Rascal Flatts spent years as an opening act.
At Emens Auditorium, however, two artists will be opening for them.
Rascal Flatts is touring the country in its first headlining tour.
"It seems more special," lead-guitar player Joe Don Rooney said. "We're the last act, so it feels kind of strange because we've been an opening act for so long, but it feels so good at the same time. The energy is so different."
Rascal Flatts includes lead-singer Gary LeVox, bass-player Jay DeMarcus, Rooney and their band. Levox and DeMarcus spent their childhood together in Columbus, Ohio.
In 1992, DeMarcus made the first move to Nashville. His first record deal was with the Christian-music group East to West.
He met Rooney after Chely Wright hired DeMarcus as bandleader. Five years later, DeMarcus convinced his cousin to quit his job at the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities and move to the country-music capital.
LeVox also worked in Wright's band with Rooney and DeMarcus.
It didn't take too much time until they formed their own band and began performing at the city's entertainment hot spots.
Since releasing its self-titled debut CD in June 2000, Rascal Flatts has racked up an impressive collection of accomplishments, including a Top-5 hit with its debut song, "Prayin' For Daylight," and three more Top-10 singles. The group's first album continues to sell more than 10,000 copies each week, according to a press release.
Since its first album, the trio has made long strides. Rascal Flatts was recently nominated for its first American Music Award.
"Being nominated for an American Music Award is really awesome because all the genres of music are represented," Rooney said. "We've been nominated for a few awards in country music, but this is our first of this type. It's a benchmark for us."
During the past year, the demand for Rascal Flatts has increased as the artists enjoy their first taste of success. Dates were added to the schedule for touring, appearances and award shows.
The Country Music Television's "Most Wanted Live" tour featuring Rascal Flatts kicked off in September and will conclude in December, stopping in 30 cities across the United States.
Capitol Records artist Chris Cagle and Lyric Street Records newcomer Brian McComas are joining them on the tour. For the second year, CMT-personality Lance Smith is the host.
"We give it hell every night," Rooney said. "Gary sings his heart out every night. He's like a football player. Even if he's injured he goes out there and gives it his all. He's a really good leader."
The schedule includes small-town locations and several big-city stops.
"I love the small-town fair gigs," Rooney said. "I grew up in a small town called Picher with a population of 1,000. I loved the small-town life. They have a great collective love. When something terrible happens, people pull together and rise above."
Smith also said he enjoys the small-town crowds.
"I'm a small-town boy," Smith said. "The fans are a little wilder and a little crazier. They don't get a lot of this. They don't get big acts like this come to their town. Being from a small town, I appreciate this."
Rooney left his small-town life when after he turned 18. He has traveled on the road ever since, trying to turn his small-town dream into a reality.
"I'm used to it (traveling)," he said. "The hardest drawback is not having enough time to spend with my family. We're out here busting our humps to retire young. We're road dogs, and we like it that way."
Smith travels on the Rascal Flatts tour bus with eight other guys.
"When my friends call me when I'm on tour, they think I'm a rock star and I get to make these crazy requests like, 'Take all the brown M&M's out of the jar,'" Smith said.
He might not get to make these kind of requests, but he is enjoying his time on the road.
"The fans are the best part," Smith said. "They are the reasons people make music -- the reason I have a job. They make it all happen. I, myself, am a fan, so I get to hang out with people just like me.
"It's tough being away from home. I think that's the universal answer for the worst part of being on the road. After the show you will see the people who have families and girlfriends on their phones with their heads down talking with them, or telling their kids good night, or, in my case, telling my dogs (good night)."
The record label has given Rascal Flatts creative control in several projects. The trio co-produced its sophomore album, "Melt." Each of them also have tapped in to his song-writing talents. Other country artists have recorded a song from each Rascal Flatts member.
"There are so many great writers in Nashville," Rooney said. "When you get with them you never know what you're going to write, but you know it's going to be good.
"A good song is like a pair of jeans. You may like them, and you may not, and someone else could come along and love them. That's just like music. People have different tastes."
Critics continue to cast Rascal Flatts as a "boy band," and the Rascals continue to knock out the stereotype.
"I think the problem was people didn't know we were musicians," Rooney said.
To show them, they recently did a special on "CMT Live" called "Rascal Flatts: Live From The Sunset Strip."
"Since then people have more respect for us because we play our own music and we don't dance around, not that that's a bad thing. I just can't do it," Rooney said.
"In the beginning, it really didn't bother us, but we knew if we wanted to get somewhere in country music, we had to gain some respect," he continued.
Freshman Jacie Johnson said the Lyric Street hit makers are different from other acts in country music.
"They aren't the typical country group," Johnson said. "They don't wear tight jeans and cowboy hats. They're very original and don't stick to the country rules."
The trio has collected a fan base from people, including BSU students, who enjoy all genres of music.
Some BSU fans went to extraordinary lengths to attain good seats for the show.
"Me and my buddy spent the night at Emens the night before tickets went on sale in my car," sophomore Dallas Chambers said. "We were the first people in line."
The determination paid off for Chambers because he grabbed tickets in the center of row two.
Tickets went on sale 10 a.m. on Aug. 11 and were officially sold out at noon on Aug. 12.
"I knew the show would do well," Darcy Wood, associate director of Emens Auditorium, said. "We always hope for a sold-out show, but you never really know. We generally sell out large celebrity shows, like Bill Cosby and Rascal Flatts. We've been fortunate enough to sellout 'FAME,' the CMT Tour featuring Rascal Flatts, and we had a near sell out for Willie Nelson.
We are the only Performing Arts Venue on the CMT tour, so we feel fortunate to have the date. The remaining tour dates are all scheduled at larger arena venues, so ours will be a more-intimate show."
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