Alan Jackson‘s farewell Last Call: One More For The Road Tour is coming to an end. The 66-year-old only has two more shows on his tour, on April 26 and May 17, plus a performance at a festival on April 5, and Jackson will retire from touring, for good.
Jackson wouldn’t have necessarily chosen to come off of the road at this stage in his career. But due to his ongoing battle with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a rare degenerative nerve condition that impacts his balance and mobility, Jackson announced last year that his current tour would be his last.
“I’ve been touring for over 30 years – my daughters are all grown, we have one grandchild and one on the way…and I’m enjoying spending more time at home,” Jackson said at the time. “But my fans always show up to have a good time, and I’m going to give them the best show I can for this Last Call.”
The Country Music Hall of Fame member looked to some of his own heroes when deciding it was time to come off of the road.
“I’ve always admired my heroes like George Jones, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn and Charley Pride who just played as much as they wanted to, as long as they could,” Jackson explained. “I’ve always thought I’d like to do that, and I’d like to as long as my health will allow. I’ll try to do as much as I can, but if I’m comin’ your way, come see me.”
In 2021, Jackson announced that he had been quietly battling Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease for a few years, before deciding to go public with the news, due to his ongoing mobility issues.
“I have this neuropathy and neurological disease,” Jackson revealed on the Today Show. “It’s genetic that I inherited from my daddy … There’s no cure for it, but it’s been affecting me for years. And it’s getting more and more obvious. And I know I’m stumbling around on stage. And now I’m having a little trouble balancing, even in front of the microphone, and so I just feel very uncomfortable. It’s not going to kill me; it’s not deadly. But it is related to Muscular Dystrophy and Parkinson’s disease.”
When sharing his health news, the father of three said it felt good to finally let his fans in on his physical struggles.
“In some ways, it’s a relief, because I was starting to get so self-conscious up there, stumbling around,” he said. “I figured it would be good for people to know, and get it out in the open. If anybody’s curious why I don’t walk right, that’s why.”
Alan shares why now is the FINAL time to see him in a city near you! Don’t miss out! #LastCallWithAlan
Fan Club Pre-Sale is happening now at https://t.co/aJNLAjbQlV
🎟️ 𝐎𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞: 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝟏𝟎𝐚𝐦 𝐄𝐒𝐓 pic.twitter.com/hjpCinRuo3
— Alan Jackson (@OfficialJackson) June 4, 2024
When Jackson revealed his struggle with Charco-Marie-Tooth disease, he said he didn’t plan on doing a retirement tour. But as his symptoms progressed, Jackson realized his days of touring were coming to a necessary end.
“I’ve been touring for over 30 years, played everywhere, in countries and parts of the world,” Jackson said in a video he shared on social media last June. “I’ve had a wonderful, wonderful career, and I’m getting into my twilight years. All my daughters are grown, and I’ve got one grandchild, and one on the way. I enjoy spending more time at home, and don’t want to be away like I had been in my younger days. And I don’t tour as much now as I did of course ten years ago, but I think it’s getting time to start thinking about hanging it up full-time.
“Most of my fans know I have a degenerative health condition that affects my legs and arms and mobility that I got from my daddy, and it’s getting worse,” he continued. “And so, it makes me more uncomfortable on stage. I just have a hard time. I want to think about maybe calling it quits before I am unable to do the job like I want to.”
Find more information on Jackson’s remaining shows at AlanJackson.com.