Rascal Flatts are an entirely different group than they were five years ago. The trio, made up of Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney, will kick off their Life Is A Highway Tour next week with one major difference: Rooney's sobriety.
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Rooney celebrated three years of sobriety last September, and no one is prouder of him for his accomplishments than his fellow band members.
"I think he would tell you if he were sitting here that he's still processing every day," DeMarcus tells Taste of Country Nights. "But I've seen him turn into a completely different person, it's an unbelievable metamorphosis."
"[He] is so zoned in now, and so lucid and intentional about everything he does," he adds. "And I'm so proud to see him in such a healthy space. It's really, really cool."
It was Rooney who LeVox once said wanted Rascal Flatts to come to an end. In 2021, he told People that Rooney quit, revealing that his departure "came out of nowhere." To see Rooney now, eager to play again, is very different from the way Rooney was when Rascal Flatts ended.
"I think he would tell you if he were sitting here that he's still processing every day," DeMarcus says. "But I've seen him turn into a completely different person, it's an unbelievable metamorphosis."
Life Is A Highway Tour
In October, Rascal Flatts announced their LIfe Is A Highway Tour. What was supposed to be their farewell tour could now be the start of an exciting new chapter for the trio.
"In 2020, we announced the farewell tour after being on the road extensively for 20 years," the group says in a statement. "To put it simply, we needed a break. Then COVID hit and our plans came to a screeching halt, like the rest of the world. Since then, we've been able to revisit our unique and special experience as a band and we're ready to get out on the road again. It's hard to believe that next year will be the 25th anniversary of Rascal Flatts, and that felt like the perfect time to get back in front of the fans who have given us so much."
Rascal Flatts just released "I Dare You" with the Jonas Brothers. The song marks their first new single since 2020.
