Lonestar reunites with McDonald
and will tour and record a new album in 2012 to mark their 20th anniversary.
The first concert dates for the band's four original members - keyboardist Dean Sams, drummer Keech Rainwater, lead guitarist Michael Britt and McDonald - will take place overseas Feb. 26-March 4. McDonald replaces Cody Collins, who had joined the band in 2007, replacing McDonald.
The band's last CD was "Party Heard Around The World," their 10th album, in 2010 on Saguaro Road Records.
Lonestar will perform in London (Wembley Arena), Belfast, Ireland (Odyssey Arena), Zurich, Switzerland (Hallenstadion) and Mannheim, Germany (SAP Arena) on a multi-artist bill with Reba McEntire, Ricky Skaggs and Little Big Town.
The stage was set for the announcement on Tuesday when the band tweeted, "Big news for Lonestar fans coming tomorrow! 2012 marks our 20th anniversary. What would you like to see and hear from us?"
The band has sold more than 10 million album units since their national launch in 1995 and achieved 10 number 1 country hits including No News, Come Crying To Me and Amazed.
"Well, five years has come and gone since I left Lonestar," said McDonald. "We've all tried other avenues, and the fact remains that some things were just meant to be. With the Lonestar 20-year reunion approaching, Dean, Michael, Keech and I got together and have decided we have some unfinished business to take care of. I miss those crazy nights running around on stage making music with my band of brothers. Looking forward to a new chapter in the book of Lonestar and reliving some old memories and also making some new ones for the fans that have been loyal to us through thick and thin."
"With 2012 in the near future, we all began thinking of what that meant to us as a band," said Sams.
"I think fans ultimately wondered if this was ever going to happen again, and it always seemed like the original Lonestar as a whole was better than the sum of its parts," Rainwater said.
Tour dates are:
Feb. 26. London, England Wembley Arena
Feb. 29 Belfast, Ireland Odyssey Arena
March 2 Zurich, Switzerland Hallenstadion
March 4 Mannheim, Germany SAP Arena
More news for Lonestar
- 08/18/23: The Frontmen drop two songs
- 03/07/21: Lonestar names Womack as lead singer
- 02/06/14: Lonestar launches acoustic tour
- 01/21/10: Lonestar returns to action
- 02/28/08: Lonestar releases new single
- 12/17/07: Lonestar broadcasts holiday songs to troops
- 03/19/07: Lonestar's Richie McDonald leaves, band leaves label
- 12/07/06: For Lonestar, the show must go on - with Gracin
CD reviews for Lonestar
For a band with as much success, Lonestar has never made it feel easy. There was a spurt at the end of the last century where they rattled off five Number Ones in a row - trademark songs like "Amazed," "What About Now" and "I'm Already There." Beyond that golden streak, there's a story of four different record labels, a Richie McDonald solo departure in 2007 and a whole lot of swings and misses. Part of their problem is one of identity, torn between wanting ...
With the release of its new album, Lonestar celebrates 20 years as a band. The band also welcomed original vocalist Richie McDonald back to the fold for its first full-length album in three years, and they released it through their own label. All of this is great news for fans of the band that since 1995 has sales in excess of 10 million album units and charted 18 Top 10 songs, including 9 number 1s.
Lonestar has clearly found a formula for its music that reaches mainstream country and pop music ...
After so many years, most band's develop a sound that when you hear it, you say - "Ah, some REO Speedwagon" or "Swell, some Bee Gees." But when a band, known for a particular sound and a lead singer's voice, in particular, when that lead singer quits and the band presses on with a new singer, sometimes the transition simply doesn't work. Such is the case with Lonestar. This is a band that in recent years was pegged as a milquetoast, "sippy-cup country" ...
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