Rascal Flatts starts tour with sell outs

Tuesday, June 19, 2012 – Rascal Flatts launched their new tour this past weekend with two sold-out concerts. The Farmers Insurance Presents "Changed Tour" kicked off in Hartford and Boston with 45,000 fans attending.

The current nearly 40-city tour features a new production stage and an all-band set up with Little Big Town, Eli Young Band and Edens Edge opening.

"We have the best fans in the world and they made this a really special first weekend for us," said Gary LeVox, lead singer for Rascal Flatts. "We wanted to create something unique for them with the all-band set up and we loved having our friends in Little Big Town, Eli Young and Edens Edge on stage with us to perform a number together."

The tour will head to Washington, D.C. and Virginia Beach, Va.a this weekend.

Upcoming tour dates are:

June 23 Washington DC Jiffy Lube Live

June 24 Virginia Beach, VA Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach

June 27 Milwaukee, WI Marcus Amphitheatre

June 29 Cleveland, OH Blossom Music Center

June 30 Darien Center, NY Darien Lake Performing Arts Center

July 6 Bangor, ME Bangor Waterfront Pavilion

July 13 Dallas, TX ** Gexa Energy Pavilion

July 14 Houston, TX ** Woodlands Pavilion

July 18 Omaha, NE TD Ameritrade Park

July 20 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Theatre

July 21 St. Clairsville, OH Jamboree in the Hills

July 22 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center

July 27 St Louis, MO Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre St. Louis

July 28 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre

Aug. 9 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte

Aug. 10 Raleigh, NC Time Warner Cable Music Center at Walnut Creek

Aug. 11 Philadelphia, PA Susquehanna Bank Center

Aug. 18 Louisville, KY Kentucky State Fair

Aug. 19 Des Moines, IA Iowa State Fair

Aug. 30 St. Paul, MN Minnesota State Fair

Aug. 31 Indianapolis, IN Klipsch Music Center

Sept. 1 Pittsburgh, PA First Niagara Pavilion

Sept. 6 Phoenix, AZ Ashley Furniture HomeStore Pavilion

Sept. 7 Albuquerque, NM Hard Rock Casino Albuquerque Presents the Pavilion

Sept. 8 Denver, CO Comfort Dental Amphitheatre

Sept. 13 Mountain View, CA Shoreline Amphitheatre

Sept. 14 Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Irvine

Sept. 15 San Diego, CA Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre

Sept. 27 Columbus, GA * Columbus Civic Center

Oct. 4 Toledo, OH The Huntington Center

Oct. 5 Ft. Wayne, IN Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

Oct. 6 Grand Rapids, MI Van Andel Arena

Oct. 12 Hamilton, ONT * Copps Arena

Oct. 13 London, ONT * John Labatt Centre

Oct. 20 Atlanta, GA Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood

Oct. 26 Tampa, FL 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre

Oct. 27 W Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre

*Edens Edge will not appear on these dates

**Thompson Square will replace Eli Young Band

More news for Rascal Flatts

CD reviews for Rascal Flatts

Changed

To some, Rascal Flatts is little more than a trio of pretty boys, existing just on the periphery of traditional country music. And to some degree, these haters are correct. This ain't no honky tonk music. But there is still a lot of goodness wrapped inside all the overly ornate sonic packaging. This new album's title track, for example, has all the power of a camp meeting revival ballad. Heck, the single Banjo sports some mighty fine picking from the inappropriately named Ilya »»»

Nothing Like This

Rascal Flatts have become one of country's most bankable bands by turning out albums that are consistently strong and provide the listener with a nice mix of fast and slow. Which is why it's so surprising that their latest offering, "Nothing Like This," is so bad. While the sound is signature RF, the song lineup lacks anything to distinguish it - the material is boring and nondescript, each song blending into the next without any sort of demarcation. The low point is probably »»»

Unwrapped EP

If the best things in life do indeed come in small packages, this "Unwrapped" EP from Rascal Flatts fits that most worthy description. All but one song have been unavailable for about a year, and one track (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen) is a brand new recording. For Jingle Bell Rock, Rascal Flatts actually trade rock music for big band jazz; this one features plenty of brass horn work. However, White Christmas sticks to a stately orchestrated formula. The trio shows off its vocal chops on »»»

Editorial: Walking the talk – When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»

Concert Review: Music City goes (Boston) Pop(s) – On the face of it, the idea of top shelf country songwriters coming up from Nashville to play with the Boston Pops may seem incongruous. The idea of the venerable Boston institution and fixture on the July 4 scene, playing patriotic songs doesn't have all that much to do with country. The idea isn't without precedent, of course.... »»»

Concert Review: O'Donovan goes home – Aiofe O'Donovan had plenty of reason to be filled with good cheer. This was a hometown gig, after all, and only three days before the release of her first full-length solo debut, "Fossils." Joking that the audience was filled with people she knew from high school and her parents' friends, O'Donovan made it clear that Boston... »»»

Country News Digest

CST

Elsewhere in the news

Currently at the CST blogs

Shop Amazon and support
Country Standard Time

It's about time for Willis, Robison

Some folks listening to Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison's new duet album, "Cheaters Game," may well exclaim, 'Well, it's about time!' after finally hearing these two talented country singer/songwriters recording music as a pair for the first time. Willis has built quite a following for her independently-minded feminine perspective, while Robison has written hits for the Dixie Chicks (Travelin' Soldier) and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill (Angry All the Time), as well as penning the ultimate Willie Nelson tribute, What Would Willie Do? and recording it as a solo act. ... »»»

Steve Forbert remains Alive on Arrival

Last fall, singer/songwriter Steve Forbert dropped the 14th studio album of his 35-year career, the impeccable "Over With You." Critics recognized the album as a return to the form Forbert displayed on his earliest works - 1978's stripped back and personal "Alive on Arrival" and 1979's more lushly produced and commercially accessible "Jackrabbit Slim" - but the fact is that Forbert has never strayed far from their basic folk/rock tenets.... »»»

Decades later, Miller, Lauderdale finally join forces

Over the course of the past 20 years or so, Jim Lauderdale and Buddy Miller have both experienced a certain rise in their respective rootsy country profiles. Miller has become one of Nashville's hottest speed dial numbers, as an artist, a guitarist-for-hire (a role he has performed for Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris and Robert Plant, among others) and an intuitive producer (he's currently working with Executive Music Producer T Bone Burnett to provide the soundtrack for ABC's "Nashville" television series).... »»»

Still Fighting the War

Few artists exude pain in their voices the way Slaid Cleaves can, and there are moments during his strong new full-length, "Still Fighting the War," when he seems a little like the male equivalent to Lucinda Williams. With Rust Belt Fields, Cleaves speaks up for most anybody that's been laid low be America's recent recession, from those dealing with home foreclosure to the ones laid off from their jobs. »»»

Southeastern

Given the fact that Jason Isbell opts for solo billing this time around, it might be assumed that last year's "Live From Alabama," recorded with the 400 Unit, was the band's swan song of sorts. That is, unless one considers the fact that drummer Chad Gamble and keyboardist Derry deBorja are still along for the ride, albeit sans the band billing. »»»

Fossils

Aiofe O'Donovan has been on a roll. As lead singer of the well-regarded alt.-bluegrass band, Crooked Still, O'Donovan helped put the alt. in the bluegrass with her light, sometimes breathy vocals. She also gained attention for singing on two songs on "The Goat Rodeo Sessions." She's now on her own (Crooked Still is on hiatus) for her first full-length disc. »»»

Pokey LaFarge

Although Pokey LaFarge is a relatively young 30 years old, his songwriting soul is as old as a Victrola crank. In the past seven years and across seven albums, LaFarge has paid homage to the American music that caught his ear as a teenager (hot jazz, swing, country blues and Appalachian folk), not with an idolator's slavish heart, but with the nervy spirit of an innovator. »»»

Wrote a Song for Everyone

Considering that Creedence Clearwater Revival's back catalogue contains some of the most beloved and iconic music of the rock era, and John Fogerty himself - the man who made all those great songs great - will be dueting with you, an artist has to feel like he's got two strikes against him when he sets out to contribute to a cover album tribute to Creedence Clearwater Revival and John Fogerty. »»»

This World Oft Can Be

Although it isn't rare to hear women singing and playing bluegrass-inspired music, it is still unusual to take in a five-girl band doing so. Della Mae are not what The Runaways and The Go-Go's meant to rock & roll, perhaps, but they're nevertheless significant and unique. »»»

About • Advertise • Copyright • Sitemap • Visit our sister publication Standard Time covering all musical genres. go