As Rascal Flatts prepare to wrap up two decades of music with their upcoming How They Remember You EP, they are sharing what they hope their fans remember them for, and surprisingly, it isn’t the music. The trio, made up of Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney, hope that they are remembered more for their generosity and philanthropy, above anything else.
“Most importantly though is the charitable aspect of what Rascal Flatts has been able to do,” Joe Don said (via PopCulture.com). “We’ve been so blessed beyond belief. To be able to give back to our main charity, the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville, is the real legacy piece for us, and so hopefully that is remembered as well, and most importantly.”
Rascal Flatts has donated more than $6 million to the Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, which is for them the achievement they are most proud of.
“If you’re blessed enough to have a platform, and have success, to be able to give back, you should,” Jay previously told the outlet. “We’ve always believed that. And we never dreamed that it would be this many years into the future that we’d still be doing this, and having this kind of impact on the hospital. But they’ve done as much for us, as we’ve ever been able to do for them.”
With How They Remember You, the Flatts are pouring all of themselves into what is likely their final project.
“I think we’ve been working on that for the past 20 years. I really do,” Joe Don Rooney acknowledged. “I’d hope that when we do lay it down, that the fans remember us for being true to ourselves and making music that is hopefully impactful and music that will live out way longer than what we can ever tour for or be a part of when we’re older.”
Rascal Flatts were supposed to be on their farewell Life is a Highway Tour, which had to be canceled because of COVID-19. Still, they hint there may still be an opportunity for another tour in the future.
“I think that, like everybody else, no one saw this coming and we were all thrown for a loop. Quite frankly, 2020 has really sucked for everybody,” Jay said (via ABC Audio). “We are taking it day by day. It’s a moving target. There’s not really a timeline for how and when venues are gonna open back up and what the social distancing measures are gonna look like. So we’re playing the wait and see game right now.”
How They Remember You will be released on July 31. It is available for pre-order at Amazon.