Don’t let the title fool you: if you grew up with “Bless the Broken Road” bumping on the radio as you enjoyed a restful Sunday afternoon on the front porch (hint: not my lifestyle), the guitar solos and melodies of recently reunited Rascal Flatts on day three of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was satisfying enough to evoke positive memories. Otherwise? Inconsistent vocals, overly calculated audience engagement, and tone-deaf rhetoric simply left the audience wanting more.
My idea of Rascal Flatts as a nostalgia act is not simply due to their Rodeo performance coming 25+ years after the group’s formation – sentimentality is built into the group’s music. “Fast Cars and Freedom” describes a longer relationship that still carries that “first time feeling,”while “Mayberry” reminisces upon the small towns that are falling victim to the “rat race” and America’s relentless pursuit of profit and industry over community.
With this in mind, it can seem disorienting that the group positions themselves as a “unity group.” As Houston Chronicle writer Joey Guerra points out in his review, Rascal Flatts reunited in 2025 specifically for President Trump’s second inauguration – after also performing at his first. The “Country over Party” and “Love over Hate,” banter is nice, and I truly do mean that. But as Guerra mentioned, these comments have been repeated near word-for-word on previous tours, mostly as a lead-in for the song “Stand.” Combine this with the quick expression of gratitude to God almighty, repeatedly praising the U.S. as the greatest country on the face of the entire planet, and thanking the men and women who serve (the concert fell on Armed Forces Appreciation Day), I’m left in a weird position to remark that these appeals didn’t move me as they did most of the crowd, as I felt they lacked substance or personal storytelling.
When lead singer Gary LeVox sang the band staple “My Wish,” he took full advantage of it – drawing out high notes for 5-10 seconds. His talent is undeniable, and this song (also my personal favorite) was LeVox’s peak performance. Just a few songs later, on the wedding anthem “Bless the Broken Road,” his isolated vocal switch flipped for the worse – my girlfriend remarked that he was “moaning into the microphone.” However, the harmonized choruses were absolutely a highlight of the night, bringing back the aforementioned evocative imagery and audience engagement.
Ironically, I did not like the sound of “I Like the Sound of That,” – the audio dipped in quality compared to other songs, for whatever reason. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by the talk box feature on “Me and My Gang,” which I can now argue is the group’s most underrated song.
Overall, the group known by many for covering “Life is a Highway” in the movie Cars deserves their flowers for what they have contributed to 21st century country music. Although this performance was good enough to sustain my attention and appreciation for country music, it just didn’t “knock my boots off.”
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