No, it’s not barn dance and it’s not Country Nite at Kam’s. But on Saturday night when Rascal Flatts takes the stage at the Assembly Hall, country music fans will be in full swing.
Although this is Rascal Flatts’s fifth visit to the University of Illinois in the past ten years, Jenny Larson, assistant director of marketing at the Assembly Hall, said that each time an act comes to this venue, they bring something new.
“There’s nothing standard about it,” said Larson.
Opening acts Chris Young and Luke Bryan will begin at 7:30 p.m., but the preparation for this concert starts bright and early on Saturday morning when Rascal Flatts’s 15 trucks of equipment roll into the Assembly Hall parking lot.
Setup requires 90 outside volunteers along with the regular the Assembly Hall staff and the University fire inspector to ensure the safe use of pyrotechnics. By the time setup is over, a larger act like Rascal Flatts will have about 80,000 pounds of equipment hanging from the ceiling.
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“They want more, expect more, but they also bring more,” said Dave Roesch, stage manager at the Assembly Hall.
Aside from bringing new songs from their latest album, “Nothing Like This,” two of the Rascal Flatts members, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney, will be in the company of the newest additions to their families, baby daughters Madeline DeMarcus and Raquel Rooney.
“We’re pretty excited about this … we’re anxious to see the wives and have this unique fun family thing for all of them,” Larson said.
Based on their numbers from previous visits to Champaign, Rascal Flatts will fill the Assembly Hall 80 to 90 percent full of families and people of all ages, Larson said.
Many University of Illinois students will be in the audience, including Christina Lantero, freshman in Education. Lantero is excited to hear Rascal Flatts’s new songs but also her familiar favorites from older albums.
If previous years are any indication, Champaign Rascal Flatts fans will leave the show still fanatical as ever, and Rascal Flatts will hit the road feeling just as fanatical about Champaign.
“I think they really enjoy coming here because of where we’re located; we’re very strong with country music and being a campus town, we have lots of people here excited about it,” Larson said. “It’s really a great partnership.”
