Chesney returns to studio

While no firm date was given, look for new music this spring.

"You have to take time to live and breathe, to fill up your tanks to be creative," said Chesney. "Otherwise, you're just on a treadmill churning out what you've already done... Who needs that? For me, especially after the success of 'The Big Revival,' I want to move the music, the songs, the discussion forward."

Chesney had hits with "American Kids" and "Wild Child" from "The Big Revival," which came out in September 2014.

Chesney has spent the last several months writing and seeking songs in Austin, the islands, and the road. He's also joined with longtime co-producer Buddy Cannon in the studio in Los Angeles and Nashville.

"There's a moment you feel a record grab hold, and take shape," Chesney said. "You can have great songs and not have an album. You can have a killer record that won't move people on the radio. The idea is to balance both, then hopefully create something that does both, that also says something as a whole. I think we're on our way."

Drawing on David Lee Murphy ("Living In Fast Forward," "Pirate Flag"), Josh Osborne ("Wild Child," "Come Over," "Merry Go 'Round") and Shane McAnally ("Somewhere With You," "American Kids," "Come Over") Chesney has also turned to Matraca Berg ("You & Tequila"), Allison Moorer and Hayes Carll for songs.

"There are a few writers who get me, who get my life and my soul," Chesney said. "And I was lucky enough to have time to write with them. But I also got to hear a lot of great songs, some different writers, so there was a lot of music this time to draw from and be inspired by."

"When we came off the road and I listened back to 'The Big Revival,' all I could think was, 'Man, we covered a lot of ground, went pretty cool, as well as new places musically,'" he said. "I knew we couldn't repeat, but I also wanted to find more new ways and new things to record."