Rascal Flatts Bids Club Farewell

Fifteen years ago, Rascal Flatts played a small club called the Fiddle & Steel in Nashville’s Printer’s Alley.  It was there that they honed their sound, and got signed to a record deal.  So when they heard the club was closing at the end of the year, they wanted to play one last show.  It happened this past Thursday night.

Lead singer Gary LeVox remembered the night they first played together as a trio.  He and cousin Jay DeMarcus had been playing there with another guitar player, but one night he couldn’t make it.  Jay called in a friend, Joe Don Rooney.  Gary recalled being suspicious of the new player, not expecting him to be any good.  But they realized their chemistry when they played an old Shenandoah song, “Church on Cumberland Road.”  They played that song again one last time on the Fiddle & Steel stage.

The Fiddle & Steel was also the place where they got the name Rascal Flatts.  According to Jay, they’d been having trouble coming up with a catchy group name.  One night, a regular at the bar suggested “Rascal Flatts…there’s your name right there.”  It was the best option at the time, and that’s the name they used when signing their first record label in 2000.

The night was filled with hits, and quite a few more memories.  Jay sang the old Merle Haggard hit, “Think I’ll Just Stay Here & Drink.”  He asked Joe Don to sing the Vince Gill classic “What The Cowgirls Do.”  Jay took to the piano for another Shenandoah hit, “Moon Over Georgia,” and sang lead on the Waylon Jennings classic “Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line.”  All of those songs had been part of the Flatts show back in their club days.  But the night also featured their hits, including “Bless The Broken Road,” “Fast Cars & Freedom,” and “What Hurts The Most.”

A standing room only crowd filled the small club, and as they began their final show, a celebrity walked in the front door: Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler.  He had appeared the night before at the CMA Awards, and was staying in town for Friday’s taping of the CMA Country Christmas special.  He stuck around for some photos, listened to a few songs, and quietly left.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the building that housed the Fiddle & Steel had been sold.  It is scheduled to be demolished next year, and a hotel will go up on that site.

Tags: rascal flatts

Category: Photos