By Kayla DeKraker
Country legend Alan Jackson announced his retirement from touring after 30 years during his last road show on Saturday.
“Y’all may have heard that I’m kinda winding down. In fact, this is my last road show of my career,” he told fans in Milwaukee. “Y’all gonna make me tear up out here.”
He has one more concert planned for Nashville, a show that will be meaningful and nostalgic.
“I will say that this is my last road show out here, but we’re planning on doing a big finale show in Nashville next summer sometime,” he continued. “I just felt like I had to end it all where it all started, and that’s in Nashville, Tennessee. But this is the last one out on the road for me.”
“It’s been a long, sweet ride. It started 40 years ago this September. My wife and I drove to Nashville with an ol’ UHaul trailer and chased this dream. It’s been a crazy ride. I lived the American dream for sure. So blessed,” he reflected.
Jackson has been married to his wife Denise since 1979, and she encouraged him throughout his career.
Related: Alan Jackson Extends Last Tour Despite Health Issues: ‘Going to Give Them the Best Show’
At the 2022 CMA Awards, he said “I’m probably not always the easiest person to love, but she’s been there and helped me through hard times. And we’ve shared great times. The good, the bad, the happy, and the sad, we’ve survived a lot.”
He added,”I just want to thank her because she’s held me up all these years and she’s my best friend. And she gave me a wonderful family.”
Part of the reason for the end of Jackson’s on-stage career is due to his Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which he was diagnosed with in 2011. The Mayo Clinic describes the disease as “group of inherited disorders that cause nerve damage. This damage is mostly in the arms and legs (peripheral nerves). Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is also called hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy.”
“It’s been affecting me for years, and it’s getting more and more obvious,” he told TODAY of the condition which he got from his father. “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, and I just want people to know that’s why I look like I do.”
Jackson has been on his “Last Call” tour since 2022, and he’s so grateful for his fans: “I just have to thank y’all for supporting my music all these years, coming to the shows, buying the records and having a good time with us. I’m so fortunate, so lucky.”
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