In what was possibly a test of the age-old expression “When I say ‘jump,’ you say, ‘how high,'” a country music star caused a minor problem Saturday night at a Central Texas festival.
Alan Jackson, a Country Music Hall of Famer who is retiring from touring this year, was performing Saturday as part of Two Step Inn, a two-day festival in Georgetown that also included Miranda Lambert and Diplo, among others. Jackson headlined the first evening of Two Step Inn, and while performing his song “Good Time,” he told fans to hop the security barriers and dance, if they so please, according to the website Saving Country Music.
The problem was those barriers cordoned off a pit area in front of the stage typically reserved for technical issues, photographers and medical emergency situations. So while several folks reportedly jumped the barrier and began dancing, security soon put an end to the fun. Jackson’s performance was paused while security brought fans back to the other side of the barrier.
After about 15 minutes, the show got going again, reported Saving Country Music. Jackson finished the set after that.
“I guess they don’t like to have a good time!” Jackson said. “Hey look, there’s a woman drinking a beer. Get her!”
Jackson is stepping down from touring more than three years after revealing a diagnosis of Charcot-Marie-Tooth, a neuropathy condition that affects a person’s nerves. It can cause reduced muscle weakness and balance issues.
“Most of my fans know I have a degenerative health condition that affects my legs and arms and my mobility that I got from my daddy and it’s getting worse,” Jackson said in a social media video in 2024. “So, it makes me more uncomfortable on stage, and I just have a hard time. And I just want to think about maybe calling it quits before I’m unable to do the job like I want to.”
