Zac Brown Band’s John Driskell Hopkins Reveals ALS Diagnosis

John Driskell Hopkins, a member of the Zac Brown Band, is opening up to People magazine about his battle with ALS.

Hopkins, a vocalist who plays multiple instruments in the band, revealed he started to notice symptoms while on the Owl tour in 2019, but it took about two years before he was diagnosed.

"It wasn't that I couldn't play anymore, it was that I couldn't play as fast," Hopkins explained. "My guitar hand was failing me."

The 51-year-old said at times he slurred his speech and recalled issues “scooting” around the stage.

"I'm not Justin Timberlake, but I'm a rock and roll guy and can dance pretty well," he said. "Jumping started to bother me."

After years of testing, he finally had answers in December 2021 after undergoing an electromyography (EMG) test to determine nerve damage. The results came back as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

According to the Mayo Clinic, ALS “is a progressive nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing loss of muscle control… Eventually, ALS affects control of the muscles needed to move, speak, eat and breathe. There is no cure for this fatal disease.”

John shared his reaction to the diagnosis, "In my life, I've been scared, I've been angry, I've been stressed. But I don't know that I've ever truly felt anxiety until that day."

He and Jennifer, his wife of 14 years, broke the news to their three daughters, Sarah Grace, 13, and twins Lily Faith and Margaret Hope, 10, soon after.

Jennifer explained, "They're young, so they don't know the gravity of this disease yet, which is fine for us right now.” Shortly after learning his diagnosis, Hopkins tripped on Christmas Day and he used the accident to bring up the topic with his kids.

"Grace asked, 'Could you die?' I said, 'Yes.' Faith said, 'Could you be in a wheelchair?' I said, 'Yes.' Hope started crying," Hopkins recalled. "They didn't quite understand it, and they still don't, really. But neither do we."

Hopkins doesn’t know how slowly or quickly his symptoms will progress, so he said his attitude for now is, “We can't sit around and cry about it.”

Giving some insight into living with ALS, he said he’s cut out gluten and dairy from his diet and takes “38 pills” per day between supplements and ALS meds. Hopkins has also incorporated herbal teas, stretching and ab workouts to his regimen. "We say, 'If it's not going to hurt, let's try it,'" he said.

In fact, despite some issues with weakness and balance, he recently hit the road with the Zac Brown Band for the Out in the Middle tour. "I'm singing as well as I've ever sung, and I was never a good player," he joked.

John wants to make as much music as possible, saying, "One of the beautiful things about my condition, if — God willing — it remains the way it is for a couple of years, is I have the energy and the presence to make a big impact."

He's working on his fourth Christmas album, sharing, "I'm ready to go. I can still play, I can still sing, I can still make records — and I want to do all that. I'm trying to record everything I can in the event that one day I might not be able to."

Hopkins and Jennifer are also raising money to find a cure with their new foundation Hop On a Cure. "Our vision is clear," Hopkins said. "We need to do everything we can to generate funds to cure ALS."

Jennifer added, "We want to prevent anybody else from being told they have ALS and there's nothing that can be done."

In the meantime, Hopkins is looking to the future. "I'm ready to fight this disease," he said. "I want to show my girls what a warrior their dad is."