Rascal Flatts Keep A Watchful Eye On Up-And-Coming Talent

Country's biggest stars are often on the lookout for up-and-coming talent, sometimes because they're looking for someone to mentor and other times because they're looking for solid show opener. The guys of Rascal Flatts have seen their fare share of talent over the years and have developed a keen eye for star power in the process. So who's on their radar these days? The trio's Jay DeMarcus is offering some clues.

"For me right now, I've gotta say there are two," DeMarcus says through the group's record label. "Old Dominion is making some great music. I really, really love what they're doing and they're just great guys and great musicians. And Kelsea Ballerini is really, really killin' it right now."

Jay says that one of the best ways to gauge star potential is by watching crowd reaction. "It's exciting for me whenever we take somebody on the road that opens for us to go out and watch how the crowd reacts to them," he continues. "And you almost have the sixth sense ... Aldean opened up for us, Blake Shelton did, and you could almost tell immediately that there was something extra, some intangible there that these people were going to be stars, and that's exactly what I feel about [Kelsea]."

With a new tour planned for 2018, the guys are paying a lot of attention to the latest crop of country performers. Stay tuned to see who they tap as openers, and stay on top of tour-related Flatts news here.

Teddy McDonald is a fun-lovin' country music fan man living in Nashville, Tennessee.