How is the farewell tour? – Deseret News

For 30 years, Alan Jackson has been singing “Gone Country,” which tells the story of a Vegas lounge singer, a folk artist and a “serious composer” who all turned to country music out of a desperation to keep their careers alive.

The upbeat song is a bit tongue and cheek — the songwriter himself, Bob McDill, was entrenched in the world of pop music before he crossed over to the country side. But there’s an underlying truth to Jackson’s 1994 hit: country music seems to have a gravitational pull that draws in artists and fans from all backgrounds.

Perhaps that’s even more the case in 2024, when superstars like Beyonce and Post Malone have offered up their own takes on the genre, releasing albums that blend traditional country music with a wide range of styles, including hip-hop and pop.

“Gone Country” pokes fun at this trend, but it also highlights how all-encompassing the genre can be — Beyonce and Post Malone both hit No. 1 with their country albums this year, after all. But their current success hasn’t pushed out old-school country artists like Jackson.

At 66 years old, the country music legend is on a farewell tour that stopped in Salt Lake City Saturday night. Thirty-five years since his first record deal — and 35 No. 1 hits later — Jackson seemed emotional as he stepped onto the stage to the strains of “Gone Country” and looked around at the packed arena.

The cheers spoke volumes: In country music, there’s room for it all.

Alan Jackson brings his greatest hits to Salt Lake City

Jackson is firmly rooted in traditional country music, inspired by the likes of George Jones and Hank Williams, and in a similar camp of style with Garth Brooks and the late Toby Keith.

Wearing a wide-brimmed cowboy hat and faded ripped jeans, the singer referred to “real country music” a few times during his Salt Lake show.

“Appreciate y’all being here. I always tell everybody, ‘I just came here to play real country music tonight,’” he told his fans at one point. “Songs about life and love and heartache, drinking and dancing and crying and dying and mom and having a good time — all that stuff that makes country music.”

“The main thing is I just want to have a good time with you,” he continued, encouraging the crowd to dance.

And the fans were more than happy to oblige.

Jackson’s greatest hits are so wide-reaching they’re inescapable. He’s got more No. 1 hits than he could comfortably fit in a setlist — but his farewell tour setlist delivers the best.

A couple of minutes before 10 pm, after more than an hour of performing hits including “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” and “Remember When,” Jackson launched into “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” — complete with a “We miss you “Jimmy Buffett.” And the hits kept coming as he followed that up with “Chattahoochee” and “Where I Come From.”

He actually messed up the lyrics to “Where I Come From,” and had to restart watching a few times. But the fans were forgiving — and many were likely distracted by the video that played during the song, featuring clips of downtown Salt Lake City and highlighting collegiate and professional sports in Utah (the footage was so recent that it included BYU’s game-winning field goal over Utah in one of the rivalry’s most intense and controversial games that happened earlier this month).

Jackson’s voice is a little worn, but 1990s country music has never really been about vocal prowess — although Reba McEntire, Faith Hill, Martina McBride and other female country stars from this era certainly have powerhouse voices. Rather, it’s in the storytelling, the imagery of summertime and hanging out by the river and sitting on the front porch. Learning how to drive, finding love, growing old. Vignettes that are vague but relatable enough to allow the listeners to become the characters.

And some fans really got into character. A group of women wore shades, mustaches and life vests, mimicking Jackson’s appearance in the official music video for “Chattahoochee.” One man wore the No. 34 Dallas Cowboys shirt that Jackson also wears in that video.

“I wish I still looked like some of y’all,” Country Music Hall of Famer joked.

Jackson addressed his fans a lot throughout the night, sharing the stories behind some of his songs and encouraging people to have a good time. But most of all, he wanted those in attendance to know how much he appreciates them.

Because this tour might be his last chance to do so — at least in person.

Is this really Alan Jackson’s farewell tour?

Musicians have long cried wolf when it comes to farewell tours.

Ozzy Osbourne went on his “No More Tours” run in 1992, and embarked on a “No More Tours 2″ run in 2018. The following year, Kiss went on an “End of the Road” world tour — nearly 20 years after their farewell tour. In 1980, Don Henley said “hell would freeze over” before the Eagles toured again, and 14 years later, the band kicked off their tour… appropriately titled “Hell Freezes Over.”

But Jackson’s farewell tour, titled “Last Call: One More for the Road,” doesn’t appear to be a marketing gimmick.

Before he took the stage, a fast-paced video breezed through the highlights of Jackson’s career. He mentioned his rise to fame and many awards and his 2017 induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame by the late Loretta Lynn — “Loretta Lynn said I should be in here,” Jackson says with a wide smile. “That’s all I needed to hear.”

The video is both exciting and heartwarming, and indicates that this tour really is the bow on a 35-year career — a chance for Jackson to say goodbye.

“I’ve played out here many times,” the country singer told his fans in Salt Lake early on, commenting on the beauty of Utah and how that Saturday marked the first snow he’s seen all year. “Y’all have been real nice to me out here over the years.”

Jackson would go on to thank his fans at least two more times during the show.

“We’re kind of winding down a little bit now — it’s a good thing,” he said, noting that he celebrates his 45th wedding anniversary next month and is embracing his grandfather era. “Thank y’all so much for your support and the music and the records and coming to the shows.”

At the end of the show, in a rare move for an entertainer playing to a packed arena, Jackson took a few minutes to sign cowboy hats, boots and posters that made their way to the stage — another token of his appreciation.

Jackson seems down to earth, and speaks and acts with a humility that has likely grown as he’s gotten older and recognized this isn’t something he can do forever.

A few years ago, he publicly revealed he has Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a hereditary condition that affects his movement and balance. He’s been privately navigating the progressive disease for years, and he has limited his ability to move around the stage.

For the most part, the singer stayed in the same spot onstage Saturday night, either leaning against a brace for support or sitting on a stool. But darting around the stage has never been his style, anyway. He doesn’t need much fanfare: the songs speak for themselves.

And the fans sung along in full force, heeding Jackson’s last call to have a good time.

It was a reminder that although Jackson may be leaving the stage for good, he isn’t taking the songs with him. After more than 30 years, his slew of hits — some more relevant now than they were when they first came out — are still being carried on by the fans who sing them word for word.

Even as “the whole world’s gone country,” Jackson’s songs still stand their ground. And it’ll stay that way well after the singer has taken his final bow.