Two weeks into 2024 and it has been a bumpy ride for country music fans as a couple of legends have announced they are stepping away from touring, and another legendary performer has passed away.
The following is a quick catchup for those that might have missed the news in the new year:
John Michael Montgomery performs during the CMA Festival on June 12, 2016, in Nashville, Tennessee. The country music singer recently announced his farewell tour.Beth Gwinn/Getty Images
John Michael Montgomery is calling it quits
John Michael Montgomery got a jump on 2024 by taking to Facebook to let his fans know that he was heading out on a farewell tour.
“I have decided to wind down my touring career over this year and 2025,” the 58-year-old wrote. “It’s been a wonderful run for me from the beginning over 30 years ago in 1992 when my first song ‘Life’s A Dance’ was released to radio.”
The singer’s first three albums, 1992′s “Life’s A Dance,” 1994′s “Kickin’ It Up,” and 1995′s “John Michael Montgomery,” were all reportedly mutli-platinum selling albums. And he has reportedly sold more than 16 million albums in his career.
His Billboard number-one hits include: “I Love the Way You Love Me,” “I Swear,” and “I Can Love You Like That.”
Good news for fans of the artist is that while it sounds as though he is all but wrapping up his time on the road, he reportedly hasn’t ruled out the occasional appearance and it doesn’t sound like he is completely walking away from making music.
“I’m sure there will be some situations where I just need to do a show here and there because I’ll miss that too much,” he reportedly said in a statement. “But I just feel the time has come to say goodbye to the road life.”
The singer said in his Facebook post that he has been “fortunate and blessed to be able to do what I love for so many years.”
“Please join me on my journey as I say goodbye to the road life,” he wrote. “And thanks so much for your support for the last 3 decades, it’s meant so much to me.”
His farewell tour has alread kicked off with the next date set for Jan. 26 in Dover, Florida.
There are five other dates scheduled, and you can see those here. For folks in Pennsylvania, the closest the tour currently brings him to the Keystone State will come May 31 when he plays in Xenia, Ohio.
Joe Bonsall of The Oak Ridge Boys sings the national anthem before the Music City Bowl NCAA college football game between Purdue and Auburn Friday, Dec. 28, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)AP
Oak Ridge Boys Joe Bonsall stepping away
Oak Ridge Boys singer Joe Bonsall also announced to start the year that a debilitating medical condition is forcing him to retire from touring.
The 75-year-old has reportedly been battling a neuromuscular disorder which prompted him to announce last week that he was retiring from touring.
“I am now at a point where walking is impossible, so I have basically retired from the road,” he reportedly said. “It has just gotten too difficult. It has been a great 50 years, and I am thankful to all the Oak Ridge Boys band crew and staff for the constant love and support shown to me through it all. I will never forget, and for those of you have been constantly holding me up in prayer, I think you and ask for you to keep on praying.”
While Bonsall steps away the group will reportedly continue its Farewell Tour with 27-year-old Ben James taking his spot.
“There is a young man named Ben James singing for me out there, and he needs your love and encouragement,” Bosnall reportedly said in his statement. “His sound is different than mine, but he brings a ton of talent to the table! The Oak Ridge Boys will finish the Farewell Tour without me, but rest assured, I am good with all of it! God’s Got It!!!” The tour is slated for a stop in Lancaster on March 16 and March 17 at the American Music Theater.
Larry Collins of “The Collins Kids” dies
Larry Collins, a former country music child star turned legendary guitarist and song writer, died on Jan. 5.
He was 79. Per reports, Collins died of natural causes.
He first made his splash in country music alongside his older sister, Lorrie, when they formed the “The Collins Kids” duo when Larry was just 9 years old. They recorded a series of hits — “Hop, Skip and Kump,” “Hoy Hoy,” and “Beetle Bug Bop” — with music catering to children. The became regulars on “Town Hall Party” in 1954 and they performed together into the 60s.
Per reports, Lorrie had her first child in 1961 and stepped away from music to focus on family. The duo did reunite years later in the 90s.
While Lorrie, who died in 2018, focused on building her family, Larry moved on to a solo career where he made, perhaps, his biggest mark as a songwriter. He is credited as the co-writer for “Delta Dawn,” which became Tanya Tucker’s first hit song among other songs.
Mark Chesnutt performs on stage during the Watershed Music Festival on August 1, 2015, in George, Washington. The country singer was recently cleared to perform after being hospitalized.Mat Hayward/Getty Images
Mark Chesnutt returning to touring
There has been, at least, some good news for country music fans and Chesnutt tops the list.
When we last heard from Chesnutt things were not sounding too good.
The country music legend cancelled two shows in November, and a post on his X account, formerly Twitter, didn’t sound good.
“Mark Chesnutt is currently undergoing a medical evaluation after being admitted to a local hospital on Wednesday, November 1st,” the post read.. “Mark and Tracy appreciate the outpouring of love, prayers, and support. Mark is looking forward to seeing everyone soon.”
In a statement to Whiskey Riff, his team said that updates would be posted “once the doctors determine his condition.” Per the site, Chesnutt had to take time off from touring in 2021 to have back surgery.
No updates were reported on the X account, but whatever that scary sounding medical condition was, it looks like Chesnutt has come through it and is heading back out on the road.
The Courier News reported that Chesnutt was cleared to return to performing, and WBKO in Bowling Green recently ran a story that said Chesnutt announced a show there at the Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center that is slated to take place on Sept. 6.
So, considering how things looked late in the year, this is great news for Chesnutt fans.
The 60-year-old rose to stardom in the early 90s and has a long list of albums and hit songs in his catalog. Among those, Chesnutt has had 20 top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. Eight of those 20 songs — “Brother Jukebox,” “It Sure Is Monday,” “I’ll Think of Something,” “I Just Wanted You to Know,” “Gonna Get a Life,” “Almost Goodbye,” “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” and “It’s a Little Too Late,” all hit number-one on the charts.
Rascal Flatts guitarist Joe Don Rooney solos during the band’s 2014 stop at Blossom.Chuck Yarborough, The Plain Dealer
Joe Don Rooney makes a comeback
Another good story was the re-emergence of former “Rascal Flatts” guitarist Joe Don Rooney on X, formerly Twitter.
Apparently, there were rumors that he was dead, and also rumors that he was transitioning to become a woman.
“But I figured today, at the beginning of this brand new year 2024, would be a good day to send a message out to the world,” he wrote. “First off, I am alive!”
Then he really got into it.
“There have been so many rumors and opinions thrown around about me — but I’m finally healthy and ready for the world,” he wrote. “And NO, I’m not transitioning to be a woman. That thought has never entered my mind. Nothing against the trans community whatsoever but I needed to set the record straight.”
- NASCAR superstar enters Chili Bowl Nationals at last minute
- Former NASCAR driver, racing champion dead at 55
Rooney said that his life changed on Sept. 9, 2021 “when I ran square into a tree and about killed myself.”
“I was drunk and I was so far gone with my life — I was completely out of control and finished with trying to fight the fears, depression and anxieties that had spun me out in a way I’ve never experienced before,” he said. “My drinking had been an issue for many years — and as they say in AA and treatment, it’s a progressive disease. I am living proof that the progressive nature of drinking can really ratchet up and as I grew older as an adult my drinking grew worse.”
Rooney cited the “pressures of his career and the many mistakes” he made “in regards to my home life, coupled with a lot of pain and trauma from my childhood and early on in my adult life” as being too much to handle.
“I was not a good father,” he wrote. “I was not a good husband — and I was not a good band mate to my business partners.”
He said the car wreck changed that, thanking God for not killing him and not letting him kill someone else in the crash.
“I could literally be in a Federal Prison for life right now,” he wrote. “That is the reality of what my life had become.”
Rooney went on to say that on January 13 he will have been sober for “almost 28 months.”
“I’ve been able to get the train back on the tracks and live without the burden of alcohol,” he wrote. “Now, I need to protect my family and protect my sobriety. I have new healthy boundaries for the first time in my life. Only positive, loving, caring & understanding people may enter.”
He closed by wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2024.
“Rascal Flatts” disbanded in 2020 after their farewell tour was interrupted by COVID.
