Mark Chesnutt faced a moment of truth in 2024 as he prepared to take the stage.
The nerves were there as they’d always been, but this time he was acutely aware of them; there was no alcohol in his system to quell them.
“It was a big deal to me. I told my wife ‘If I can go and sing sober, I will do this the rest of my life,’” said the CMA-award winning singer who will be at the Miller Theater Feb. 13. “If I have to drink or do anything to perform, I‘m going to quit.”
As he took the stage, the crowd responded and he felt the rush of exhilarating energy. He sang – nerves and all and wondered why he’d needed those drinks.
“I realized I wasted so many years,” he said.
Chesnutt, whose hits include “Bubba Shot the Jukebox”, “Too Cold At Home”, “Blame It On Texas” and “Almost Goodbye” struggled with alcohol for many years. Some of it was to calm his nerves before going on stage; some was to mask the chronic physical pain he’d suffered for years as a result of a fractured spine, which would end up wreaking havoc on his health.
It all came to a head during the pandemic when he nearly died from his addiction. He knew he could never return to the bottle.
Now the musician, who was named among Billboard’s Ten Most-Played Radio Artists of the 1990s , performs sober and can feel the love of what he’s doing. And he lets the nervousness come because he can still hear the words of Roy Acuff ringing in his mind.
Chesnutt met Acuff the first time he performed at the Grand Ole Opry. After Chesnutt came off stage, Acuff asked how he thought he did and If he was nervous.
Chesnutt said he thought he did well, and yes, he was nervous.
“When you lose that, I ain’t got nothing for you,” Acuff told him. “If you’re nervous. that means you care.”
Chesnutt said he gets so immersed in the experience now that sometimes, he loses all track of time. He said he might be contracted to play for 90 minutes, but he’ll look up at the stage clock and see that he’s been singing for two hours.
On Friday, he said his fans should expect to hear all their favorites.
He released some new songs a few years ago. They were good songs, but the audience wanted their familiar tunes, he said.
The concert starts at 8 p.m. For tickets, go here.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards and is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
