As the weather warms up, Kenny Chesney will go back to work.

Chesney has announced the dates for his Somewhere in the Sun tour. He'll launch the first leg of his tour in Green Bay, Wis., on March 10 (the first of two nights there), with concert stops in 24 cities, winding up May 14 in Dallas. Opening acts on this tour include Gretchen Wilson and Uncle Kracker.

"We rock so hard out here, you get to where you think you really need that break," he says. "And then once the feeling of the rolling down the road fades away when you're sitting in a chair and the cheering stops ringing in your ears, you start itching to get back out here."

He adds, "For as much as I always say I'm not gonna work during December, we were finalizing set designs, talking about video screens, looking at the footage. ... And you know, I really love being out there with the fans and rocking the people. It is where I feel most alive, so to tell the truth, I can't wait to get back out there."

Chesney will release the album Be As You Are: Songs From an Old Blue Chair on Jan. 25, which exclusively features material he wrote or co-wrote. He'll also take part in an all-star concert for tsunami victims on Jan. 15 on NBC. His concert special, Kenny Chesney: Be As You Are, debuts on CMT on Jan. 22.

Here are the Somewhere in the Sun tour dates that have been announced:

March 11: Green Bay, Wis.

March 12: St. Paul, Minn.

March 13: Fargo, N.D.

March 17: Tupelo, Miss.

March 18: Lafayette, La.

March 19: San Antonio

March 31: Grand Rapids, Mich.

April 1: Moline, Ill.

April 2: Columbia, Mo.

April 7: Madison, Wis.

April 8: Champaign, Ill.

April 9: Lexington, Ky.

April 21: Sioux City, Iowa

April 22: Ames, Iowa

April 23: Omaha, Neb.

April 28: Biloxi, Miss.

April 29: Jacksonville, Fla.

April 30: Columbia, S.C.

May 5: Tallahassee, Fla.

May 6: Tampa, Fla.

May 7: Miami, Fla.

May 12: Little Rock, Ark.

May 13: Oklahoma City

May 14: Dallas