Country music fans will have their own mini festival this weekend, when Rascal Flatts and some of their country music kin — Little Big Town, the Eli Young Band, and Eden’s Edge — head to the D.C. area.
The Rascal Flatts’ tour was christened with the name “Changed” a few months back to coincide with the name of the band’s latest album and single. The name could also apply to the big-time success all the bands have enjoyed in the past several months.
“Our fans are crazy; we love them so much,” said Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts. “They are so unique to any other genre. I could go on all day long about how great they are.”
The same could be said for all of the bands on this bill. Rascal Flatts is the most awarded country group in the past decade and it seems the band will keep that title for some time to come. Its recent release went gold just a month after it was released. The much-honored Little Big Town is also in line for more awards and acclaim as the band prepares to release its next album and enjoys the critical acclaim of its recent single “Pontoon.” The Eli Young Band most recently scored major success with the single “Crazy Girl,” off its “Life at Best” album. Eden’s Edge, which just released its self-titled debut album, is also flying high this summer.
| Onstage |
| Rascal Flatts |
| When: 7 p.m. Saturday |
| Where: Jiffy Lube Live, 7800 Cellar Door Drive, Bristow |
| Info: $25 to $80; ticketmaster.com 202-397-SEAT. With Little Big Town, Eli Young Band and Eden’s Edge |
For the Arkansas-born trio known as Eden’s Edge –lead vocalist Hannah Blaylock; guitarist and dobroist Dean Berner; and mandolin, banjo and guitar player Cherrill Green — several tours with household name artists including Brad Paisley has given them something of a graduate school education in music performance.
“We would go out every night and watch Brad Paisley’s set,” said Berner. And we would notice how there would be little changes in the set night to night and little changes in the video screen. It was a very important lesson for us, that this is something you constantly work on, no matter what level of the game you’re at.”
If the fan reaction to the band’s singles and just-released album is any indication, the group has scored top grades in honing their art.
“When we played on the Brad Paisley tour, the number of fans that were signing along with us just was really cool,” said Berner. “Now that we are out with Rascal Flatts this summer we can’t wait to show fans [our new video for the single] ‘Too Good to be True.’ We’ve gotten a great response so far.”
