Rascal Flatts walked out to headline Nashville’s Nissan Stadium the Saturday night of CMA Fest, and my mid-40-year-old heart pounded. However, it didn’t sound as loud as the 60,000 or so fans in attendance roared.
People never thought they’d see— or hear—Rascal Flatts together again.
The trio, who had long been plagued with rumors of tension, announced plans to split with a final tour planned for 2020. Because of the pandemic, Flatts canceled the tour. The downward spiral continued with more rumors—and then upsetting developments in their personal lives.
Guitarist Joe Don Rooney and his wife separated and then divorced after having three children and 17 years of marriage. A few months after he filed for divorce in 2021, he wrecked his car, and police arrested him on a DUI charge. Rooney worried about how his arrest would impact his bandmates, Gary LeVox (singer) and Jay DeMarcus (bass). The other men didn’t understand the depth of Rooney’s struggle with addiction.
As he healed, the trio began to recover with him. Rascal Flatts completed a sold-out arena headlining tour this spring and released a collaboration project, Life is a Highway: Refueled, on June 6. The album pairs Flatts with some of the biggest names and brightest up-and-comers in music to put fresh spins on their biggest hits. Life is a Highway: Refueled includes “My Wish” (featuring Carly Pearce), “Mayberry” (featuring Blake Shelton), “Stand” (featuring Brandon Lake), “I’m Movin’ On” (featuring Kelly Clarkson), and more.
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Rascal Flatts’ Life is a Highway: Refueled is Out Now
Pearce joined Flatts at Nissan Stadium for the live version of “My Wish.” Fans who weren’t in attendance can catch the performance when CMA Fest presented by SOFI and hosted by Cody Johnson and Ashley McBryde airs on June 26 at 8/7 p.m. on ABC.
Rascal Flatts’ accomplishments are undeniable—17 No. hits, including its Grammy-winning five-week No. 1 “Bless the Broken Road.” The trio sold more than 23 million albums and over 12 billion streams. They have sold more than 11 million concert tickets – excluding their most recent tour- and have won more than 40 trophies from music awards shows.
When I started working with them, DeMarcus didn’t even have a car. And he lied about it. The two-and-a-half decades of history and memories we share working together are why their comeback is so personal. I didn’t just have to hear “Fast Cars and Freedom” one more time. But like everyone else who spent two decades listening to their music, I didn’t get to say goodbye.
Rascal Flatts released its debut album in June of 2000 – four months before I started my first newspaper job. I was a college sophomore majoring in Recording Industry in a town near Nashville. When the local newspaper reached out to the school for someone to hire, MTSU sent them to me. I didn’t want to be a writer, and I had never been published. But, off I went. I walked in the door at The Daily News Journal, and my new editor said, “What do you like?” I said, “Music.” She said, “Great, write about that.”
Rascal Flatts was one of the first interviews I requested. It was more challenging in 2000 because the newsroom had only one computer with internet access. But I tracked down their publicist and made the request. We agreed on a day and time. I rushed back to my apartment from class and waited. And waited. And waited. They never called.
From No Car to Contraversial Bare Butt Cheeks
A few days later, my phone rang in the middle of my music marketing final. I saw that it was DeMarcus, whispered to my teacher what was happening, and stepped into the hall to do the interview. DeMarcus told me car trouble made him miss the interview.
Soon after, the paper sent me to a press day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando. I think it was the second time I’d been on a plane. When I arrived, Flatts was playing in the park. I introduced myself to Rooney and laughed about what happened. He said, “Jay doesn’t even have a car.”
DeMarcus recently told me that Rooney was telling the truth—he didn’t have a car. But he got one soon enough. While Flatts faced backlash from critics for being “too pop,” the trio was an immediate hit with country music fans. Their self-titled debut album was home to hits including “Prayin’ for Daylight” and “I’m Movin’ On.” Their career ignited with Flatts’ second album, Melt. That project spun radio wins, including “These Days,” “Mayberry,” and “I Melt,” a steamy video that stirred plenty of controversy courtesy of Rooney’s bare butt cheeks.
It didn’t hurt radio airplay or sales. Feels Like Today was the trio’s third album, and hits including “Feels Like Today,” “Bless the Broken Road,” “Fast Cars and Freedom,” and “Skin (Sarabeth)” helped make them one of the biggest bands in country music.
I interviewed them about every album. As their career blossomed, I moved up the road from Murfreesboro’s tiny Daily News Journal to Nashville’s Tennessean, the paper of record. I spent more time around Flatts. Every year, I went with them around Halloween to watch them sing for extremely sick children at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. It didn’t matter how huge Flatts got—they always made time for the kids.
There was a phase we laugh about now, during an early peak in their career, when their then-management decided that no one was allowed to make eye contact with them. I said, “So if I see Joe Don in the hall, I’m not allowed to look at him?” That was right. The next time one of them called me, I was several months pregnant and at the doctor’s office having my sugar tested as required. LeVox asked what I was doing. I told him, and he cracked up, saying he was doing the same thing.
I also took the opportunity to ask him about the trio’s new rules regarding eye contact. He thought I was kidding.
Don’t Make Eye Contact with the Band
On my daughter’s first birthday, Rascal Flatts was her first concert.
A couple of years later, the band asked me to write a story about why everyone hated them. I spent months going around Nashville asking country music artists and label executives what they had against Flatts. Then, I made a list of their answers. The band and I sat down, and I read them each a complaint and let them respond. Truthfully, most of it was so grossly shallow, as in people didn’t like their clothes. Some of the responses had to do with the pop lean of their music, while others cited poor management.
Flatts changed management, and within a short time, the Grand Ole Opry asked them to become members.
I was pregnant with my second baby the next time I was with the three of them. They asked what I was going to name him. I chose Paxton because ‘pax’ means peace in Latin. I wanted to evoke a calm child. My daughter’s name is Kansas. She was 3 then and a handful. Rooney pointed out that I had just recreated the Twister movie, given that Kansas was the home of tornadoes and that Bill Paxton starred in the film. He thought I might have doomed myself. Thankfully, he was wrong.
Our habit of chatting about shows and albums continued over the years. I left The Tennessean in 2020 but ran into them at an industry event a couple of months later. Rooney was on one side of the room, and LeVox and DeMarcus were on the other. I remember discussing how none of us thought the trio’s demise would unfold as it did. And thankfully, it didn’t. It wasn’t a demise – just a pause to breathe and get healthy.
Now, the band is back with an exuberance they haven’t felt in years. Buoyed by a new album and sold-out arena tour, Rascal Flatts is refueled and ready.
(Photo by David Abbott)
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