Wow, has it been 10 years already? I look back to my very first Rascal Flatts concert in 2003 and my mind can recall so many great memories. The music, the concerts and the friends I have made because of these 3 men have been amazing. It’s almost like they are family.
Songs like “Prayin’ For Daylight” takes me back to the good ol’ days with my friends, “Movin’ On” reminds me of days before kids and a husband…. “I Melt” shoots me forward to being married and finally hearing my husband admit he likes Rascal Flatts! I could go on and on. The emotion that the songs Rascal Flatts sing are truly my soundtrack from the last 10 years.
Here is an excerpt from the Country Weekly online-only exclusive:
This year marks Rascal Flatts’ 10th anniversary as a group. During that decade, Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney have made an amazing climb from country up-and-comers to established arena-level superstars.
In this online-only exclusive, Joe Don looks back at the group’s beginnings, its present and its collective hopes for the future.“We started at the Fiddle & Steel Guitar Bar in Printer’s Alley in Nashville, and some other clubs on Broadway, back in January 1999. That’s where I met Jay. He introduced me to Gary and we started singing together. Ten years have gone by fast, in the blink of an eye.
“We burned up the road for a lot of years. The first six years, we were doing 150 dates a year. That’s a lot of living out of a suitcase. But we always felt like there was a purpose and a direction. We tried to go with that, to go with the gut, go with the heart and cut the best songs we could find—whether somebody else in town wrote it or we got lucky enough to write a good one.
“We have a lot more control over our schedule now that we’re headliners. We don’t have to do as many shows in a year, which frees us up to spend more time with our families. We can have a little downtime, recharge the batteries and be fresh and ready to go at it. And anytime we go somewhere and do something we have a lot more energy, a little more oomph behind us because we’ve got some hits in the bag now.
Find out what Joe Don says about the future of Rascal Flatts by visiting Country Weekly.com.
This is a fantastic time to do another Rascal Flatts giveaway! CMTT has 8 sets of 2 Rascal Flatts promotion posters! These posters were only mailed out to Street Team leaders for promotions of the Greatest Hits & Unstoppable album. Each of our winners will receive 1 of each of the posters.
All you have to do to enter to win is leave us a comment (don’t forget your email address) and tell us what your favorite Rascal Flatts moments has been over the last 10 years.
Country Girl wants you to be a Tattle Tale! Have you been to a country concert lately? Run into a country artist while out on the town? We want to hear all about your country music news and entertainment. Email
me at countrygirl@countrymusictattletale.com
A special thanks to my Twitter buddy @ValRuss for the link
Posted in 
Tags: 
I have had so many amazing memories with these 3 talented men. I can’t believe it has been 10 years already. I hope the next 10 are just as great as the first 10 have been.
hmm my favorite Rascal Flatts memory of all time? there are sooooooo many! I’ll start with the first time I heard Joe Don say “Tiffany” in the middle of one of their earlier songs. and m name is tiffany so I was absolutely ecstatic. how many people do you now that hear their name in a song by such an inspirational and gifted band?
other memories would possible be the first time I heard of them, it was in 2003 and I was 9 years old watching a show on GAC and their faces came onscreen and I still remember Joe Dons smiling face looking into the camera. I then proceeded to buy every album they already had out and continue buying each album that came out in the future.
My fav moment was when the guys first won group of the year at the ACM awards that was such a exciting time for them and the start of so many more great things to come for them it was start of there rise to country group super stardom.
Joann
Rfgarysgirl1976@yahoo.com
Wow. 10 years? goodness. I think its incredible how they have stayed in this industry and gotten better every year, thats a true ARTIST.
Every moment rascal flatts have is magical. Its so hard to name one. I love how there songs can have you dancing in your room or crying because the speak to you. I think my favorite moment is when I saw the “here comes goodbye” video. They are truly incredible and I would be honored to have there poster!
Haleyh92@charter.net
My favorite moment was Jan 2009 in Des Moines with my first by the bus encounter. I waited until 1:30 in the morning in below freezing temps and SNOW! Needless to say being from FL this was my first time seeing snow and it also ended being my first bus encounter. The guys came out around 1:30 and chatted and took pics with us and then I’ll never forget Joe Don told us to go home in get in our warm beds! Ahhhh what a night to remember!
To ask me for just one memorable moment is a very difficult thing. I have so many great memories of the guys and interactions with the guys!!! One most recent moment is during CMA Fest! I was able to get pics with all the guys and able to chat with them for a few minutes!! I enjoy every minute I have at a concert and feel very lucky to have seen them by buses a couple times as well. These guys are amazing and can’t wait for the new Tour dates to be listed!!!
I think one of my favorite memories is realizing when their music spoke to me more than I first started listening to them on the radio. I’ve bought every album since and love to listen to their new stuff. They are awesome!
My favorite RF moment over the last 10 years occurred over this past summer. I was down in Nashville for CMA Fest 2009. It was my first time at CMA Fest and I was super excited. Thursday, the first day/night with the concerts at LP Field, my girlfriends and I were taking a break from all of the chaos and decided to take a stroll around town. What we did not expect was to run into… RASCAL FLATTS!!! Although the guys did not perform at LP Field due to weather conditions and scheduling, the three of us were able to take videos and pictures with Gary, Joe Don, and Jay. We had our very own private meet and greet, right there on the streets of Nashville. It was SOOO unexpected and a once in a lifetime experience that I will never, ever, ever forget!!!
It is extremely hard to pick a favorite Rascal Flatts moment for me. I first took notice of them back in late 2004 and my life has changed so much since then. My favorite moment has to when I had the honor of meeting them in October 2008. I was so shocked when I won a meet and greet through the FAM. I’m never that lucky ever. It was an incredible experience to be in their presence for even a short amount of time. They are the sweetest people I have ever had the honor of meeting and I hope I get blessed again in the future to have that opportunity again. There are so many things I want to say to them that I didn’t get to the first time. I’ll never forget that moment in time for me. It was the best time of my life and I’m thankful for them being in my life. I don’t know who or where I would be without them.
One of my first favorite moments was going to my first concert ever, and it happened to be the boys back on November 3rd, 2006 in Albany, NY. I remember the date so well because it was the day before my mom’s birthday and I wanted to surprise her. I ended up going with my parents and my grandparents. That was one of the best nights of my life and every time I go see the guys, the experiences just keep getting better and better!
Another favorite moment (or I should say moments) was when Gary wore my hat 3x on stage. The first time was on the Still Feels Good tour on July 14th, 2007 and he came up on the catwalk behind the stage. He saw that I was waving my hat and he gave me “the nod” and I threw it to him and I got a picture of him wearing it on my phone. Then, he wore it again on January 24th, 2008 and on November 2nd, 2008.
But, I have to say that my favorite moment of Rascal Flatts is being seen in the “Bob That Head” video. My parents were debating on whether or not we should go see the boys in Hartford, CT. Well, when I ended up buying a 3rd row seat, that was the end of that conversation. When we arrived my mom and I both saw Shaun Silva and we went up to him. We asked him if the boys were shooting a music video and he said yes. Finally, when the music video was released, my mom and I taped it and we dissected it to see if we could find ourselves and WE DID!!!
I know that my family and I will have more favorite memories to come because the guys are just so fantastic!
My Rascal Flatts memorable experience was March 11, 2006. I have been a long time RF fan, so this to marks my tenth year as a fan and also Fan Club memeber. I can remeber this day like ti was yesterday. It was an unusual winter, my friednd and I were in Champaing, IL and it wa after the show. It was freaking freezing and we had decided to try to wait around for the guys to come out. However as 3:30am came around it had seemed they had slipped out the back. So, we decided to go to the car and head back to the hotel. We had driven from Detroit to see them. As we get tot he car..we notice that my window is smashed in. Mind you it’s like 3:30 am and we know noone there…cell phone was dead and so on. Well, we see a bus pulling around as we are standing there looking at the damage…and the bus stops..and the door opens and out walks Gary, Jay and Joedon. They come over and say…car trouble?? We said yeah someone broke into our car and look our window is smashed and its stinking cold outside. We then said…if you are gonna ask if we have a cell phone…well its dead. The charger is back at the hotel. Well, gary says here use mine and call the police and youo can come stay on the bus until they come. So we did just that. They even had their bus driver get a piece of plastic and tape up the window. We sat on the bus and talked with the guys and also listened to them jam on some new songs. This shows that these guys are regular guys who care about thier fans. Even until this day I get teased about that night by the guys. We hugged them and thanked them. That night made me even more proud to be a Fan Club member.
Michelle Montagne
There are so many favorite moments but I would have to say the one that stands out is the one and only time I got to meet them. It was back in July 2001 and they were playing at Country Concert in Ft Loramie, Ohio. My niece and I had won tickets and were in the 6th row but we also had backstage passes. So here comes the Meet & Greet for Rascal Flatts. I had no idea who they were but my niece told me they sang “Prayin’ For Daylight” and “Everyday Love” so I decided why not meet them. They were so sweet and nice. Then after seeing them on stage and hearing more of their music I fell in love with them! I have been a fan every since. I joined the Fan Club in 2006 and got my niece to join this year. I do hope one of these days I get to meet them again but until then I get to love the sound of their music and watch them succeed even more! I am looking forward to the next 10 years!
[...] Don’t forget to enter for your chance to win our Rascal Flatts Giveaway! [...]
My favorite Rascal Flatts moment has to be getting the chance to meet the guys! I will never forget that experience!
My favorite memory i guess would have to be seeing them at the House of Blues in 2003.
My favorite Rascal Flatts moment was seeing them kick off the NFL season a few years ago. They are all such big football fans and I think this was a really special thing for them!
My favorite Flatts moment doesn’t come direct from the Flatts, but instead from their family! Allison DeMarcus had a nice chat with me about school and life and is a moment I will never remember! My favorite Flatts moment by itself is when they took the stage with Carrie Underwood and showed the whole world how amazing country music is on American Idol!!
SBredin@wi.rr.com
Wow! 10 years and I only get to pick 1 moment… I’ve been a fan of theirs ever since the first time I heard “Playin’ For Daylight” so let’s see… I guess one of my favorite moments happened a few years back when I saw the guys headline at my favorite festival for the first time (in 2006). I spent my time in the picture line the whole show and when they were singing “These Days”, Gary came down from the stage and into the crowd! I fumbled with my camera and hit record! I was right by him and he let me and some people around me sing: “That’s what I’m doing these days”. It was a cool moment and I’m glad I got it on video to remember forever!!
i love RASCAL Flatts! i have not yet been able to see them live in concert, but hope to see them in my home town one day.there music is something that speeks to all of us.thanks for sharing with the world!
Do you think that the UNSTOPPABLE tour was the best tour of 2009? Well, then click the link below to vote for RASCAL FLATTS for the Best Concert of 2009! This is our way to show the boys that they are OUR ENTERTAINERS OF THE YEAR!!! Thanks for all of your support this year!
Vote! Vote! Vote! Just got to eventful.com/competitions/fanschoice2009 to VOTE!!
I’ve had sooo many great memories from these 3 guys! <3 I have been a fan since 2005 and my first concert was November 3, 2007 and since then I’ve been to 4 total and I’ve met them twice.
My mom says she will never forget my face from when I saw them for the first time.. I’m only 14 so of course that was a big moment when I was like 11.. But I have to say my ALL time favorite moment was when I was meeting them for the 2nd time on July 25 and I had on a shirt that said “I’m a Jay_Joe Don Chick!” (my username on the fan club is Jay_JoeDon_Chick) and after I got a hug and a kiss from Gary, Joe Don read my shirt and he turned to Jay and said “Look Jay, someone finally likes the both of us!” Then Joe Don gave me the biggest hug and he kissed my cheek.. It was amazing.. 
My favorite moment was when I first heard one of their songs . I was blown away. They all have great voices and great talent. I have loved them ever since and I have all of their albums.
CraigFerguson2008@yahoo.com
10 YEARS ALREADY??? Wowser! That’s an amazing accomplishment in itself. I’d have to say my favorite memory of them is when I was up in the front row listening to Fast Cars and Freedom LIVE for the first time! It reminds me of when my husband and I were young and crazy! And those 3 drove ME crazy too! That was even one of the first shows that I actually arrived hours early to stand in line at the venue (Pershing, Lincoln NE) to get tix! Great show, great entertainers and the hits just keep on a comin for these boys! YeeHaw!