Country Singer Mark Chesnutt Set to Perform in October After Undergoing Heart Surgery

Mark Chesnutt performs at the BLA showcase during the International Entertainment Buyers Association Conference and Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 3, 2011. (Rick Diamond/Getty Images of IEBA)

Country singer Mark Chesnutt has shared his intention to get back on stage after undergoing emergency heart surgery in June.

The “Brother Jukebox” crooner took to Instagram on Tuesday to announce that he is scheduled to perform at a tribute concert for Country Music Hall of Famer Dean Dillon later this year.

The event, “Songs and Stories of Dean Dillon,” will take place at the Von Braun Center Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama, on Oct. 9. Other artists slated to perform include George Strait, Ronnie Dunn, Ernest, Zach Top, Due West, and Gramps Morgan, among others.

According to the event details, artists will pay tribute to songs created by the 69-year-old songwriter, including those sung by the late Toby Keith, Waylon Jennings, Vern Gosdin, and Keith Whitley.

The tribute show will mark the Texas native’s first performance since being hospitalized on June 16.

According to a statement shared on the singer’s Instagram page on June 18, Mr. Chesnutt, 60, experienced a “heart health issue,” causing him to undergo quadruple bypass surgery—an open-heart surgical procedure that helps to reroute blood in the heart when the organ’s coronary arteries become blocked, per Johns Hopkins Medicine.

As a result of his surgery and subsequent recovery, Mr. Chesnutt was forced to cancel his upcoming performances, a decision the singer said was made “with a heavy heart.”

“I send my love and gratitude to my family and friends, the band and fans for your understanding, prayers and support, and look forward to seeing you all again soon at a honky tonk near you,” Mr. Chesnutt wrote online.

Emergency Surgery

Earlier this month, Mr. Chesnutt expressed his eagerness to get back on stage. “I’m healing at home comfortably. But I can’t wait to get back out singin with the band and the fans!” he wrote in a July 6 social media post.

The musician was previously forced to pause performances in 2021 after a bout of severe back pain required him to undergo emergency back surgery.

“I’ve been suffering with this for a very long time, and postponed as long as I could,” he shared via Instagram on July 8 of that year.

“When the doctor says: ‘you have no choice,’ you have no choice! I hate to get off the road, just as the venues opened back up. I was really looking forward to this year!” he added. “I appreciate the support and understanding from my fans, and I'll see you all real soon.”

Mr. Chesnutt elaborated on his health issues in an April 2022 update, sharing that his back had been broken in three places.

“We miss being on the road and singing for you all. And hopefully, we'll be back out before the end of the year, once I finish the physical therapy,” he said on Instagram. “After we get back in shape together we'll be out there honky-tonking and hitting it again, so thank you for supporting me and hanging in there with me through these hard times.”

Mr. Chesnutt released his first album, “Doing My Country Thing,” in 1988, soaring to prominence two years later with his second album, “Too Cold at Home.” Since then, he has released over a dozen albums, including 1992’s “Longnecks & Short Stories,” 1993’s “Almost Goodbye,” 2004’s “Savin' the Honky Tonk,” and 2016’s “Tradition Lives.”

Mr. Chesnutt has dominated the charts over the course of his more than three-decades-long career, attaining 14 No. 1 hits and 23 Top 10 singles, according to his online biography.

The country singer has also earned four platinum albums and five gold records and is one of Billboard’s Ten Most-Played Radio Artists of the ‘90s.