Taylor Swift booed and cheered as she gave surprise video tribute at Alan Jackson's farewell gig
Taylor Swift honoured Alan Jackson during a surprise virtual appearance at his farewell concert at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Saturday (27.06.26).
Taylor Swift received boos and cheers when she gave a surprise video tribute to Alan Jackson at his farewell concert in Nashville.
The 36-year-old pop megastar popped up on the big screen to honour the 67-year-old country music legend during his Last Call: One More for the Road - The Finale gig at Nissan Stadium on Saturday (27.06.26).
According to a video posted on X, Taylor said: "I just want to say thank you for your decades of your incredible songwriting and performances and the way that means so much to us, the fans."
The I Knew It, I Knew You hitmaker - who is reportedly marrying Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, 36, at Madison Square Garden in New York City early next month - said her favourite track of Alan's is Drive (For Daddy Gene), which she covered in 2008 for an episode of CMT: Giants.
Taylor added: "In that song, you paint such a picture and let us into the details of your life. I know that was an example that was so good for me to see at a young age, an artist who's really just letting fans into the details of his life."
The 14-time Grammy winner told Alan how much she and other artists and writers "appreciate" him for the "support and encouragement" he has shown them "over the years".
Taylor ended: "I am so excited for you and your show, and I just appreciate you so much."
Last October, Alan announced the date of his last concert, which also featured tribute performances from the likes of Carrie Underwood, 43, Miranda Lambert, 42, and 36-year-old Luke Combs.
The Chattahoochee hitmaker told People: "It's been a long road... and it’s taken me places I never imagined. But I can’t think of a better place to put on a big show and give the fans a finale than in Nashville and include so many special friends."
Alan added: "We just felt like we had to end it all where it all started for me, and that’s in Nashville - Music City - where country music lives."
Alan's retirement comes amid his 15-year battle with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT), which he was diagnosed with in 2011, and publicly revealed 10 years later.
The two-time Grammy winner said every dollar from every ticket sale at his farewell show would be donated to the CMT Research Foundation so it can find treatments or cures for the "progressive, degenerative disease".
According to the foundation, CMT involves "the peripheral nerves that branch out from the brain and spinal cord to other parts of the body, including the arms, hands, legs and feet".
It added that CMT causes motor nerves and sensory nerves to have "trouble sending signals to and from the brain", causing symptoms, including "numbness, sensory loss, muscle weakness/atrophy and nerve degeneration".
During a September 2021 appearance on NBC's Today Show, Alan revealed his battle with the disease.
He told 44-year-old anchor Jenna Bush Hager: "I've been reluctant to talk about this publicly and to my fans, but it's been a while, and it's starting to affect my performance on stage a little bit, where I don't feel comfortable.
"I just wanted the fans and the public to know if they've come to see me in the last few years or if they come to see me in the future, if I play anymore, what's going on."
Alan added: "I don't want them to think I'm drunk on stage because I'm having problems with mobility and balance. I have this neuropathy, neurological disease I inherited from my daddy."
The Gone Country artist said his battle with CMT has become "more and more obvious" over time.
Alan said: "I just want people to know that's why I look like I do, if they're wondering. I don't want to appear like some whiny celebrity. It's not going to kill me, it's not deadly… It's not fatal - it's just going to disable me eventually."
The Older I Get performer said the disease has not impacted his voice, and the star hopes to keep making music for as long as he can.
Alan said: "I've had a wonderful, beautiful life, and I've been so blessed. I can't even imagine what other people go through.
"This is not a condition that I would be complaining about typically, but it is going to affect me performance-wise on stage, and I don't know how much I'll continue to tour."
The Remember When entertainer noted he was not seeking sympathy from fans, explaining that "this is just something that is part of life", and wanted them to understand why his performances may seem a little different.
Alan added: "In some ways, it's a relief because I was starting to get so self-conscious up there, about stumbling around. And it just made me nervous up there trying to keep my balance. And I look pitiful.
"So I think it'll be good for me now to get it out in the open, and so if anybody's curious why I don't walk right, that's why."
