Lonestar reunites with McDonald
Wednesday, October 26, 2011 – Lonestar has reunited with original lead singer Richie McDonald and will tour and record a new album in 2012 to mark their 20th anniversary.
The first concert dates for the band's four original members - keyboardist Dean Sams, drummer Keech Rainwater, lead guitarist Michael Britt and McDonald - will take place overseas Feb. 26-March 4. McDonald replaces Cody Collins, who had joined the band in 2007, replacing McDonald.
The band's last CD was "Party Heard Around The World," their 10th album, in 2010 on Saguaro Road Records.
Lonestar will perform in London (Wembley Arena), Belfast, Ireland (Odyssey Arena), Zurich, Switzerland (Hallenstadion) and Mannheim, Germany (SAP Arena) on a multi-artist bill with Reba McEntire, Ricky Skaggs and Little Big Town.
The stage was set for the announcement on Tuesday when the band tweeted, "Big news for Lonestar fans coming tomorrow! 2012 marks our 20th anniversary. What would you like to see and hear from us?"
The band has sold more than 10 million album units since their national launch in 1995 and achieved 10 number 1 country hits including No News, Come Crying To Me and Amazed.
"Well, five years has come and gone since I left Lonestar," said McDonald. "We've all tried other avenues, and the fact remains that some things were just meant to be. With the Lonestar 20-year reunion approaching, Dean, Michael, Keech and I got together and have decided we have some unfinished business to take care of. I miss those crazy nights running around on stage making music with my band of brothers. Looking forward to a new chapter in the book of Lonestar and reliving some old memories and also making some new ones for the fans that have been loyal to us through thick and thin."
"With 2012 in the near future, we all began thinking of what that meant to us as a band," said Sams.
"I think fans ultimately wondered if this was ever going to happen again, and it always seemed like the original Lonestar as a whole was better than the sum of its parts," Rainwater said.
Tour dates are:
Feb. 26. London, England Wembley Arena
Feb. 29 Belfast, Ireland Odyssey Arena
March 2 Zurich, Switzerland Hallenstadion
March 4 Mannheim, Germany SAP Arena
More news for Lonestar
CD reviews for Lonestar
Party Heard Around The World
After so many years, most band's develop a sound that when you hear it, you say - "Ah, some REO Speedwagon" or "Swell, some Bee Gees." But when a band, known for a particular sound and a lead singer's voice, in particular, when that lead singer quits and the band presses on with a new singer, sometimes the transition simply doesn't work. Such is the case with Lonestar. This is a band that in recent years was pegged as a milquetoast, "sippy-cup country" »»» |
My Christmas List
Lonestar's latest also introduces new vocalist Cody Collins, who proves to be a comfortable fit within this veteran's band's vocal-centric sound. Although music critics are ever in search of musical originality, making a memorable holiday recording does not always mean stuffing the stocking with only new material. Sometimes just a slightly different approach to familiar seasonal sounds is all it takes. And although churches have long incorporated Christmas carols into their »»» |
Mountains
The title track of Lonestar's 10th CD, the inspirational and impossibly-catchy gem "Mountains" is a song with spirit, ready for fast-track canonization amongst the group's personal Rushmore. So does the rest of the record hold up?
Well, even for a group that could be the house band for Dr. Phil, this album treads new lyrical ground in male sensitivity. There's the doting man waiting with the wine after your hard day. While he admires your ambition, he also swoons at your wild streak. »»» |
Editorial: Walking the talk –
When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»
Concert Review: McGraw has plenty of fight left –
Despite the fact that Tim McGraw is five years sober, fit as a triathlete and touring behind a number one album, he is still in an unenviable position. As he approaches 50, McGraw has to stay a step ahead of the current crop of young country hunks with TV shows, cross format radio airplay and wider appeal. But as he proved at First Niagara's... »»»
Concert Review: Steve Earle doesn't rest (on laurels) –
If you didn't realize Steve Earle had a new disc out, "The Low Highway," it would have been no problem realizing that quite and quickly.
That was because Earle started the two-hour show with three straight tracks from "The Low Highway," and he would not be done for the night. The title track of was a midtempo effort... »»»
|
|
Country News Digest
 CST
 CST
Elsewhere in the news
Currently at the CST blogs
Some folks listening to Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison's new duet album, "Cheaters Game," may well exclaim, 'Well, it's about time!' after finally hearing these two talented country singer/songwriters recording music as a pair for the first time. Willis has built quite a following for her independently-minded feminine perspective, while Robison has written hits for the Dixie Chicks ( Travelin' Soldier) and Tim McGraw and Faith Hill ( Angry All the Time), as well as penning the ultimate Willie Nelson tribute, What Would Willie Do? and recording it as a solo act.
... »»»
Last fall, singer/songwriter Steve Forbert dropped the 14th studio album of his 35-year career, the impeccable "Over With You." Critics recognized the album as a return to the form Forbert displayed on his earliest works - 1978's stripped back and personal "Alive on Arrival" and 1979's more lushly produced and commercially accessible "Jackrabbit Slim" - but the fact is that Forbert has never strayed far from their basic folk/rock tenets.... »»»
Over the course of the past 20 years or so, Jim Lauderdale and Buddy Miller have both experienced a certain rise in their respective rootsy country profiles. Miller has become one of Nashville's hottest speed dial numbers, as an artist, a guitarist-for-hire (a role he has performed for Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris and Robert Plant, among others) and an intuitive producer (he's currently working with Executive Music Producer T Bone Burnett to provide the soundtrack for ABC's "Nashville" television series).... »»»
Wilderness
"Wilderness" is another twisted menagerie of The Handsome Family songs. Once again, husband Brett Sparks sings their songs, sometimes in a bellowing gravedigger voice, after adding music to wife Rennie's lyrics. This time out, each and every tune is named after an animal, insect or other such nature creature. However, Rennie studies animals the way Flannery O'Connor wrote about humans, which is with the weirdness and character flaws in primary focus. »»» |
Love Is Everything
George Strait may have reached his seventh decade, but he shows zero signs of slowing down. In fact, Strait seems to be getting even more consistent as he gets older. Strait doesn't stray all that far from the formula that has resulted in superstar status. First and foremost, that means his sonorous voice is mixed far above the music, a very good thing. »»» |
Dark Dirty Mile
Jason Boland and the Stragglers have released a new country album that sounds old. This isn't to imply that the sound is aged in a negative way; they have a classic country maturity that isn't heard too much these days with the exception of Jamey Johnson. For those not familiar with the music of Boland, the first track is a great way to decide whether this is your kind of country music. The title track is a mid tempo country song reminiscent of the late Waylon Jennings. »»» |
Golden
Lady Antebellum probably needed a change in direction after "Own the Night" dropped in 2011. The material was overly geared towards taking dead aim at the radio jugular. That isn't the case this time out on the trio's fifth release because most of the songs veer away from being obviously radio fodder (except for the current single Downtown with its soulful beginning and strong vocals from Hillary Scott), but that also doesn't man that this was the right change. »»» |
|
