Country star Drake White says 2019 stroke nearly took his life on tour

Drake White is lucky to be alive after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke that nearly killed him in 2019.

The 42-year-old country star, who is currently on tour with Riley Green, opened up about the moment that changed his life in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, reflecting on how talking to God during his near-death experience shaped his recovery and emphasizing the importance of leaning on faith during challenging times.

Before hitting the road with Zach Brown in 2019, White, then 35, was diagnosed with a rare brain condition called arteriovenous malformation (AVM). White, who has already undergone four surgeries, said the rupture percentage is less than 1%. So he took the chance.

But his worst nightmare occurred while he was doing what he loved most: performing.

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“We just went on stage in Roanoke, Virginia. It was probably 98 degrees and the sky was like cotton candy, it was beautiful, there were 2,500 people outside. And I ripped through three or four songs and felt a tick,” White said. “And I felt like my fingers were tingling, kind of numb, on my left arm. Then I heard a noise, I call it a gunshot. It was literally like an audible gunshot behind my left ear. And when it broke off, when you look at the video again, you can see I was trying to push it away.”

“I grew up in Alabama, where it was kind of like keep pushing, keep pushing, and I tried to do that, but I couldn’t talk,” he continued. “I couldn’t think, and the cotton candy sky turned into grass, and the grass turned into sky. Everything turned upside down… Everything slowed down a lot, and I felt like I was walking through swamp and everything was heavy. My left arm was heavy, my left foot was heavy, and at that moment I realized: ‘Oh my God, I’m having a stroke.'”

White said he remembers his doctors warning him of a possible rupture due to his condition.

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“They told me that if it ruptured, the risk of death would be very high,” he said. “That’s what death was like. And so I remember, I keep breathing, I keep praying and I keep going, I keep breathing, I keep breathing and take me to the hospital.”

WATCH: Drake White details ‘gunshot’ moment that shattered his brain mid-concert: ‘I knew I was going to die’

White was immediately taken to a local hospital and given a coagulant that stopped the brain bleeding.

“This ultimately saved my life, but in the process [I] “I saw angels, I had the near-death experience, I talked to God, everything,” he said. “And it brought me to my knees. I realized that the rock bottom was a basement. This brought me to a point where I didn’t really know if I could survive. And I just remember this; Keep breathing, keep swinging and keep going.”

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At the time, the country music star was paralyzed and unsure of his future.

“All of this paralyzed my left side and left me completely paralyzed on my left side,” he said. “That’s when the mental battle began.”

“The doctors came and told me I had a hemorrhagic stroke and that I had a long road ahead of me,” he continued. “And they didn’t say I’d be lucky, but I heard them muttering that I’d be lucky to even be able to walk again, let alone get on stage.”

The country star was performing on stage when he suffered a stroke. (Jo Hale/Redferns)

“That’s when my world came crashing down and I said, ‘I’ve devoted so much time to this and I’m so passionate about it. What do I do now? I have a bed and I can’t even feed myself.'”

During his recovery, White relied heavily on friends, family, and most importantly, his faith.

He had a “very peaceful” and genuine interaction with God during his near-death experience.

“My faith, I like to describe it that way. The sun feels different on my cheek than it does on your cheek,” he said. “This is destiny for me. I’m a man who follows Jesus and believes it with all my heart. I met him, I saw him, I talked to him. This is as real as me and you talking right now… He said: ‘What’s going on? Tell me what’s happening.’ “That moment was the most peaceful moment I’ve ever experienced in my life.”

WATCH: Drake White says he felt ‘peace’ while interacting with God during near-death experience

“I wasn’t afraid, I just wasn’t afraid. It’s just like a transition,” he continued. “I could feel it. It was tangible. You know what I mean? I could touch it. It’s not some cosmic psychedelic thing. I mean, for some people it might be because the sun feels different. But for you, whatever the belief is, it meets you where you are. It meets you where you are, in the hospital bed or in the car accident or whatever it is. It met me where I was.”

“I can’t say how this helps anyone. But I am a man of faith. I believe in Christian values. I believe in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I believe in all of these,” he added. “I choose to believe it… It gave me so much peace. It was the most peaceful thing I’ve ever experienced.”

White relied on his faith and modern medicine for his miraculous recovery. (Erika Goldring/Getty Images)

White also turned to modern medicine throughout his recovery, relying on an electrical stimulation device he developed. Bioness Medical this helped him regain control of his left side.

“I put this [device] It’s open and measures the way you walk,” White explained. “And when you walk in, it delivers a pulse of electrocurrent. And that shocks the muscles that control your dorsiflexion, the muscles that control my foot, the muscles that control my quads. “This sends a signal to my brain, the part of my brain affected by the stroke.”

“I walk, I perform, I exercise with this Bioness device and it gets in shape, it fires these electronic pulses and fires into my brain saying, ‘Hey lift your foot.’ So it heals me as I talk.”

In the midst of recovery, White and her husband, Alex, were struck by another tragedy six years after the stroke.

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In September 2025, the couple, who have a 3-year-old son, announced the death of their newborn daughter, Della Elizabeth.

White and her husband, Alex, announced the death of their newborn daughter in September 2025. (Jason Davis/FilmMagic)

“On Sunday, August 31, our precious daughter, Della Elizabeth White, went peacefully to be with Jesus. We are so grateful for the sacred moments God gave us with her,” the couple said. she captioned a collaborative Instagram post..

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“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. -Psalm 34:18,” the couple wrote.

“I am dying with grief; my years are shortened with sorrow. Misery has exhausted my strength; I am wasting away inside. But I trust in you, Lord, ‘You are my God!’ My future is in your hands. -Psalm 31:10, 14-15,” they shared.

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For White, having faith is “an honor.”

“We’re here. It’s 2026. And no matter what the news says, this is the best time to be alive, because it’s the only time you have a choice,” he told Fox News Digital. “It’s not your choice. You’re alive now. And I chose the winner, not the victim. And that’s a good place to be. And every now and then I’ll enter the world of victims and I’ll have to get out. That’s when faith and people come into play.”