CMT Blog: Rascal Flatts

Celebrities visiting Nashville usually proclaim their love of country music, but they're often hard-pressed to cite any artists beyond Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton or maybe Johnny Cash. That's why Justin Bieber's apparent knowledge of country is so surprising. The teen heartthrob is in Nashville for a Wednesday night (Aug. 11) concert at the Bridgestone Arena. According to a report from his afternoon soundcheck, somebody asked him about his favorite country artists, and he immediately reeled off the names of Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Martina McBride and Alan Jackson. Then, in an impromptu move, he sang the entire first verse of Jackson's "Chattahoochee." Regardless of your opinion of Bieber, you've got to respect any teenager who can sing part of a country song that topped the chart a year before he was born. I'd have been even more impressed had he chosen Jackson's "Here in the Real World," but that's beside the point. I wonder how many of today's newer country acts know the words to "Chattahoochee."

Photo credit: Teen Island

It was an insanely busy week, even more so than usual. We started in Canton, Ohio, where we actually had enough time during the day to go visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I don't know if you've picked up on it, but I'm a huge football fan. Then I flew out to South Carolina and got the chance to see my little sister's Marine Corps graduation. I was really proud of her. I immediately dragged her out on the road with us so she could come see the Rascal Flatts show in Cincinnati during her relatively short break. It was fun having her back on the road. The next night we played the State Fair in Indianapolis, where we also picked up a corn dog and a bus mascot -- a goldfish.  Poor little guy never stood a chance! RIP Diesel. We rounded up the weekend playing a soccer field in Columbus, Ohio. There was a massive crowd ... which may have had something to do with the fact that two of the Flatts boys are from there. Just a guess. All in all a busy week, but can't wait for another. Thanks so much for all your comments here about the new video for "Voices." You guys rock!

Have a great week!

Chris

We had another crazy week out on the road. We kicked things off with a show in the great state of Delaware. After that we loaded back up on the bus and traveled down the highway to Evansville, Ind. There were over 6,000 people there! The crowd was amazing and helped make the show one hell of a party. Then it was off to the airport to hop a plane to Wisconsin for a show with my labelmate Jake Owen. I've known Jake for a long time now. He has become a great friend of mine and it is always a blast to get to do shows with him. I even won some money at the casino while I was there! Wisconsin must be a lucky state for me. Then we flew to Virginia Beach for our first show of the week with Rascal Flatts. It was super hot out, but other than that, the show was amazing and the crowd was great. We closed out with a show in Connecticut. The Northeast is filled with awesome crowds! Thanks so much to everyone for making each show last week so much fun for the band and I. Can't wait to see y'all again!

Until next week!

Chris

When Clay Walker was singing on Lopez Tonight a couple of weeks ago, I was thinking that I could almost make a living out of loving him. I have felt that way since 1994, when I bought his If I Could Make a Living album. For 16 years I've been crazy about his voice. On Lopez, he did "She Won't Be Lonely Long," which is a great tune made even better with his subtle Texas twang. But what has me even more wound up is his new one, "Where Do I Go From You?" It's so him. With mandolin and steel behind him, he seems to have one-upped himself musically and vocally. He sounds like a cross between Rascal Flatts' Gary LeVox and George Strait on this one. I know that may not sound like a straight-up combination, but I swear it works.

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This week started with some interesting weather. Our first show was in Kirksville, Mo., and the sky went nuts. We had to end the show a little early due to a tornado warning. You know it's bad when the Weather Channel mentions the city you are in by name! Ha! The bad weather followed us to Beatrice, Neb., (thankfully no tornados this time) but it held off just long enough for our show that night. After that we picked back up on the Rascal Flatts tour and took advantage of some indoor venues, first in Wichita, Kan., and then in Tulsa, Okla. It was nice to be inside, but it did present an interesting problem for me one night due to the lack of wind.

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If you are heading to the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.V., for the PGA event this week (July 26-Aug. 1), and you are a country fan, this is pretty much going to be the best week of your life. To kick off this inaugural golf tournament, native son Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts and Reba McEntire will be performing for attendees and participants at the new outdoor amphitheatre at the State Fair of West Virginia. (I think by "attendees," they mean that you have to go to the tournament and you can't just go to the concert. That said, you could go feign an interest in golf for a couple hours then head over to the show. Right?) The concert schedule has changed a little since it was first announced, so now Reba takes the stage on Wednesday (July 28), Rascal Flatts on Thursday (July 29) and the biggie is the double-headliner show on Saturday (July 31) with Paisley and Underwood. You get access to the concerts with your all-access weekly badge for just $147. The concerts are general admission, but still. That's comes out to only about $37 a headliner, plus a bunch of golf, if you're into that kind of thing.

Last week I wrapped things up with a few shows at Lake Winnepesaukah in Georgia. What a great place to play! I love getting to spend time down there. At the start of this week, I actually got to stay in Nashville for a couple of days. I spent most of the time writing songs and washing clothes -- exciting, right? On Thursday, my guitar player and I flew out to Lake Tahoe, Nev., for a private show. Christy and Ken won a national radio contest from After MidNite with Blair Garner that had us play in their back yard. They had nearly a hundred people there and we had a blast playing for them and meeting everybody. Christy and Ken, thanks again for being such great hosts!

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We definitely put some extra miles on the bus this past weekend. We started in Southaven, Miss., then went to Chippewa Falls and Jefferson, Wis. and Eleanor, W.V. before ending the weekend in Rossville, Ga. During soundcheck for our first show our monitor board quit working. A huge thanks is owed to Jonathan Singleton and Eric Church (and their crews) for helping us out there. The show ended up coming together, and my band and crew worked their butts off to make it happen. After that, we had two back-to-back shows at Wisconsin fairs. I think I ate like six corn dogs in two days -- and of course the cheese curds were great, too. The crowds were amazing and we even shared the stage with Uncle Kracker for the second show. In West Virginia, we got to play a fair that I had actually played several years earlier. The crowd was huge!! It was an amazing moment to see the difference in the size of the crowd from then to now. To wrap up the weekend, we played two one-hour shows at Lake Winnepesaukah in Georgia. It was ridiculously hot, but the crowds were so energetic the guys and I didn't even notice that much. We are looking forward to being back with Rascal Flatts later on this week in Stateline, Nev.! Thanks again to everyone who came out this weekend and if you are anywhere in the Tahoe/Reno area, come on out to see us.

This past weekend was a great trip. We started out in Kansas City, Mo., on the KC Power and Light District Stage at the fair. It had been a while since I got a chance to play in Kansas City with my full band and the crowd was amazing. We even got to go back on stage for an encore. After wrapping that show, we loaded everything up and headed cross country to Ruidoso Downs, N.M., to perform at the Ruidoso Downs Casino and Horse Track. The setup was great, but the show was actually in danger of being rained out for a while. They pulled the whole stage out onto the track for the show and luckily the rain quit before we went on. The crowd was great at that show, too, and the band and I had a fun time. Thankfully we were able to see lots of fireworks as we drove back to Nashville from New Mexico. Hopefully everybody had a safe and happy Fourth of July! I'm looking forward to the shows in Mississippi, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Georgia this week and then rejoining the Rascal Flatts tour next week. Hope to see you all out on the road!

I started today's blog entry on my way to Milwaukee to sing the national anthem at a Brewers' baseball game. It seems like I have been flying a ton lately. Before I flew out to join the Nothing Like This tour with Kellie Pickler and Rascal Flatts this weekend, I actually started things off on a high note in Nashville. At the Music Row Awards, I won the 2010 breakthrough songwriter of the year award! It was my first award as a songwriter and I was pumped. Then it was off to Raleigh, N.C., for the kickoff of the tour.

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