ABC/Image Group LA Nearly a month ago, Rascal Flatts was unexpectedly forced to end their show in Indianapolis just before the encore, as Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center was evacuated. At the time, a message from the band mentioned a “security concern.” Now, we’re learning that the August 9 show was cut short because of a bomb threat.
Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus, and Joe Don Rooney were about to return to the stage to sing their hits “Bless the Broken Road” and “Life Is a Highway,” when they were alerted the show was over.
“I immediately thought of Vegas,” Gary tells Billboard, recalling that he spotted police and bomb-sniffing dogs as the band was escorted to their buses at the Indianapolis venue.
Nearly a year ago, 58 people lost their lives and hundreds were injured when a gunman opened fire during Jason Aldean’s closing set at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas.
“Security in Indy did an amazing job,” Joe Don adds, “because they didn’t say ‘There’s a bomb threat,’… they [just] got everybody out of that venue.”
“They had to run the bomb dog around our buses before we could leave,” Gary explains. “And then watching everybody leave, I just kept picturing Vegas.”
“That was the first time we felt like that before,” Joe Don responds.
“It was very unsettling.” Jay agrees.
Jay also reiterates the trio would never disappoint their fans if they could help it.
“Just for the record,” he says, “we would never do most of our show and decide not to do the encore. We would never leave our fans hanging if there wasn’t a very valid reason to do so.”
Meanwhile, the official investigation into the incident continues.
Rascal Flatts’ next show is September 11 at Colorado’s iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
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