The award-winning country & western band Rascal Flatts, and guest star Kellie Pickler, entertained an enthusiastic sold-out Bryce Jordan Center crowd Saturday night.

Pickler, who entered the national spotlight via the popular television show American Idol, opened the show with her audience-pleasing, small-town-girl brand of music.  She sang a short list of hits, including “Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind” and “Red High Heels,” and expressed her affection for Dolly Parton with a rendition “9 to 5.”  Pickler stopped frequently to sign autographs, even accepting a rose and a hug from an adoring male fan.

The Jordan Center lit up, literally, when Rascal Flatts stepped onto the high-tech stage for its “Still Feels Good” tour.  Supported by elaborately choreographed lighting, video, and pyrotechnics, one of the industry’s most popular acts entertained the crowd for more than 90 minutes.  The performance included a mix of newer hits, such as “My Wish,” “Stand,” “Winner At A Losing Game,” and “Broken Road,” while throwing in some recognizable oldies, including rock classics “American Woman” and a short guitar riff of AC/DC’s “Back In Black.”

All three leading band members, Jay DeMarcus, Joe Don Rooney, and Gary LeVox, played to the local crowd, buoyed by a stage configuration that encouraged direct fan contact.  LeVox even stopped at one point to hold a cell-phone conversation with a fan not in attendance. 

The show concluded with the band paying respects to those serving in the military by inviting four U.S. Marines onto the stage, prior to a rousing encore performance of “Life Is A Highway,” a classic rock song covered by Rascal Flatts in the Disney movie Cars.