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Why Kenny Chesney dropped the Georgia Dome for Jordan-Hare by Laura Goldman

Kenny Chesney isn't playing a concert in the Georgia Dome this year.

He is headed straight for Jordan-Hare Stadium, 110 miles away from Chesney's annual Atlanta stop, to kick off his 2016 "Spread the Love Tour" there. It's all because of the homegrown Auburn restaurant Chicken Salad Chick – and its founders Stacy and (the late) Kevin Brown.

Kevin Brown was diagnosed with stage-four colon cancer in 2014 at the age of 39. Once the Browns came to terms with the news, Kevin started a foundation to fight cancer and give back to the Auburn community that helped grow Chicken Salad Chick.

The Browns' family friend Barclay Smith took on the job as Chicken Salad Chick Foundation Director, and Kevin approached her with the idea of filling Jordan-Hare Stadium for a benefit concert.

"I had a connection to my friend Stuart Dill, who lives in Nashville and has been in the music industry for over 30 years," Smith said. "So just in a friendly phone call...I talked to him about the possibilities of putting on a stadium concert in Auburn."

Dill, who's managed many country artists including Billy Ray Cyrus and Jo Dee Messina, was more than willing chat with Kevin – but had his doubts about whether or not it could work.

There are a number of reasons major concert tours don't make frequent stops at college stadiums. Many campuses are in small towns, and they don't have alcohol sales.

"That's almost exclusively on NFL stadiums," Dill said. "Kevin and I talked about that, and I said look, the university would have to be really 100 percent behind us."

Kevin went to work. Once Athletic Director Jay Jacobs gave his blessing and the coveted liquor license was obtained, it was up to Dill to pitch the idea to Kenny Chesney's people. Chesney, an SEC football fanatic, said yes immediately. The "Music and Miracles Superfest" was born.

Kevin and Stacy met Chesney and attended his concert at AT&T Stadium in Dallas last year. Kevin passed away two months later in November.

"I'm just very thankful that they did get to meet. Kenny was excited, he felt like they were partners," said Dill. "I truly always thought that [Kevin] would be there on Saturday. He had so much drive and energy."

Watch the video above for more from Barclay Smith and Stuart Dill on how Kenny Chesney was impacted by the Browns' story, and the forces that came together to make Kevin's vision a reality.

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You may have seen the Music & Miracles Superfest being billed as the first-ever concert at Jordan-Hare. As reports have pointed out, that's not entirely true. James Brown and the Beach Boys are on a short list of those who've played small concerts in the stadium.

"In 75 years, yes, there's been music in the stadium," Dill said. "They've had some things associated with the school, they've had some bands of note come in and have four or five thousand people. What they've never had is a full stadium production."

"We certainly don't want to discredit anything that's already happened in Jordan-Hare," Smith says. "This place has such an amazing history. We're just thrilled to be a part of the continuance of that."

If there is one "first" everyone can agree on, it's that the Music & Miracles Superfest will be the first concert of this magnitude to take place in the stadium...or in other words, the largest.

Saturday's festival is the first of more to come annually at Jordan-Hare to celebrate life, music, and bring thousands together in the fight against cancer.