Glen Rose, ABC "Somewhere in the Sun" ranges from Kenny Chesney's July concert at Heinz Field to his boat trips around the Caribbean. Click photo for larger image. "Kenny Chesney: Somewhere in the Sun" When: 8 p.m. Wednesday on WTAE.

A hot summer sun had long since set before a giant curtain dropped at Heinz Field. Behind it, country superstar Kenny Chesney and a seasoned band unveiled the Pittsburgh stop of his cross-country Somewhere in the Sun Tour.

The mammoth concert, Pittsburgh's biggest of 2005, was also one of the best country shows in a year that brought a record number of top country stars to town. Somewhere in the Sun filled the stadium with about 55,000 fans, a light show that glowed over Pittsburgh for miles around and an ABC camera crew taping segments for a Thanksgiving Eve special. "Kenny Chesney: Somewhere in the Sun" airs at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Chesney has been on the radio for more than a decade, much of that time as one of the biggest stars in contemporary country music. The demands of that level of stardom generally keep him far from his fans, and with the exception of one album, most of Chesney's songs were churned from the Nashville songwriters gristmill. So it's understandable that Chesney might want to take the opportunity of a prime-time network special to give his fans a peek at his life offstage.

"Somewhere in the Sun," however, begins at Heinz Field on July 30, with Chesney, in skin-tight jeans and a muscle shirt, darting across the stage, posing on the runway and ripping through five of his hits, a self-written confessional, a fresh song from his new CD and a fun Mellencamp duet with guest artist Gretchen Wilson. Quick cuts, sweaty close-ups, crowd shots and aerial views give those who weren't there a fair impression of the scope and pace of the show.

Those who were there will note the absence of opening sets by Pat Green, Uncle Kracker, Keith Urban and Wilson, but the TV special might give them a chance to finally hear a concert that was marred by spotty stadium sound that left the show inaudible in some seats.

The most revealing parts of "Somewhere in the Sun," however, were shot on Chesney's boat as it cruised between beaches and port bars somewhere in the Caribbean. Among warm sunsets and friends, Chesney seems less animated and more relaxed.

"I just wanted to give the fans a little insight into my life," he says, "how this place has really changed my life. My life is more than being on stage, always a deadline, always a commitment. Down here there's no expectations."

Expectations of even more insight into the star's personal life, however, are unrequited. The show was shot during Chesney's five-month marriage to Renee Zellweger. They divorced in September. She's not mentioned in the special.