Amy Grant is opening up about her ongoing recovery, after she was seriously injured in a bike accident in the summer of 2022. Grant postponed her concert dates that fall to focus on her recovery, but is now back to performing, albeit with a few challenges.
“I still have issues with my short-term memory,” Grant admits to E! News. “My balance is still weird. I made a joke about it last night. Sometimes I walk around like I’m drunk. You just have to laugh about all of it. I can’t remember what I can’t remember. I don’t know if I’ll get back on a bike. There’s so many great sports to enjoy and so, who knows?”
Unfortunately, while Grant was recovering, another health problem was discovered, this one with the potential to have a direct, and dire, impact on her career as a singer.
“I had this bike wreck, and unbeknownst to me, I actually had a cyst growing in my throat,” Grant reveals. “And because of the trauma of that bike wreck, it went into hyper-growth. I had this five-hour surgery and they took it out. I actually had to learn to sing again. They asked me, ‘Hey, we’re going into your throat. Do you want a facelift?’ I said, ‘Dear God, no. I actually have to be on stage in X number of weeks.’
“It was a five-hour surgery … I didn’t ask for it, but I came out of surgery, and my neck was a little tighter,” she adds. “I just felt like an old beat-up car that went in and got a paint job. and had the dents knocked out. That’s a gift.”
While recovering, Grant was unsure if she would ever be able to tour again. Now that she is, the 63-year-old feels profound gratitude for the support of her fans.
“I do feel the love,” Grant shares. “My reasons for touring are, I don’t get on stage because I need to hear applause. I have always loved creating spaces, and I do think that it feels like that continues to matter.”
Grant is also working on a new album, her first record of new tunes since How Mercy Looks From Here came out in 2013, and one that she says will have an important message that she can’t wait to share with the world.
“One thing I know about myself: I am slow like a sunrise,” Grant tells American Songwriter. “I don’t know why I’ve taken such a long break. Maybe the imposed simplification of my life last year gave me a chance to say, ‘What’s the stuff that really matters to me?’ I have an opportunity to sing, especially to my peer group.
“Because I’ve never stopped touring; I watched my audience age with me, so as a creative person, it feels crazy to not take advantage of that opportunity,” she continues. “Just continuing the story and the conversation at this stage in life does feel precious. Every song is just a piece of the conversation.”
Grant was a Kennedy Centers Honors recipient in 2022. Find all of Grant’s music and upcoming shows at AmyGrant.com.