Alan Jackson Announces 25th Anniversary Tour - and Two Very Cool Opening Acts

By Kay West

10/20/2014 AT 08:00 AM EDT

The year was 1989: Alan Jackson was an unknown singer from Newnan, Georgia, on a brand new label in Nashville, and excited to be releasing his first single and getting ready to go on his first tour as a signed artist.

Now, 25 years later – when many of his peers have slowed it down and dialed it back – the superstar has announced a big new tour to celebrate his silver anniversary.

Jackson's 25th Anniversary Keepin' It Country Tour will kick off Jan. 8, 2015, in Fort Myers, Florida, and wrap up May 17 at Denver's Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

"I've been touring so long, I didn't want people to be thinking, 'Gosh, here comes Alan Jackson again,' " the singer modestly told PEOPLE.

"I have fans who have been coming to my shows for 25 years, I meet them and they'll pull out a picture they took of me 25 years ago! This is a way to make it new – put together something special that pulls together those 25 years. Some people don't like to talk about how many years they've been around – it makes them feel old. I'm proud of it and glad to do it."

He's also proud to introduce two new artists who snagged the coveted opening slots on the tour: Jon Pardi and Brandy Clark. "Of all the new guys I've heard, I like that Jon is closer to country than most of the others and I thought his songwriting was better than what I've heard in a while," Jackson said.

"And I love Brandy's songwriting," he added. "There's a song on her album [12 Stories"] "In Some Corner" that I thought about covering on the new album. I really studied it. It's written from a girl's perspective, and I couldn't figure out a clean way to make it come from guy. She's really a talented singer. She sounds new and old at the same time."

The tour isn't the only commemoration of the career milestone: In August he, his wife Denise and their daughters Mattie, Ali and Dani cut the ribbon on a new exhibit in the Country Music Hall of Fame – Alan Jackson: 25 Years of Keepin' It Country – that will be on display through March 15, 2015.

New Album Also Due

In early 2015, Jackson plans to release an album of new songs that will no doubt be reflective of a quarter century that he admits has flown by.

"Once your career takes off, if you're lucky like I was, it just feels like it goes from nothing to everything overnight," he said. "It goes so fast, it's hard to absorb it all, to even appreciate it as much as you should while it's happening. Golly, I've played for four presidents and been to just about everywhere in the world, I've played in crummy little bars and big arenas and everything in between. I've been lucky to have a career that has lasted that long."

In December, he has another long-term anniversary to look forward to: "The only thing not 25 years this year is Denise and me – we're 35 years married this December," he shared. "Our youngest is a senior, she graduates in May, and next August she'll be off to college. The time has flown by, but it will be good. If they do well and they're happy out there, that's the main thing. It's kind of a new stage of our lives, and Denise and I are looking forward to it. We'll always be home to our girls, wherever we are."

Tickets and information for the 25th Anniversary Keepin' It Country Tour can be found at alanjackson.com.