Rascal Flatts might be disbanding, but Jay DeMarcus is busier than ever. The 48-year-old just signed gospel legend Jason Crabb to his growing Red Street Records roster, increasing the amount of artists DeMarcus has signed to his Christian label to five.
“I couldn’t be happier,” DeMarcus told PopCulture.com. “I mean he is a fantastic singer, has an incredible ministry that he’s built over the years and is just one of my favorite singers, period, on the planet. And I love making music with him and I’d always enjoy the records we’ve done together but now to have him be a part of our family is just more than I could’ve ever imagined that we would be able to accomplish in our relatively young history at the label here so far.”
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Not only is DeMarcus looking forward to making music with Crabb, but also utilizing his vast experience to help with the rising stars DeMarcus also works with.
“I just figured if there’s no reason to have a record label if you don’t have artists to put out,” DeMarcus reflected. “We’ve been really great and we’ve been working really hard to find the right artists that fit our vision and the artists that we feel like we can be great partners with and Jason is right at the top of that list for sure. We’ve got some young artists that we signed.
“He’s been around and seen just about everything,” continued DeMarcus. “He’s gonna be a really, really great source of wisdom for them and so I’m excited about him not just being an artist but being more than that. From a songwriting point of view, from a nurturing point of view, being here and helping our young artists to prepare them for what they’re gonna eventually run into in the business someday. And also giving them the ability and the platform to sign things that he believes in and to bring people to us that he has a vision for.”
Crabb has had plenty of success on his own, but didn’t hesitate when approached with the idea of working with DeMarcus.
“It’s a partnership,” Crabb said. “We’re friends. I think that if you can take two worlds –– can you imagine the world that he’s in and what he’s done and what he’s doing and all that, and take what I do as well, and put that together, it’s great. I mean everything that we’ve worked at so far has been a success and has worked.”
This is far from DeMarcus and Crabb’s first time working together. The men have collaborated together on several things, including Crabb’s 2018 Unexpected album, which DeMarcus produced, and included a collaboration with Rascal Flatts‘ own Gary LeVox. The record won a Grammy for Best Roots Gospel Album.
Rascal Flatts is currently on their Farewell Life is a Highway Tour, which is scheduled to run throughout 2020.
Photo courtesy of Red Street Records
