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Kenny Chesney Receives Tortuga’s Inaugural Ocean Legacy Award at His Sixth Festival Headline
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Kenny Chesney will receive the inaugural Ocean Legacy Award at this year’s Tortuga Music Festival on April 12 in Fort Lauderdale, presented by Rock The Ocean Foundation. The honor recognizes Chesney’s longstanding commitment to ocean conservation and his unmatched relationship with the festival he helped launch in 2013. April 12 marks his sixth Tortuga headline appearance, and his only 2026 concert outside of his record-setting Sphere Las Vegas residency.
Rock The Ocean and Tortuga Festival founder Chris Stacey created the award specifically for Chesney. “We’ve had a longstanding relationship with Kenny, who headlined the first Tortuga Festival in 2013, and returned more than any artist,” Stacey says. “We’re proud to work with such a legendary artist who authentically embodies Rock The Ocean’s mission, a love for the ocean and a commitment to protecting it.” Since 2013, Tortuga and Rock The Ocean have raised over $6,000,000 for ocean conservation, supporting more than 100 non-profit organizations and university programs.
Chesney’s Tortuga sets have become genuine moments for ocean culture, with sailboats, yachts, and cigarette boats bobbing offshore while tens of thousands fill the sand. The 2025 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee holds Billboard’s record for the most Country Airplay Number Ones with 33 chart-toppers, and is the only country artist in Pollstar’s Top 10 Touring Acts of the Millennium. “To be given an award for doing what I love somewhere that brings every bit of it together almost feels wrong,” Chesney says, “but I’m honored if I could be part of bringing how we treat the ocean into focus.”
Tortuga Music Festival runs April 10 through 12 on the shores of Fort Lauderdale, produced in partnership with Live Nation. Post Malone headlines Friday, April 10, Riley Green takes Saturday, April 11, and Chesney closes the weekend on Sunday, April 12. Tickets and VIP packages are on sale now at tortugamusicfestival.com.
Festival Dates:
April 10, 2026, Tortuga Music Festival, Fort Lauderdale, FL (Post Malone)
April 11, 2026, Tortuga Music Festival, Fort Lauderdale, FL (Riley Green)
April 12, 2026, Tortuga Music Festival, Fort Lauderdale, FL (Kenny Chesney)