Next year will mark 20 years since Rascal Flatts made their debut in country music, with their hit, “Prayin’ for Daylight,” from their self-titled freshman album. While the trio, made up of Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus, have no plans of slowing down, they do want to take a little bit of time to reflect on the past two decades. In an exclusive with PopCulture.com, the country stars opened up about their direction and reflected on everything they’ve achieved in the past two decades.
“It’s one of those thing where we’ve always looked so far ahead into the future about doing a new record, releasing new music,” DeMarcus told PopCulture.com. “We’re taking a deep breath right now to enjoy the 20th year of Rascal Flatts, and what our fans have meant to us, and the incredible jobs that they’ve allowed us the privilege of having for the past 20 years. We wanna celebrate them, and that’s what we’re focusing on.”
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More than their music careers, Rascal Flatts is proud of their work with the Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, raising almost $6 million for the cause over the past 16 years. With all of them fathers, the cause is much more personal to them than just a charity to support.
“I think the sentiment is, it’s meant more to us over the years now that we have kids of our own,” said DeMarcus. “You started out doing a good thing, but you have kids and you go over there and you’re around that place, and you meet those people, and you get to know them and how special they are, and how much they care about what they do. And it makes it all the more impactful on a personal level for me.”
The Flatts just hosted their Celebrity Golf Classic, only part of what they do to help support an organization they believe so strongly in, and want to help.
“The first time we went there, we were like, ‘Heaven forbid, something would happen to our children, but this place is absolutely first class, top-notch, so let’s jump in “and do whatever we can to help this hospital,’” said LeVox. “‘Cause it costs, it’s a million dollars just for one room, so, it’s really expensive. And at that time, they were trying to build four floors.”
In 2010, Rascal Flatts had a surgery center named at the hospital in their honor. No word yet on if the threesome will soon release new music. Rascal Flatts have several tour dates scheduled for the remainder of 2019, including a series of concerts in Canada. Find a list of all of their upcoming shows by visiting their website.
Photo Credit: Getty / John Lamparski
