For Lonestar, the show must go on - with Gracin

McDonald decided to have surgery to repair a disc problem in his back, but needed more time for recovery than anticipated. When Lonestar’s first dates were at hand, the band found a temporary replacement in friend and fellow musician Gracin.

“We had a couple of shows coming up, and Josh was on the bill with us,” explains Lonestar's Dean Sams, “and when we told him about our situation, he said, ‘Hey, I’ve been a Lonestar fan since I was a kid! I could fill in for Richie on the shows we have together.’”

“The first thing I said was, ‘That’d be great,’ and then I said, ‘okay, let’s not bring up that kid thing again,’” he laughed.

Gracin and Lonestar practiced for about 90 minutes and then played a fundraiser in Corpus Christi for the South Texas Academic Rising Stars. “Some of the songs Josh wanted to sing are songs we haven’t played in awhile, so it was really fun to mix it up,” said guitarist Keech Rainwater.

“We had a blast and raised some money for a good cause at the same,” allowed guitarist Michael Britt.