Rascal Flatts broke the hearts of millions of fans when they announced that they were embarking on their farewell Life Is a Highway Tour later this year, after which the group would disband. The trio, made up of Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus, will never say never, but admit they have no plans to perform or make music once the tour wraps.
“Something that I think merits mentioning is that a lot of people have asked us since we’ve made this announcement is if something had happened,” DeMarcus said at the recent Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, Tennessee. “Did we have a falling out? Have we fought with each other? Have we gotten to the point where we can’t get along? That’s really not the case.
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“We’ve just gotten to this point in the road where it’s just forking and we’re entering into new seasons of our lives,” he continued. “And we haven’t signed a pact to say we’re never going to work together ever again. This isn’t a ploy to get your money to come out and see this tour so that we can turn around next year. There are no immediate plans to do any more Rascal Flatts show past October 30th.”
Rascal Flatts’ first single, “Prayin’ for Daylight” was released in 2000. The song, which landed in the Top 5, kicked off a string of successes for the threesome, with little time off over the last two decades.
“We’ve been hitting the road for a lot of years,” Rooney said. “It’s been so special. We can’t wait to get out there and love all over the fans and celebrate what you all have given us. It’s just incredible that 20 years goes by that quick. We know we’ve been blessed, we’re very thankful, and just humbled by this incredible success that we’ve been given.”
The guys are all sure that, at least for now, they are making the right decision, but that doesn’t make it easier for them.
“It is bittersweet for sure,” DeMarcus told PopCulture.com. “And I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a decision that we reached without some considerable conversation and some sadness and some anxiety about it. But after 20 years, we figured it was a great time to celebrate everything we’ve been able to do and build together and to love back on our fans a little bit and tell them how much we love and appreciate them, and spend a year celebrating all that is and has been Rascal Flatts and the wonderful things we’ve been able to do, and take some time to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
“We all three have families and things that we want to do outside of the scope that Rascal Flatts is, and it just felt like the timing was right,” he added. “We haven’t signed any contract that says we’ll never make any more music together, so everybody still loves each other.”
Find all of the Life Is a Highway Tour dates at RascalFlatts.com.
Photo Credit: Getty / Frederick Breedon
