Rascal Flatts Celebrates Touring Milestone at Nashville Concert
Rascal Flatts performed to a sold-out crowd of over 13,000 in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Fri., Oct 19, with supporting guests Little Big Town, Eli Young Band and Edens Edge.
Before the show, Brian O’Connell, President of Live Nation Country Touring presented a commemorative ticket to band members Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus. The backstage presentation celebrated the touring milestone achievement of over 7 million career concert tickets sold culminating with the night’s performance. The band gave heartfelt thanks to team members behind their success and referred to O’Connell as the “fourth Flatts.”
Brian O’Connell, President, Live Nation Country Touring presents a commemorative ticket to the members of Rascal Flatts to celebrate a touring milestone before their Bridgestone Arena concert in Nashville on Oct. 19, 2012..
The show began with each Rascal Flatts member appearing in a cylinder of lights that lifted up as they played “Changed” followed by “Banjo,” the first two tracks on their latest No. 1 album, Changed. Their vocals were stellar which is no surprise coming from these seasoned performers.
The stage was minimal in structure yet high impact with spectacular lighting and various sized rectangular video walls framing the backdrop. Hanging high above the stage were suspended video cubes that provided additional video images and graphics throughout the show.
Playing to a very energetic crowd, the band continued with “Summer Nights,” “Fast Cars and Freedom,” and “These Days” reminding all concert goers that when you come to a Flatts concert, you are in the minority if you are not standing for the duration of the show and singing every word.
The show continued with two more songs from their current album, current single “Come Wake Me Up,” which is No. 4 and climbing on the MusicRow Chart, followed by “Hot In Here,” during which the video cubes hanging above the stage were lowered giving the effect of suspended fire.
The band members expressed their joy playing in their hometown and sleeping in their own beds that night and gave heartfelt thanks to their fans for supporting what they love to do. They also joked how cheap it was to get to the show since all they had to do was drive in from their homes. In an unusual move for a large arena concert, especially one with over 13,000 guests, the band turned up the lights so they could take requests shouted from the audience. This produced abbreviated performances of fan favorites, “My Wish,” “Mayberry,” and “Take Me There.”
Rascal Flatts followed the request block with “Stand,” “Why Wait,” and two covers, “Lean On Me,” and “Open Arms.” While showing a montage of family photos on the video wall, the band performed “God Bless the Broken Road” giving us all a moment to take pause and appreciate our own family, friends and loved ones.
There was no loss of enthusiasm from the crowd when the band momentarily left the stage to feature drummer Jimmy Riley solo. Jo Don then followed with his own guitar solo, reminding us of his musical talents. The band joined in and performed “Me & My Gang,” “Life is a Highway,” and “Here’s to You.”
Flatts offered fans an encore with “What Hurts the Most,” and followed that with “We’re an American Band,” bringing out supporting acts Little Big Town, Eli Young Band and Edens Edge for the grand finale.
Not only was it a great Rascal Flatts show, but the impressive lineup of opening artists made this a must-see concert.
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