NASHVILLE (CelebrityAccess) – Country music legend Mark Chesnutt is going public with the disclosure of multiple health scares which almost ended his life. In celebration of health, recovery and sobriety, he has announced his 2025 Redemption Tour with nearly 40 dates on the books.
“I’m so happy about my Redemption Tour,” says Chesnutt. “I’m going out with excitement and a renewed energy for all aspects of performing and possibly recording. I love being on stage and seeing and hearing the crowd. I now realize that’s what I love about being in this business.”
With hits including “Too Cold at Home,” “Brother Jukebox,” and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” his career exploded with his impressive catalog carrying him from honky-tonk stages to one of the decade’s most reliable hit makers. He signed a record deal with MCA Nashville in 1989 and was notching chart-toppers within one year. By the decade’s end, he earned 14 No. 1 hits and 23 Top 10 songs, sold more than 12 million albums, and was a CMA Horizon Award Winner. Billboard named him one of the most-played country artists of the decade.
While Chesnutt made a name for himself as one of the ‘90s most reliable hitmakers, he endured invasive spine surgery, years of alcoholism, rehab and open heart surgery in succession – all of which cost time he intended to spend strengthening his career and touring game. Now he’s ready to share his decades-long healing journey.
Chesnutt’s struggle began in his early 20s when he fractured his spine. “In them days, they didn’t know how to fix it, and I couldn’t fix it, so I just lived with it,” he says.
In 2021, Chesnutt’s spine was somewhat healed and didn’t cause him many problems. Until it did. He lost the ability to walk and fell down the escalator at the Houston airport. He had to have surgery or risk permanent damage. Then his physical rehabilitation was delayed due to the pandemic.
“My surgery was a major major one,” he says, explaining doctors scraped scar tissue off his nerves and that he now has two titanium rods in his back. “I couldn’t work. I was laid up, didn’t drive, couldn’t walk, couldn’t do anything.”
He couldn’t do anything but drink. Chesnutt returned to tour before his back – or his addiction – were healed. He still struggled with balance and frequently fell. Then he got desperately sick – this time from alcohol – and had to go back to the hospital. Afraid his presence in an alcohol rehab facility would leak, he asked his wife to call an ambulance. Doctors gave Chesnutt four blood transfusions that night and told him he probably wouldn’t have survived the following two days. He was bleeding from the inside out.
“I had to quit drinking or die,” he says.
Chesnutt took his last drink on November 1, 2023. He was 60 years old. Five months later, he faced emergency quadruple bypass surgery. Again, his wife had to call an ambulance to pick him up – this time from his tour bus as they drove home from a concert. It was June of 2024 – the latest hurdle in years of health challenges and just like always, Chesnutt tackled it head on.
Now, he’s back and better, stronger, and more clear-headed than ever. Gearing up for his 2025-2026 Redemption Tour– Chesnutt is dedicated to his health, sobriety and more determined than ever to deliver the most compelling shows of his career.
“I’m back and doing better than ever,” Chesnutt says. “My diet is better. I’m more active, and I feel better than I did in my 30s. I’m excited about the whole process of going on the road. I’m excited every night to go on stage. I have the energy I wish I had throughout the ’90s.”
Mark Chesnutt 2025 Redemption Tour Dates:
May 3 – Forney, TX – Talia
May 10 – Ocala, FL – Florida Horse Park (Rock The Country)
May 23 – Katy, TX – Mo’s Place
May 24 – Buda, TX – Buck’s Backyard
May 25 – Bandera, TX – 11th Street Cowboy Bar
May 30 – Columbus, OH – The Bluestone
May 31 – York, PA – York Fairgrounds & Expo Center (Rock The Country)
June 6 – Elizabethtown, KY – Historic State Theater
June 7 – Benton, KY – The Kentucky Opry
June 14 – Hastings, MI – Barry Expo Center (Rock The Country)
June 19 – Lawton, OK – Apache Casino Hotel Event Center
June 20 – Little Rock, AR – Arkansas State Fairgrounds (Rock The Country)
June 21 – Sesser, IL – Sesser City Park
June 26 – Ponaka, AB, Canada – Ponoka Stampede & Exhibition
June 28 – Moose Jaw, SK, Canada – Moose Jaw Event Center
June 29 – Dauphin, MB, Canada – Dauphin’s Countryfest
July 11 – Roanoke Rapids, NC – Weldon Mills Theatre
July 12 – Ashland, KY – Boyd County Fairgrounds (Rock The Country)
July 18 – Eau Claire, WI – Country Jam USA
July 19 – Sioux Falls, SD – WH Lyon Fairground (Rock The Country)
July 25 – Macon, GA – Atrium Health Amphitheater
July 26 – Anderson, SC – Anderson Sport & Entertainment Center (Rock The Country)
Aug 2 – New Braunfels, TX – Whitewater Amphitheater
Aug 8 – Batesville, MS – Batesville Civic Center
Aug 9 – Jeffersonville, IN – RiverStage
Aug 15 – Fruita, CO – James M. Robb, Colorado River State Park
Aug 23 – Canton, GA – Etowah River Park
Sept 6 – Van Alstyne, TX – Downtown Stage
Sept 13 – Temple, TX – MLK Festival Grounds
Sept 27 – Christoval, TX – Cooper’s Bar-B-Q
Oct 22 – Shipshewana, IN – Blue Gate Performing Arts Center
Oct 23 – Clarksburg, WV – The Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center
Oct 25 – New Philadelphia, OH – Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas
