Rascal Flatts know how to hype up a crowd. The country mainstays took the stage during New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash to help usher in 2026.
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Performing by Nashville’s Bridge Building with picturesque views of downtown Music City behind them, Rascal Flatts wowed the crowd with a performance of “Life Is A Highway”.
Rascal Flatts are just one of many outfits and artists set to perform during the five-hour-long CBS special.
Headliners Jason Aldean, Lainey Wilson, and Bailey Zimmerman will take the stage at Bicentennial Park, where they’ll be joined by CeCe Winans and The Fisk Jubilee Singers.
Meanwhile, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Riley Green, Megan Moroney, Zach Top, Keith Urban, Gretchen Wilson, and Stephen Wilson Jr. will perform at various venues across Music City.
Additionally, Dwight Yoakam and Marcus King will take the stage at Category 10, home of the official New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash watch party, with special guests Cody Alan and Caylee Hammack.
Bert Kreischer and Hardy are hosting the special, which will include appearances by comedian Dusty Slay, Entertainment Tonight‘s Cassie DiLaura, Sirius XM host Buzz Brainard, and UFC champion Kayla Harrison.
Rascal Flatts Looks Back on 2025 and Ahead to 2026
Ahead of their New Year’s Eve performance, American Songwriter spoke to Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus, Gary LeVox, and Joe Don Rooney about their blockbuster 2025, which saw them return to the road for the first time in years with their Life Is A Highway Tour.
“At first, there was a little bit of trepidation, because it’d been so long since we’ve been together, but it was kind of like riding a bike,” LeVox said of getting back on the road. “We got back out there and everything fell into place. The more we did it, the more we realized how much we missed it and how much we loved it, and how much it means to us.”
For the band, seeing the impact their songs continue to have on fans “was amazing,” LeVox said.
“Our music has this uncanny ability to be more than we are and bigger than we are. It’s the kind of songs that hit people where they live in different seasons of their lives, and you can feel that every time we’re out there doing those songs,” he said. “Hearing the passion that those people sing those lyrics back with is an incredible experience.”
The tour was such a success that they’re extending the run into 2026.
“It’s just a blessing. I didn’t realize how much I’d miss these guys. When I first met them back in 1999, I just had felt like I know them my whole life. It just was so special,” Rooney said. “To get back at it again this past year, it’s been been amazing. I just really feel super blessed to get to do it again on the level we’re getting to do it again. It feels kind of like the 2000s all over again.”
Photo by Catherine Powell/Getty Images
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