Alan Jackson Performs His Final Concert Tonight in Nashville, 15 Years After Charcot-Marie-Tooth Diagnosis

The Last Show Tonight

At Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Alan Jackson performs what he and NBC have announced as the final concert of his career. The event is titled Last Call: One More for the Road – The Finale, and it brings Jackson, 67, back to the city that launched his career.

The guest list is substantial. According to NBC, performers joining Jackson onstage include Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, George Strait, Carrie Underwood, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Thomas Rhett, Jake Owen, Jon Pardi, and Lee Ann Womack.

The show will be filmed for a primetime NBC special called Alan Jackson: The Last Show, with the special available on Peacock for streaming the following day.

Fifteen Years With a Disease Most Fans Didn't Know About

Jackson was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease in 2011. He told no one publicly for a decade. Charcot-Marie-Tooth is a group of inherited conditions that cause nerve damage, according to the Mayo Clinic. The disease causes smaller, weaker muscles, and may cause trouble walking and loss of feeling in the legs and feet. There is no cure.

Jackson inherited the condition from his father, who died in 2000 of a ruptured aorta.

In a 2021 appearance on NBC's Today Show, Jackson described what the disease had already cost him onstage. "It's been affecting me for years," he said. "And it's getting more and more obvious. I know I'm not going to be able to tour like I have."

He was direct about the physical reality. "I know I'm stumbling around on stage. And now I'm having a little trouble balancing, even in front of the microphone."

He also warned of what lay ahead: "It's going to disable me eventually."

He kept performing anyway — for years after that admission.

Why He Kept Going

Jackson continued touring after his 2021 disclosure, knowing the disease would worsen. His own explanation, given to Today, was personal rather than commercial. He acknowledged discomfort performing with balance problems, saying, "I don't feel comfortable." But he kept showing up.

His supporters would note that a man who spent 15 years managing a degenerative neurological condition without asking for sympathy, and who kept delivering for fans through it, was exercising exactly the kind of personal agency that deserves respect. Jackson never used the diagnosis to generate press on a manufactured timeline. He disclosed it when the physical signs became obvious to audiences, then continued on his own terms until he decided he was done.

Jackson and NBC announced the retirement performance earlier this month, according to the NY Post's Page Six.

What Happens After Tonight

Jackson has not announced plans beyond the concert itself. Whether the NBC special will include behind-the-scenes documentation of the disease's progression, or focus purely on the performance, has not been confirmed in available sources.