Chris Young On Opening for Alan Jackson: ‘I Was Just Very Grateful’

Photo byJohn Shearer / David McClister

Chris Young just had the opportunity of a lifetime, when he was invited to open for Alan Jackson earlier this month, as part of Jackson’s farewell Last Call: One More For The Road Tour. For Young, it was a full-circle moment for him, who grew up idolizing the Country Music Hall of Fame member and his music.

“My first tour was Martina [McBride], as far as a tour, you’re in amphitheaters,” Young shared with Everything Nash and other outlets at a recent media event. “My second was Alan. I’ve always been an Alan Jackson fan. They asked me if I wanted to do it. It was a no-brainer. I was like, ‘What would you like me to do, Mr. Jackson, sir?’ I mean that from a lot of perspectives.”

Young’s relationship with Jackson extends beyond touring. Young released his It Must Be Christmas album in 2016, which included Jackson singing with Young on “There’s a New Kid in Town.” It’s a song that Young first heard on Jackson’s 1993 Honky Tonk Christmas album, which featured Keith Whitley on the song. But for Young’s album, the Tennessee native asked Jackson to sing Whitley’s part.

“That was one of the most special things I got to do, because I love Christmas music … That first Alan Jackson Christmas record, it wasn’t Christmas at my house unless you heard that,” Young shares. “And actually, he doesn’t know this, but the first song I ever learned to play on the guitar was ‘Chattahoochee.”

Photo byCourtesy of Schmidt Relations

Young is by now a veteran on stage and at live music events, but he still took plenty of notes while Jackson was performing

“I went out after my show and watched all of his set, and just geeked out,” Young recalls. “He’s just not only a legend, but if you look at him only from a songwriting perspective, people would aspire to have a quarter of the talent. The stuff that he has written by himself — people don’t really look at liner notes anymore on albums, but it’s incredible.

“I was just very grateful that I got to be a part of that tour, because people still have his music, but he’s going to be missed on the road,” he adds. “People want to see him play. The fact that he’s doing that is absolutely amazing. Not just for him, but for all the artists that get to look up to him.”

Last Call: One More For The Road will be Jackson’s final tour. The 65-year-old revealed in 2021 that he had been battling Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a rare degenerative nerve condition that affects Jackson’s mobility. Jackson quietly dealt with the illness for several years before going public with the news.

“I have this neuropathy and neurological disease,” Jackson said on the Today Show. “It’s genetic that I inherited from my daddy … There’s no cure for it, but it’s been affecting me for years. 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.

“It’s not going to kill me. It’s not deadly,” he added “But it’s related (to) muscular dystrophy and Parkinson’s disease.”

Health issues aside, Jackson is also ready to spend more time at home, and with his family.

“I’ve been touring for over 30 years – my daughters are all grown … I’m enjoying spending more time at home,” Jackson said when discussing his final tour. “But my fans always show up to have a good time, and I’m going to give them the best show I can for this Last Call.”

The remaining dates on Jackson’s Last Call: One More For The Road can be found at AlanJackson.com.