Alan Jackson’s ‘Last Call’ concert features all-star tributes

Alan Jackson’s final farewell concert took place at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
The show featured tributes from country stars like George Strait, Luke Bryan, and Lainey Wilson.
A lightning storm delayed the concert for an hour, but fans returned to their seats.
Jackson performed a two-hour set of his greatest hits for the sold-out crowd.

Tens of thousands of fans packed Nissan Stadium on June 27 knowing that years from now, they’d have their own answer to Alan Jackson’s question: “Remember when?”

Remember when the rain came down and the lightning delayed the show for an hour? Remember when George Strait stepped on stage? Remember when a baby on screen during “Little Bitty” had the audience saying “aww”? Remember when the stadium chanted “U.S.A.” after “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)”? Remember when the voices screamed every word to “Don’t Rock the Jukebox”? Remember when a sea of fans danced during “Chattahoochee”? Remember when country music gathered to celebrate one of the most honky-tonk, boot-scootin’, generation-spanning, country-defining voices?

Remember when.

Family, stars share memories of Alan Jackson before “Last call”

Before taking the stage to celebrate Jackson’s catalog, artists including Luke Bryan, Lainey Wilson, Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Jake Owen, Little Big Town and Jon Pardi joined members of his family on the red carpet, where they shared personal memories of the country icon.

Nephew Adam Wright remembered moving to Nashville with his wife, Shannon, when they were struggling to make ends meet. Jackson would invite them to his home, hand him $100 and tell him to pick one of the cars in his garage for a date night.

“I always loved the ’56 Chevy Bel Air,” Wright said. “It was a very sweet thing, very thoughtful thing for him to do. Very much like what my granddad would have done.”

Nephew Brian Wright recalled nights as a child watching his uncle rehearse with his band, Dixie Steel.

“I remember the song. I remember the light shining on the instruments. I remember Budweiser cans laying around and everybody having a good time,” he said. “Next thing you know, he moves off to Nashville and has a long career in country music.”

Great-niece Carlisle Wright became emotional remembering the moment Jackson surprised her with an invitation to perform at his farewell concert.

“He goes, ‘I want you to play at my last show,'” she said. “I’m trying to hold back tears… getting to honor him tonight is truly one of a lifetime.”

Lainey Wilson called Jackson “one of the most kindest people” she had met, saying he was “exactly like I thought he would be.”

Luke Combs remembered Jackson’s prolific words after presenting him with the CMA Entertainer of the Year award.

“We got to have kind of this moment walking through the tunnel,” Combs said. “It was just me and him. I had never met him in my entire life. I remember him just telling me, ‘That was a taller hill you just climbed.’ And that was like all he said. I was like, ‘Damn, that was really poignant and just matter of fact.’ Then as soon as I looked to my left and looked to my right, he was gone.”

Severe weather forces delay during Alan Jackson’s ‘Last Call: The Finale’

Lightning and heavy rain prompted fans to shelter in place before the Country Music Hall of Famer’s farewell concert resumed in Nashville.

‘Rainy Day in June’

In 2004, Jackson penned “Rainy Day in June,” a ballad that captures the loneliness and heartache of losing a relationship through the imagery of an unrelenting summer storm. As lightning rolled over Nissan Stadium and rain delayed the concert for an hour, the song became an unexpectedly fitting soundtrack to the final stop of his farewell tour.

About 40 minutes later, the stadium video boards flashed an “All Clear” message in highlighter green, and fans streamed back to their seats as Brooks & Dunn’s “Brand New Man” blasted through the speakers: “I saw the light, I’ve been baptized.”

After well-wishes from fellow country stars Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and Taylor Swift played on the video boards, Jackson stepped onto the stage in a silver, shimmering shirt and greeted the crowd with a simple, “How y’all doing tonight?” before launching into his hit “Gone Country.”

The Country Music Hall of Famer paused after the opening songs to thank the crowd and the artists who had spent the evening celebrating his career.

“These nice things people said, it’s just overwhelming,” Jackson said. “It just makes me wanna tear up a little bit.”

He thanked the all-star lineup that honored him before joking that the tribute show had briefly felt more like his own memorial service.

“We’re not going to dwell on all this sad ‘last show’ stuff,” he said. “Earlier it felt like a funeral and I was up in heaven watching all these people sing my songs.”

Instead, Jackson told the crowd he wanted them to treat the night the same way they had treated his music for decades.

“Two-step up and down the aisle, do whatever you want to do, sit back and relax, have a good time, have a drink,” he said. “We’ll try to play something you like.”

For the next two hours, that’s exactly what he did. The 67-year-old’s set traced the career that made him a country music institution, moving seamlessly from reflective ballads like “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” to easygoing anthems like “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.”

And when it came time to say goodbye, there was only one way to do it. Jackson closed the night with three of his signature hits: “Chattahoochee,” “Mercury Blues” and “Where I Come From.”

Forty years after introducing himself as a champion of simple country songs, Jackson ended his touring career looking out at a crowd that will always “remember when?”

Bryan West is a music reporter at The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.