After collapsing on stage due to a hemorrhagic stroke at the height of his career, country singer Drake White was told by his doctors that he may never be able to perform again. But, after undergoing a series of operations and months of physiotherapy, he beat the odds, and he’s back on the road feeling better than ever and ready to spread his “OPTIMYSTIC” vibes.
“I’ve always been a relentless optimist but my injury really magnified that,” White said. “I had to go through a series of seven brain surgeries and the recovery period wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. I completely lost feeling in the left side of my body so I wasn’t able to walk for a period of time.”
White said that during recovery, his mental struggles were much worse than his physical ones.
“The fact that I didn’t know whether or not I was going to live, for one...or if I would ever be able to walk or play music again really took a toll on me,” he said. That stuff really gets to you and it’s easy to get to a deep dark place really quickly and I went there for a second.”
White added that although it was extremely difficult, he fought his “demons” and stayed positive with the help of a great support system. After eight months of rehab he was back on his feet and ready to start performing again. But, just as he was getting ready to start, the pandemic hit.
“When I was ready to start writing again, I called my publisher and he said ‘Drake, the pandemic has the publishing house shut down, would you be interested in writing on Zoom?’ I had these thoughts and these things that I thought would help people, a new perspective on life and songs that I wanted to share. So, I said yes and decided that my new purpose was to tell people through music that tomorrow is going to be better than today. Basically, always find the silver lining because things could always be worse.”
This past year, White released “Power of a Woman,” a song he says was written for the “boss” women in his life, and “Giants” an ode to strength and hope written to remind his fans to never give up.
“I was raised by a bunch of boss women,” he said. “Power of a Woman is about all of the women that I grew up around. But, a lot of it is dedicated to my wife Alex because she’s been there for me in the darkest of times. Giants was written to inspire my fans.
Bringing his positivity to fans in Savannah with “THE OPTIMYSTIC TOUR,” White is looking forward to returning to the Hostess City.
“Savannah is one of those places that’s near and dear to my heart. I asked my wife to marry me at 17Hundred90 Inn and Restaurant. I can’t wait to be back!”
Catch Drake White at 8 p.m. on Thurs.,Nov 4 at District Live. To purchase tickets or for more information visit Ticketmaster.com and search for the band.
