Alan Jackson Drops out of Major Concert Amid Recent Health Issues

Alan Jackson dropped out of the CMA Fest, which kicks off on Thursday in Nashville. The Country Music Hall of Famer was scheduled to headline a show at Nissan Stadium and is scheduled to start a tour later this month. Jackson, 63, announced last fall that he has Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, a degenerative nerve condition.

The Country Music Association announced Jackson’s withdrawal from the event on June 3, reports Taste of Country. The CMA did not explain why Jackson was pulling out, but Brothers Osborne and Old Dominion stepped up to fill out his slot. Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Luke Bryan, Darius Ricker, Carrie Underwood, and Zac Brown Band are among the artists scheduled to headline Nissan Stadium shows throughout the festival. The festival runs through June 12 and includes performances at other venues throughout Nashville. Tickets are still available.

Jackson will start his Last Call: One More for the Road tour on June 24 in Biloxi, Mississippi. Although it is not advertised as his final tour, it could be the last time fans get a chance to see him perform live. The tour is scheduled to continue through Oct. 8, with stops in Knoxville, St. Paul, Savannah, Lincoln, Kansas City, Lexington, Autin, Dallas, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and other cities. Tickets and VIP packages are now on sale.

During a Today Show interview from the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Jackson told Jenna Bush Hager he was diagnosed with CMT 10 years ago. It has affected his ability to walk. The neuropathy and neurological disease is genetic, and he inherited it from his father, Jackson said.

“There’s no cure for it, but it’s been affecting me for years,” the “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” singer said. “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.”

CMT is one of the disorders that cause “damage to the peripheral nerves-the nerves that transmit information and signals from the brain and spinal cord to and from the rest of the body, as well as sensory information such as touch back to the spinal cord and brain,” according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. There is no cure, but it can be managed with supportive therapy. People with the condition can also have a normal life expectancy.

“It’s not going to kill me. It’s not deadly,” Jackson told Bush Hager. “But it’s related (to) muscular dystrophy and Parkinson’s disease.”

Jackson told Today he had no plans to let the disease stop him from performing. “I never wanted to do the big retirement tour, like people do, then take a year off and then come back,” he said. “I think that’s kinda cheesy. And I’m not saying I won’t be able to tour. I’ll try to do as much as I can.”