Mark Chesnutt has previously opened up about his emergency quadruple bypass heart surgery in June 2024, and he alluded to some other health complications that were affecting him prior to that, in November 2023.
But the “Brother Jukebox” singer has never told the full story, until now.
In an emotional new interview with American Songwriter, Chesnutt says that he had a heavy drinking habit for years.
But by the time the COVID-19 pandemic rolled around in 2020, he was struggling, both with worsening back issues that required spinal surgery, and with a level of alcohol consumption that was spiraling out of control.
Chesnutt’s spine was fractured in three places by the time he had surgery in 2021. He tells American Songwriter that he “lost the ability to walk and fell down the escalator at the Houston airport,” and that he “just couldn’t keep my balance anymore.”
Read More: Country Stars who Have Had Heart Attacks
After surgery, he couldn’t work, drive or walk, and pandemic restrictions meant that physical therapy had to wait. It was during this time, he says, that his drinking became completely unmanageable.
“I drank all day, every day,” Chesnutt says. “I’d get up in the middle of the night and drink. I’d never stop.”
He knew he needed help dealing with his addiction, but he feared that a scandal would break out if the press caught wind of the fact that he’d checked into a rehab center. Finally, in November 2023, he asked his wife to call an ambulance for him.
He wound up staying in a hospital in Knoxville for a week as doctors worked to address the health issues that had accumulated. Chesnutt says doctors gave him four blood transfusions and diagnosed him with esophageal varices, a result of cirrhosis.
He also learned that he was experiencing multiple organ failure and that his heart was on the brink of cardiac arrest.
“I knew I was dying,” the singer remembers.
“I was bleeding out from my inside,” he goes on to say. “They basically told me they were gonna get me over this, and I was going to be fine, and they could fix everything wrong with me. But if they discharged me and I went home and started drinking again, I’d be back in a matter of days, and I might not leave alive.”
“I had to quit drinking or die,” Chesnutt adds.
And he did quit drinking.
Chesnutt has been sober since Nov. 1, 2023. Around that time, he publicly said that he was in a battle to get healthy, posting on social media that he was “struggling with a battle that I’ve fought to overcome for many years on my own.” But he didn’t offer specifics about exactly what kind of battle he was fighting.
He also took time off the road around this point, in order to focus on his health. Now, Chesnutt says the idea of performing sober was pretty nerve-wracking at first.
“I wasn’t blasted every time [I got onstage], but it was close,” he admits.
Read More: Country Stars Who Are Committed to Sobriety
On Tuesday (April 29), Chesnutt announced his Redemption Tour, a trek focused on his health and sobriety journey. In a press release, the singer says he can’t wait to get on the road and mount a tour now that he’s healthy for the first time in a long time.
“My diet is better. I’m more active, and I feel better than I did in my 30s,” he says. “I’m excited about the whole process of going on the road. I’m excited every night to go onstage. I have the energy I wish I had throughout the ’90s.”
Here Are Mark Chesnutt’s 2025 Redemption Tour Dates:
May 3 — Forney, Texas @ Talia
May 10 — Ocala, Fla. @ Florida Horse Park (Rock The Country)
May 23 — Katy, Texas @ Mo’s Place
May 24 — Buda, Texas @ Buck’s Backyard
May 25 — Bandera, Texas @ 11th Street Cowboy Bar
May 30 — Columbus, Ohio @ 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, Mich. @ Barry Expo Center (Rock The Country)
June 19 — Lawton, Okla. @ Apache Casino Hotel Event Center
June 20 — Little Rock, Ark. @ Arkansas State Fairgrounds (Rock The Country)
June 21 — Sesser, Ill. @ Sesser City Park
June 26 — Ponaka, Alberta, Canada @ Ponoka Stampede & Exhibition
June 28 — Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada @ Moose Jaw Event Center
June 29 — Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada @ Dauphin’s Countryfest
July 11 — Roanoke Rapids, N.C. @ Weldon Mills Theatre
July 12 — Ashland, Ky. @ Boyd County Fairgrounds (Rock The Country)
July 18 — Eau Claire, Wisc. @ Country Jam USA
July 19 —Sioux Falls, S.D. @ WH Lyon Fairground (Rock The Country)
July 25 — Macon, Ga. @ Atrium Health Amphitheater
July 26 — Anderson, S.C. @ Anderson Sport & Entertainment Center (Rock The Country)
Aug. 2 — New Braunfels, Texas @ Whitewater Amphitheater
Aug. 8 — Batesville, MS @ Batesville Civic Center
Aug. 9 — Jeffersonville, Ind. @ RiverStage
Aug. 15 — Fruita, Colo. @ James M. Robb, Colorado River State Park
Aug. 23 — Canton, Ga. @ Etowah River Park
Sept. 6 — Van Alstyne, Texas @ Downtown Stage
Sept. 13 — Temple, Texas @ MLK Festival Grounds
Sept. 27 — Christoval, Texas @ Cooper’s Bar-B-Q
Oct. 22 – Shipshewana, Ind. @ Blue Gate Performing Arts Center
Oct. 23 — Clarksburg, West Va. @ The Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center
Oct. 25 — New Philadelphia, Ohio @ Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas
18 Country Artists Who Are Sober
Although country music is known for its raucous drinking songs, several artists have sworn off the stuff completely. Be it a lifestyle change or a life-saving decision, each one of these artists can say that that their lives have changed for the better since giving up the bottle. They are sober and proud.
