Alan Jackson Has Too Much of a “Good Time,” Gets Concert Shut Down

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When it comes to the rules of country music, Alan Jackson never broke one in his illustrious, Hall of Fame career, except maybe water skiing in jeans. As a staunch neotraditionalist, Alan Jackson was always true to his country roots.

But when it came to the rules of life and the music business, well that’s another story.

Alan Jackson never had patience for silly pedantry. That’s why he told his drummer to play without sticks in 1994 when the ACM Awards forced him to perform to a backing track, and why he stopped short playing “Pop A Top” to perform “Choices” by George Jones at the 1999 CMA Awards when they kicked Jones off the show.

Alan Jackson was the headliner of the Two Step Inn fest on Saturday, April 5 in Georgetown, Texas, just north of Austin. The appearance was also part of his “Last Call: One for the Road” tour, and according to Jackson, will probably be the last time he ever performs in Texas. The show ended up being memorable for more reasons than one.

These final Alan Jackson performances are like a trip down memory lane, with an extensive video retrospective that plays before he takes the stage, and photos and videos commemorating portions of his career appearing on the stage video screen during the performance. Though a stool accompanies Jackson at center stage due the symptoms of his neurological disease CMT that has put him on the path of retirement, he still stood most of the time, walking around the stage in moments, and throwing T-shirts to fans in the audience.



Jackson did have a portion of the show where he sat on the stool with his fiddler and guitarist, and played snippets of songs while telling the stories behind them, and what they meant to his career. He performed the songs “Here In The Real World,” “Chasin’ That Neon Rainbow,” as well as a deeper cut, “Dallas,” and a newer song “The Older I Get” in this fashion.

Incidentally, it was super cold in Georgetown Saturday night, with a stiff north wind after being 90 degrees 24 hours before. “I thought it would be hotter than a hoochie coochie,” Jackson said.

The show in Texas was also extra special since Alan Jackson‘s wife Denise was in attendance. Few dry eyes were left in the house when Jackson sang “Remember When,” and his wife came out on stage to slow dance with him. Denise Jackson’s birthday was on the next day (Sunday), and so they celebrated together on stage But the “remember when” moment from Saturday nights happened when Jackson performed his song “Good Time.”


The main stage at the 3-stage Two Step Inn has a very large area cordoned off in front of it, often referred to as “the pit” in the concert business. As the organizers at C3 Presents will probably tell you, this area is restricted access for safety and security reasons, as well as if some technical need arises. It’s also where photographers and sometimes cameramen are stationed. But as performers and fans often point out, it can create a moat for the vibe that is usually conveyed between and artist and their audience, especially when it’s so wide.

Well Alan Jackson apparently wasn’t very fond of this moat at Two Step Inn. So while singing “Good Time,” he started telling the crowd to jump over the barrier, and to start dancing in the space in front of the stage. “Don’t worry, they won’t arrest you,” Jackson said. “It’s the Two Step Inn, but you can’t two step.”

So with permission from Alan Jackson himself, this is exactly what the crowd started to do. The cameras broadcasting on the big screens flanking the stage showed people hopping the barriers, and dancing as Alan Jackson sang.

But of course, security wasn’t having it. Though they seemed permissive at first, as the space between the stage and the barriers began to get clogged with barrier jumpers, security shut the show down, and demanded everyone leave, refusing to allow any more music until the area was emptied. This pause probably lasted for around 10-15 minutes, and likely cut Alan Jackson’s already-shortened festival set by 2 or 3 songs.


When the area was cleared, Alan Jackson was given the microphone back, but made sure to reiterate he wanted people in the area, and for them to have a “Good Time.”

“I guess they don’t like to have a good time!” Alan Jackson said. “Hey look, there’s a woman drinking a beer. Get her!”

Ironically, photographers were restricted from shooting Alan Jackson on Saturday night from the pit area as opposed to the customary first three songs, per a request from Alan Jackson’s team. Saving Country Music’s photos came from an iPhone about 50 yards back.

Though the barriers in front of the stages at Two Step Inn and all of C3 Presents events seem inordinately large and do kill the vibe between the performer and the audience, it probably was also unsafe there was no place for security and medical personnel to operate in if there was an emergency. In fact, earlier in the day during Flatland Cavalry’s set, there was an emergency and Flatland had to stop playing, and police used the front stage area to access the concert goer in need.

But the folks who got to jump the barriers had a glorious moment in the forbidden zone, dancing to Alan Jackson mere feet away. Alan Jackson also gets another feather in his cap for being a badass with a devil-may-care attitude about the rules, and ultimately, nobody got hurt, and everyone had a good story to tell.

Texas will not forget the potential final show by Alan Jackson anytime soon, and Alan won’t forget it either.

“I’ve been blessed and I’ve lived the American dream,” Jackson said during the set.


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