Big & Rich perform at the Nightly Concert at LP Field on Sunday, June 10 in Downtown Nashville during the 2007 CMA Music Festival. Photographer: John Russell / CMA.
July 22, 2008 — Big & Rich have made some high-profile festival appearances this year, playing the Stagecoach Music Festival in California in May, Bayfest in Ontario earlier this month and Country Jam this past weekend in Wisconsin.
And they won’t be playing any more shows during 2008. Big Kenny and John Rich closed out their limited run with buddies Cowboy Troy and Two Foot Fred in a set that featured "Lost In This Moment," "Save A Horse (Ride A Cowboy)" and "Holy Water."
The duo announced earlier this year that Big Kenny was undergoing physical therapy for a neck injury suffered several years ago in a car accident, noting the rehab would put a damper on their touring schedule.
"Kenny has no problem doin’ shows every now and then," John says. "It’s just that constant, 100-shows-in-a-year thing that you can’t do."
Both of them are working on projects during their downtime. Big Kenny has developed a musical for children and has said he’d be producing a few up-and-coming artists. John has a solo project in the works, and he’s reaped rewards from producing James Otto’s Sunset Man album and Jewel’s Perfectly Clear. And John has several solo shows on the books, keeping him in touch with some of the duo’s fans.
"The country music fan base is the most loyal fan base for any kind of music," he says. "There’s more artists that have 15+-year careers in country music than anywhere else you can find, and that’s because of the fans. I think they really do get involved with the artists on a personal level, because they read about us, they really dig into the music, they come to multiple shows, they watch everything that you do. I think they have a lot of respect for what we do, and we have a lot of respect for them standin’ out there, rain or shine, and they just wanna see a great show and have a great time."
When those fans will get another Big & Rich album is not yet known.
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