Mark Chesnutt is a different man than he used to be. The 61-year-old is now proudly sober, after struggling with alcohol addiction for most of his career. He is also better physically, after having emergency quadruple bypass heart surgery, plus a serious back surgery, one that came with a lot of risks.
But now, Chesnutt is physically better than ever, and ready to embark on his Redemption Tour, in celebration of all he has endured.
“I drank all day, every day,” Chesnutt admits to American Songwriter. “I’d get up in the middle of the night and drink. I’d never stop.”
Chesnutt’s debut Too Cold at Home album came out in 1990. At the time, alcohol flowed freely, something Chesnutt assumed was just part of being in country music.
“Back in those days, it was normal for everybody to drink all the time,” Chesnutt recalls. “I just took it to the extreme, and it about killed me.”
One day, Chesnutt knew he had had enough. He asked his wife, Tracie, to call an ambulance.
“I knew I was dying,” he admits. The couple was in Knoxville at the time, where he was admitted to the hospital, and realized how precariously close he was to not surviving. All of his organs, including his heart, were beginning to shut down.
“I was bleeding out from my inside,” he explains. “They basically told me they were gonna get me over this, and I was going to be fine, and they could fix everything wrong with me. But if they discharged me and I went home and started drinking again, I’d be back in a matter of days, and I might not leave alive. I had to quit drinking or die.”
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On November 1, 2023, Chesnutt took his last drink, quietly and without much fanfare.
“I prayed for so long for something to make me realize that I had to stop drinking, and I couldn’t do it on my own,” he says. “I couldn’t talk to anybody about it.”
At the time, Chesnutt couldn’t imagine rehearsing or performing sober. Now, he can’t imagine why he ever thought he needed alcohol to do his job.
“I walked up there, started my set list, and said, ‘Well, let’s take it from the top of the set,” Chesnutt remembers. “I thought to myself, ‘What in the hell was the big deal? Why did I think for so many years that I needed to drink?”
Chesnutt overcame an excruciating back surgery, where he reveals his spine was “bone on bone,” plus heart surgery, in addition to becoming sober. Ironically, if not for his back surgery, the Texan might not have ever realized his drinking was a problem.
“My surgery was a major major one,” he says, revealing he now has two titanium rods in his back. “I couldn’t work. I was laid up, didn’t drive, couldn’t walk, couldn’t do anything.”
Chesnutt couldn’t work, but he could drink, which is what led to the wake-up call he desperately needed. He has now emerged stronger than ever, ready to once again make his mark in country music.
Chesnutt now has a new lease on life, and couldn’t be more excited about his future.
“I’m back and doing better than ever,” Chesnutt says. “My diet is better. I’m more active, and I feel better than I did in my 30s. I’m excited about the whole process of going on the road. I’m excited every night to go on stage. I have the energy I wish I had throughout the ’90s.”
Chesnutt is also ready to get back to work.
“I’m so happy about my Redemption Tour,” the “Brother Jukebox” singer says. “I’m going out with excitement and a renewed energy for all aspects of performing and possibly recording. I love being on stage and seeing and hearing the crowd. I now realize that’s what I love about being in this business.”
Chesnutt’s Redemption Tour kicks off on May 3 in Forney, Texas. See a list of dates below. Find all of Chesnutt’s music and upcoming shows at MarkChesnutt.com.
Mark Chesnutt 2025 Redemption Tour Dates:
May 3 – Forney, TX – Talia
May 10 – Ocala, FL – Florida Horse Park (Rock The Country)
May 23 – Katy, TX – Mo’s Place
May 24 – Buda, TX – Buck’s Backyard
May 25 – Bandera, TX – 11th Street Cowboy Bar
May 30 – Columbus, OH – The Bluestone
May 31 – York, PA – York Fairgrounds & Expo Center (Rock The Country)
June 6 – Elizabethtown, KY – Historic State Theater
June 7 – Benton, KY – The Kentucky Opry
June 14 – Hastings, MI – Barry Expo Center (Rock The Country)
June 19 – Lawton, OK – Apache Casino Hotel Event Center
June 20 – Little Rock, AR – Arkansas State Fairgrounds (Rock The Country)
June 21 – Sesser, IL – Sesser City Park
June 26 – Ponaka, AB, Canada – Ponoka Stampede & Exhibition
June 28 – Moose Jaw, SK, Canada – Moose Jaw Event Center
June 29 – Dauphin, MB, Canada – Dauphin’s Countryfest
July 11 – Roanoke Rapids, NC – Weldon Mills Theatre
July 12 – Ashland, KY – Boyd County Fairgrounds (Rock The Country)
July 18 – Eau Claire, WI – Country Jam USA
July 19 – Sioux Falls, SD – WH Lyon Fairground (Rock The Country)
July 25 – Macon, GA – Atrium Health Amphitheater
July 26 – Anderson, SC – Anderson Sport & Entertainment Center (Rock The Country)
Aug 2 – New Braunfels, TX – Whitewater Amphitheater
Aug 8 – Batesville, MS – Batesville Civic Center
Aug 9 – Jeffersonville, IN – RiverStage
Aug 15 – Fruita, CO – James M. Robb, Colorado River State Park
Aug 23 – Canton, GA – Etowah River Park
Sept 6 – Van Alstyne, TX – Downtown Stage
Sept 13 – Temple, TX – MLK Festival Grounds
Sept 27 – Christoval, TX – Cooper’s Bar-B-Q
Oct 22 – Shipshewana, IN – Blue Gate Performing Arts Center
Oct 23 – Clarksburg, WV – The Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center
Oct 25 – New Philadelphia, OH – Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas
Photo Credit: David ‘Doc’ Abbott