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Rascal Flatts Blog
Flatts Adds Fresno to Touring Schedule
Rascal Flatts will soon return to Fresno, California for the first time since April 2008, as the explosive country music trio has just announced the addition of an October 15 stop at Fresno’s Save Mart Center on part of the group’s Unstoppable Tour. Announced earlier this week, the Fresno stop will occur two days before Rascal Flatts’ scheduled closing performances in Kelseyville, CA at Konocti Field, which will be on October 17 and 18, 2009.
Tickets for the upcoming Fresno show at the Save Mart Center will go on sale tomorrow, August 1, starting at 10:00 a.m., and ex-Hootie and the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker will once again be the opening act on this stop of the JCPenney sponsored American Living Unstoppable Tour. This weekend, Flatts will take on the Southeastern leg of the tour, playing tonight in Atlanta, Georgia at the Lakewood Amphitheater, tomorrow night in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre and Sunday night at Raleigh, North Carolina’s TWC Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek. Next week, Flatts will play several nights in Ohio, including the band’s next stadium performance, which will take place August 9 in Columbus at Crew Stadium.
To get Rascal Flatts tickets, go to StubHub.
Rascal Flatts’ PG Style
What exactly is the secret to Rascal Flatts’ success? Is it the men’s clothing style, their perfect melodies or brand of hair gel? Is it the group’s breezy sing-along songs or sentimental ballads? Sure, all of this accounts for some of Flatts’ fame, but overall the band’s biggest success has been its ability to draw in crowds from every age range, including the very dedicated adolescent age group. Rascal Flatts keeps things PG both in song and in concert, and this could very well be why the band has experienced such overflowing success over the past decade.
Exemplifying this to the fullest is the example of last weekend’s performance in Florida. The concert, like any other Rascal Flatts show, was full of parents with children, and Flatts played on this by even bringing up a young fan onstage at one point in the show. Add to this the ingredients of bop-friendly tunes like “Summer Nights” and “Bob That Head” and you’ve got a winner with fans of all ages, as Flatts has always been able to finagle the 18-25 crowd into its audience. Look for this winning formula to sweep the Southeast this weekend as Flatts performs tomorrow night in Atlanta, Saturday night in Charlotte and Sunday night in Raleigh.
To get Rascal Flatts tickets, go to StubHub.
‘Summer Nights’ Sparks a Country Music Trend
Rascal Flatts’ current No. 7 smash single “Summer Nights” has been plastered all over the music realm for the last month, from radio stations around the country to the Billboard charts, concerts and everything in between. The Flatts hit song is the perfect summertime classic, and with breezy lyrics like “Summer nights, everybody, are you with me?/ Let that Igloo cooler mark your piece of paradise/ Summer nights, everybody’s feeling sexy/ Holler if you’re ready for some summer nights,” this is one sun-soaked hit that is sure to keep getting hotter with rising temperatures across the country. While “Summer Nights” is the ultimate crowd-pleaser this summer, there have been several other artists come out with summertime hits, as well, and we’ve compiled a Top Five list of summertime hits in 2009.
5. Keith Urban, “Kiss a Girl” – Can anyone say ‘summer lovin’?
4. Kenny Chesney, “Out Last Night” – The classic morning-after theme song for summertime.
3. Jack Ingram, “Barefoot and Crazy” – Because everyone wants to go barefoot and crazy in the summer!
2. Zac Brown Band, “Toes” – How could this not be a classic summertime hit with the lyrics, “I got my toes in the water, ass in the sand/ Not a worry in the world, a cold beer in my hand/ Life is good today. Life is good today.”
1. Rascal Flatts, “Summer Nights” - ‘nuff said.
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More on Rascal Flatts’ Style
We reported last week on Rascal Flatts’ reliance on John Murphy, the group’s full-time stylist, and today there’s more to be revealed about Murphy’s involvement with the band. It’s no big secret that Joe Don Rooney, Gary LeVox and Jay DeMarcus, the three men of Rascal Flatts, have been clad in JCPenney’s American Living clothing this summer while on the American Living Unstoppable Tour, and the trio’s impeccable style at concerts around the country have sparked a fire for the American Living clothing line in the meantime.
North Carolina’s News & Observer recently caught up with John Murphy and interviewed the stylist regarding Rascal Flats’ style as a group and each band member’s personal likes and dislikes, and, according to the News & Observer, Murphy will “add rhinestones, for instance, on a shirt for band member Gary LeVox or take in the pants for a slimmer fit for Joe Don Rooney, whose style Murphy describes as ‘Velvet Revolver.’ (Third member Jay DeMarcus likes a casual look, with graphic tees, suiting jackets and button downs, and skinny ties.)” They’re always dressed to impress, but even if they aren’t, the men of Rascal Flatts have the music to dazzle, anyway. Look for the band members to be in their JCPenney’s best this weekend as the band continues onward with its current Unstoppable Tour.
To get Rascal Flatts tickets, go to StubHub.
Flatts, Rucker Continue to Dominate Country Charts
In the midst of the incredible American Living Unstoppable Tour, Rascal Flatts and Darius Rucker still continue to pump out the hits. Flatts and Rucker have combined for a truly unstoppable summer this year in terms of touring, and the Billboard charts have most certainly reflected upon the pair’s nationwide domination. This week on Billboard’s Country Songs chart, both Flatts and Rucker have a Top 10 hit, with Darius Rucker’s “Alright” coming in at second after Billy Currington’s chart-topping “People are Crazy,” and Rascal Flatts’ breezy tune “Summer Nights” charting at No. 7.
The rest of this week’s Country Songs Top 10 is as follows:
10. Jason Aldean – “Big Green Tractor”
9. George Strait – “Living for the Night”
8. Randy Houser – “Boots On”
7. Rascal Flatts – “Summer Nights”
6. Dierks Bentley – “Sideways”
5. Zac Brown Band – “Whatever It Is”
4. Taylor Swift – “You Belong with Me”
3. Lady Antebellum – “I Run To You”
2. Darius Rucker – “Alright”
1. Billy Currington – “People are Crazy”
Rascal Flatts and Darius Rucker continue rocking the nation with the American Living Unstoppable Tour this summer, next stopping this weekend in Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh before heading back to the Midwest.
To get Rascal Flatts tickets, go to StubHub.
Flatts’ Stylist Talks Clothing Sense
The three men of Rascal Flatts are on the road again this weekend, playing in the humid Florida outdoors with a performance tonight at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach and another show tomorrow at the Ford Amphitheater in Tampa. While balancing a hectic touring schedule with all other aspects of their crazy lives and careers, the one thing Rascal Flatts doesn’t have to worry about while on tour is their clothing, as 34-year-old wardrobe stylist John Murphy has all the bases covered. With a sponsorship from JCPenney’s American Living clothing line, all the right material is already on the tour bus, but Murphy recently shared the secrets to Rascal Flatts’ high-fashion clothing choices, giving insight to his day-to-day job.
Speaking of his duties while with the band, Murphy said, “The clothes are pretty much all put together and altered and embellished in Nashville. When I go on the road, it’s going to each guy’s bus and picking out a shirt and keeping the color palette running through. Joe Don and Jay are more interested in their fashion and clothes than Gary is. Gary is aware of it and knows what he likes and doesn’t like, but as far as putting things together, that’s not as important to him as it is to the other guys.” No matter what the guys are wearing, it seems to be working for their group image, as Rascal Flatts is one of the hottest commodities in the music industry right now.
To get Rascal Flatts tickets, go to StubHub.
Rascal Flatts Music Even Heard in Space!
It’s safe to say that Rascal Flatts has garnered fans all across the world, and now it also stands to be mentioned that the territory that Flatts has conquered even includes space, as it was relayed from NASA earlier this week that astronauts at the International Space Station were woken up earlier this week by Mission Control playing the Flatts hit song “Life is a Highway.”
The American crew on the Endeavor was part of the group to get the Rascal Flatts wakeup call, as 13 space station and crew members got to hear “Life is a Highway” while floating around in space. It seems as if computer technology is also on the rise with NASA, as the crew of the Endeavor has also been beefing up on social networking sites like Twitter and YouTube, taking questions from the public on the websites.
“Life is a Highway” originated in the early ‘90s as a Tom Cochrane hit and was covered by Rascal Flatts on the group’s 2006 album Me and My Gang and also appears on Flatts’ 2008 Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 album. The song was a Top 10 hit in 2006 and now, apparently, is a smash in space, as well!
To get Rascal Flatts tickets, go to StubHub.
Flatts at the Forefront of iTunes Development
Technology is an ever-changing mechanism, and music has had to adapt to the changing times for artists to keep in business. iTunes is one of the leading providers for purchasing and downloading music, and lately the music program has been teaming up with several artists to offer passes for fans to receive information and unreleased music, as well as several demos. Rascal Flatts has taken the chance to jump onboard this iTunes project, becoming the first country music outfit to do so. This week, Flatts announced its iTunes pass up for sale, featuring 28 recordings and unreleased demos set to infiltrate the music program over the course of the next seven weeks.
The first of Rascal Flatts tunes from the group’s iTunes package were released yesterday on iTunes with additional tunes being available every Tuesday through September 1, and this package for Flatts includes live concert recordings of “I’m Movin’ On,” “Mayberry” and “Bless the Broken Road,” studio rehearsals of “What Hurts the Most,” “Take Me There” and “Here Comes Goodbye” as well as several unreleased demos. The Rascal Flatts iTunes pass is available to the public for $19.99, and several individual tracks can also be purchased for $1.29 each.
To get Rascal Flatts tickets, go to StubHub.
Flatts Makes Wet ‘n Wild Run with ‘Summer Nights’
They sold out Wrigley Field last weekend like it was just another date on their Unstoppable Tour, and it seems like Rascal Flatts is blazing a red-hot path through this summer, becoming one of the hottest acts in the country music industry. Somewhere in between their hectic touring schedule, Flatts took time to make the official music video for their latest hit single “Summer Nights,” a No. 7 charting single on the country music charts this week. The beachy music video for “Summer Nights” debuted last week and has been making waves ever since, becoming the focus of attention for much of the country realm this week.
Too new to score a slot on country music channels CMT or GAC last week, “Summer Nights” is sure to be an upcoming No. 1 on the Top 20 Countdown on both stations. The video features clips from concerts and also scenic views of California’s own Pismo Beach, though the members of Rascal Flatts didn’t actually come to the Central Coast for taping. Regardless, the music video for “Summer Nights” is almost as steamy as the summer heat itself, so cool off and check out Rascal Flatts’ newest video as “Summer Nights” heats up the country music scene.
To get Rascal Flatts tickets, go to StubHub.
Flatts Packs the House at Wrigley Field
Rascal Flatts ambitiously took on Wrigleyville last weekend and performed at a near-capacity concert at the enormous Wrigley Field in Chicago Saturday night, bringing the entirety of audience members onto their feet as frontman Gary LeVox led the charge at the historic home of the Chicago Cubs. Rascal Flatts’ highly-praised gig at Wrigley Field was aided by country music icon Vince Gill and was an all-out attempt at a citywide takeover, and fans couldn’t get enough of the Nashville trio as LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney electrified the dedicated crowd in Illinois.
Playing breezy singalongs like “Summer Nights” and “Bob That Head” yet also dipping into deeper classics like “What Hurts the Most,” “Here Comes Goodbye” and “My Wish,” Rascal Flatts delivered a grand slam performance at Wrigley Field on Saturday that will long be remembered as the venue’s first-ever country music concert, setting the bar high for music acts to come. Opening act Darius Rucker was also on-hand to pound out a riveting performance of “Hold My Hand,” the song that first skyrocketed his music career with the alternative rock group Hootie & the Blowfish in the ‘90s, and Chicago will be singing the praises of Rascal Flatts for weeks to come in remembrance of this historic concert.
To get Rascal Flatts tickets, go to StubHub.
