiety and panic attacks for the singer-songwriter. In turn, he cancelled two shows from his Mockingbird & The Crow fall Tour and took the time to spend about a week recovering at a local mental health retreat in Nashville, Onsite Wellness House.
He tells the audience, “There’s no phones, no nothing, no contact with the outside world, it’s a very peaceful, different environment.” He then says, like a light at the end of the tunnel upon getting his phone back after his recuperation, “the first text I read, I kid you not, ‘Hey brother, I have decided to make ‘Take Her Home’ my next single.’”
Hardy ends the story by calling the whole situation a very full circle moment that reminded him to “keep writing songs and keep enjoying that feeling of somebody else cutting your song.” He, of course, followed up the inspiring story with a live performance of the track, and hearing his voice sing the lyrics is truly an eye-opener to how Hardy-centric this track really is.
The “Truck Bed” singer continues to take his own advice, writing some amazing tracks, including most recently Ella Langley’s “Be Her” and his collaboration with Morgan Wallen, Tim McGraw, and Eric Church, “McArthur,” which have quickly become fan favorite chart toppers. He’s also currently out on his 2026 Country! Country! Country! Tour across the United States, continuing throughout the end of August.
Tour Dates:
- March 19 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center*
- March 20 – Moline, IL – Vibrant Arena at The MARK*
- March 21 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center*
- March 26 – Allentown, PA – PPL Center*
- March 27 – Charleston, WV – Charleston Coliseum*
- March 28 – Evansville, IN – Ford Center*
- April 9 – Knoxville, TN – Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center^
- April 10 – Tupelo, MS – Cadence Bank Arena^
- April 17 – Durant, OK – Choctaw Grand Theatre+ **
- April 18 – Durant, OK – Choctaw Grand Theatre+ **
- April 23 – Jacksonville, FL – VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena^
- April 24 – Charleston, SC – Credit One Stadium^
- April 25 – Orlando, FL – Kia Center^
- May 21 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center #
- May 22 – Huntsville, AL – Orion Amphitheater #
- May 23 – Orange Beach, AL – The Wharf Amphitheater #
- May 28 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center #
- May 29 – Buffalo, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheatre #
- May 30 – Bethel, NY – Bethel Woods Center for the Arts #
- June 4 – Rogers, AZ – Walmart AMP*
- June 5 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheater *
- June 6 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center*
- June 11 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion #
- June 12 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach #
- June 13 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek #
- June 25 – Gilford, NH – BankNH Pavilion~
- June 26 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center~
- June 27 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion~
- August 20 – Lubbock, TX – Cooks Garage % **
- August 21 – New Braunfels, TX – Whitewater Amphitheater + **
* Cameron Whitcomb, McCoy Moore
^ Mitchell Tenpenny, McCoy Moore
+ McCoy Moore
# Tucker Wetmore, McCoy Moore
~ Muscadine Bloodline, McCoy Moore
% Jake Worthington, McCoy Moore
** indicates non-Live Nation date