Chesney will Spread the Love in '16

The first show is April 23 in Alabama with the last one Aug. 20 in East Rutherford, N.J.

Miranda Lambert, Sam Hunt and Old Dominion will play most of the shows. A few cities will see a surprise artist in Hunt's slot.

Chesney broke nine attendance records - many his own - and sold more than 1.3 million tickets on The Big Revival Tour last year.

"People always want to know about the stadiums," Chesney said, "because it's a big show... a lot of music... and the kind of day people come together and celebrate friendship. We know a lot of people travel to these dates from all over, so to give them as much time as possible to get ready, I figured it'd be nice to get these out in front of our other shows. There could be a stadium date or two added, but for everyone who's asking, let's get next year started, right now."

Lambert appeared at last year's Soldier Field show in Chicago. "Miranda was such an awesome addition in Chicago," Chesney said. "When I was thinking about what I wanted to do this year, how to keep the energy we had and give the fans something truly great musically, she just made sense. She's a songwriter, a great singer and she loves music every bit as much as I do. In a stadium, those things matter."

"The second I heard Sam's demo for 'Come Over,' I knew he was onto something very unique," Chesney, who gave Hunt his first cut, said. "Watching him develop as an artist, seeing his songwriting evolve - and knowing how he brings it when he gets on stage makes him a perfect act to come out with us."

Old Dominion, who return in the opening slot for Chesney, have a hit with "Break Up With Him." In addition to penning Chesney's three-week number one "Save It For A Rainy Day," members of the group have written chart-toppers for Blake Shelton ("Sangria"), The Band Perry ("Better Dig Two"), Tyler Farr ("Guy Walks Into A Bar") and Dierks Bentley ("Say You Do").

"There is nothing like the energy of a stadium show," Chesney said. "Old Dominion kicked the whole summer off last year with the best vibe. If we're talking about Spread the Love, those guys are all about it. If there's anything I want to see this summer, it's that attitude that really defines what's going on."

Tour dates are:
April 23 - Jordan Hare Stadium - Auburn, Ala.
May 7 - Chase Field - Phoenix, Ariz.
June 4 - AT&T Stadium - Arlington, Texas*
June 18 - Miller Park - Milwaukee, Wisc.*
June 25 - Lincoln Financial Field - Philadelphia, Pa.*
July 2 - Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, Pa.
July 16 - Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City, Mo.
July 23 - Century Link Field - Seattle, Wash.
Aug. 6 - Levi's Stadium - Santa Clara, Calif.
Aug. 13 - Ford Field - Detroit, Mich.*
Aug. 20 - MetLife Stadium - East Rutherford, N.J.

* Special guest will appear