Zac Brown Gives Update on Bandmate John Driskell Hopkins After ALS Diagnosis (Exclusive)

Zac Brown is sharing how his bandmate John Driskell Hopkins is doing on tour, following his 2022 ALS diagnosis.

“It’s been tough for Hop and our band, but he is our brother and we’re doing all that we can to support him every day,” the Zac Brown Band lead singer, 44, tells PEOPLE at Chicago's Windy City Smokeout. The band performed at the festival on Sunday. 

Brown says that the band also feels the love from the fans — known as "Zamily" — who have helped contribute to Hopkins' fundraising efforts for ALS: “Thanks to our Zamily, we’ve been able to make big strides with supporting Hop’s organization Hop on a Cure in finding and providing the resources and support needed to help find a cure for ALS."

In May 2022, Hopkins, 52, revealed in a video message that he has slow-progressing symptoms identified by neurologists as ALS. He joined Brown and the rest of Zac Brown Band as they kicked off their From the Fire tour across North America on June 30. 

While a health condition like that would be tough to manage even while not crossing the country to play to crowds of thousands, Brown says his band, who has been playing together since 2002, is as much a family as blood relatives. “We eat together, laugh together, and always have each other's back. It’s a really supportive tribe we have and I’m blessed to call them my brothers, and sister!” Brown tells PEOPLE. 

Though Brown loves the summer festival circuit (“I love the chance to play in front of people that have never seen us before,” the singer says), he works to stay as connected as possible to his family, even when they can't join him on the road.

“I’m grateful that my family is able to join me on tour at times,” Brown says of his four daughters and a son with ex-wife, Shelly Brown; he also got engaged to partner Kelly Yazdi, 31, last year. “When we’re apart, we talk every day. Being connected with them is the most important thing to me.”

The singer plans to spend the rest of the summer with his loved ones in between shows. “My family and I love to be by the water in the summer, so we’ll be out on the lake,” Brown tells PEOPLE. “When I’m not on tour, my time is spent with family, creating new music and going on adventures."

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Hopkins’ appearance with Brown on tour comes as he has been striving to make a change in the health industry ever since his ALS diagnosis last year.

Speaking to PEOPLE about Zac Brown Band's post-concert event on the MLB's third annual Lou Gehrig day, the musician opened up about his health and revealed what keeps him motivated.

"I don't feel a lot different than I did last year. I can tell that some things are continuing to slow down," Hopkins told PEOPLE exclusively. "My voice is being affected and that's something that I really notice as a singer, but I'm still playing and I'm still performing and still singing."