ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An iconic country music trio that was scheduled to play PPL Center a decade ago but canceled will perform there in March, it was announced.
Rascal Flatts, which has sold more than 23 million copies of its 10 studio albums, will perform at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 15, PPL Center said.
The show will be part of a new tour to celebrate 25 years together.
Also on the bill will be Chris Lane, who had the No. 1 country hit “Fix” in 2015 and the triple-platinum hit "I Don't Know About You" in 2018.
Also performing will be Lauren Alaina, who was the runner-up on the 10th season of TV's "American Idol" in 2011 and had the No. 1 platinum country hit "Road Less Traveled" in 2016.
Tickets for the show, the prices of which have not been announced, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 4 at the PPL Center website and at the box office at 701 Hamilton St., Allentown.PPL Center website
It will be the just the third time in 21 years that Rascal Flatts, known for its platinum hits “What Hurts The Most,” “Bless the Broken Road” and “Life is a Highway,” has played in the Lehigh Valley.
The group played Allentown Fair's grandstand in 2017. It previously headlined the fair in 2004.
Tickets for the show, the prices of which have not been announced, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 4 at the PPL Center websiteand at the box office at 701 Hamilton St., Allentown.
Rascal Flatts was scheduled to be the first country act to play the then-new PPL Center in 2014, but canceled less than two days before the show.
At the time, the band said only that, “We regret to inform you that the Rascal Flatts concert previously scheduled at PPL Center on Friday, September 26th has been canceled.
“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”
The arena also didn’t give a reason for the cancellation at the time.
COVID canceled previous tour
In 2020, Rascal Flatts announced, then canceled, a farewell tour.
“In 2020, we announced the farewell tour after being on the road extensively for 20 years," the band said on its website. "To put it simply, we needed a break.
"Then COVID hit and our plans came to a screeching halt, like the rest of the world. Since then, we’ve been able to revisit our unique and special experience as a band and we’re ready to get out on the road again.
"It’s hard to believe that next year will be the 25th anniversary of Rascal Flatts, and that felt like the perfect time to get back in front of the fans who have given us so much.”
The band's hit “Bless The Broken Road” spent five weeks atop the country chart, and “What Hurts the Most” also went to No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.Rascal Flatts website
Rascal Flatts has had all but two of its 10 studio albums hit No. 1 on the country chart. Its self-titled debut album in 2000 peaked at No. 3 and its most recent, "Back to Us" in 2017, at No. 2.
Four of its albums also went to No. 1 on the overall chart, and three — “Melt” in 2002, “Feels Like Today” in 2004 and “Me and My Gang” in 2006 — sold a total of 12 million copies.
Nielsen reported the band was the top-selling artist in all of music in 2006.
Rascal Flatts has had 32 Top 10 singles on the country chart, with its first 19 singles — from 2000 to 2008 — all hitting the Top 10.
Its most recent Top 10 was "How They Remember You" in 2020. The group also had a Top 10 hit on the Christian chart with Tauren Wells with "Until Grace" that same year.
“Bless The Broken Road” spent five weeks atop the country chart, and “What Hurts the Most” also went to No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Four other of its songs have sold platinum: “My Wish,” “I Won’t Let Go,” “Easy (featuring Natasha Bedingfield)” and its 2006 cover of Tom Cochrane’s “Life is a Highway” for the animated film “Cars” hit the Top 10 on the overall singles chart.
Five others have sold gold, including “I Like the Sound of That.”
Rascal Flatts won the Country Music Association’s Top Vocal Group Award six years in a row, 2003-08. It won the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Vocal Duo Or Group in 2001 and won the academy’s Best Vocal Group award four years in a row, 2002-05, and also in 2007 and 2008.
It won a Grammy Award for Best Country Song for “Bless the Broken Road” in 2006.
Chris Lane and Lauren Alaina
Chris Lane first hit the country charts in 2014 and by 2015 had a No. 1 hit, “Fix.” He followed that with another No. 1, 2018’s “I Don’t Know About You,” which went triple platinum.
In all, he's had five singles go gold and platinum, including those two, 2016’s “For Her,” 2017’s “Take Back Home Girl” with Tori Kelly and 2019's "Big, Big Plans."
His most recent album, 2018's "Laps Around the Sun," hit gold sales.
He also has opened for hit country singer Kane Brown at PPL Center.
After her run on "American Idol," Alaina's debut album, 2011's "Wildflower," peaked at No. 5 on the country chart.
Her most recent album, 2021's "Sitting Pretty on Top of the World," her third, peaked at No. 21.
In addition to "Road Less Traveled," Alaina had gold hits with 2011's "Like My Mother Does," 2017's "Doin' Fine" and 2019's "Gettin' Good."
