Originally called Texassee, the ensemble features Richie McDonald (lead vocals, guitar), John Rich (lead vocals, bass), Michael Britt (lead guitar, background vocals), Dean Sams (keyboard, background vocals), and Keech Rainwater (drums). All the members are in fact Texas natives — they just formed in Tennessee in 1992.
In 1993, Lonestar played their first concert at Backstage Pass in Nashville in January of 1993. A booking agent happened to hear the show. Impressed, he added the lineup to his roster, and the ensemble headed out on the road. Over the next two years, they played nearly 500 concerts. In 1994, the lineup acquired a album signed deal with BNA Records. The following year they issued their eponymous debut, which spawned the Top Ten hit “Tequila Talkin’.” Crazy Nights came in 1997, and two years later Lonestar came back with Lonely Grill, which featured the hit “Amazed.” Their seasonal effort This Christmas Time followed in fall 2000, and I’m Already There appeared the next spring. They gave us three more records after their 2003 greatest-hits compilation From There to Here: 2004’s Let’s Be Us Again, 2005’s Coming Home, and 2006’s Mountains. In late 2007, the band announced that Cody Collins had replaced Richie McDonald as lead singer, and that their next album, My Christmas List, would be distributed by Cracker Barrel restaurants.
