Lonestar

Despite an appellation that evokes Texas, Lonestar originated as a quintet in Tennessee. Initially known as Texassee, the lineup comprised Richie McDonald on lead vocals and guitar, John Rich on lead vocals and bass, Michael Britt on lead guitar and backing vocals, Dean Sams on keyboards and backing vocals, and Keech Rainwater on drums. Although every member hailed from Texas, the musicians assembled in Tennessee during 1992.

Their inaugural performance occurred at Backstage Pass in Nashville during January 1993. A booking agent in attendance was sufficiently impressed to secure the act a place on his roster, prompting an extensive touring schedule that encompassed nearly five hundred dates across the ensuing two years. By 1994 the group had secured a recording agreement with BNA Records, and the following year their self-titled debut appeared, yielding the Top Ten single “Tequila Talkin’.” Crazy Nights arrived in 1997, followed in 1999 by Lonely Grill, which contained the hit “Amazed.” The seasonal release This Christmas Time came out in autumn 2000, and I’m Already There reached stores the subsequent spring.

Following their 2003 compilation From There to Here, the band issued three further studio albums: Let’s Be Us Again in 2004, Coming Home in 2005, and Mountains in 2006. In late 2007 Lonestar disclosed that Cody Collins had succeeded Richie McDonald as lead vocalist; the group’s next project, My Christmas List, would be handled through Cracker Barrel restaurants. That same year McDonald independently released the holiday collection If Every Day Could Be Christmas.

With Collins installed as frontman, Lonestar recorded its eighth album, Party Heard Around the World. Issued in April 2010, the set entered the Billboard 200 at number 103 and the Top Country Albums chart at number 20 before quickly receding, without producing major singles. Collins subsequently departed, while McDonald, whose solo efforts had likewise failed to gain traction, rejoined the ensemble. The reconstituted lineup delivered Life as We Know It on June 4, 2013. They later moved to Shanachie for the 2016 album Never Enders.