The best, worst and most tequila-soaked of Stagecoach Day 3

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This year’s variation of the yearly Stagecoach state euphony festival is successful the books. From Friday to Sunday, tens of thousands of fans traversed the dusty grounds of Indio’s Empire Polo Club, wherever the headliners were Zach Bryan, Jelly Roll and Luke Combs. I was determination each play bringing you the highs and the lows arsenic they happened. Here’s what went down connected Day 3:

A ‘Friend’-ly finish

Combs completed Stagecoach’s tally of burly, bearded headliners with a characteristically coagulated acceptable that mixed his hard-rocking powerfulness state hits with a fistful of the sentimental ballads helium said helium adores contempt the information that “people accidental I sing excessively galore emotion songs.” Wearing jeans, boots and 1 of his trademark short-sleeved Columbia button-down shirts, Combs strung unneurotic country-radio staples including “1, 2 Many,” “When It Rains It Pours,” “One Number Away” and “Beautiful Crazy”; helium besides brought retired Bailey Zimmerman to debut their caller duet, “Backup Plan,” which Combs said they were shooting the euphony video for arsenic helium spoke.

A much astonishing impermanent quality came from Joel and Benji Madden of the pop-punk set Good Charlotte, who did their “Anthem,” past stuck astir to transportation successful connected Combs’ “Where the Wild Things Are.” (I’m not wholly definite Benji had ever heard that 1 earlier Sunday night.) For an encore, Combs sang his tender mentation of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” which helium said had changed his life, and “Ain’t No Love successful Oklahoma,” from past year’s “Twisters” movie, earlier welcoming Garth Brooks to the signifier for “one past ‘hell yeah’ earlier we each spell backmost to the existent world.” It was “Friends successful Low Places,” of course, and it got the spot jumping.

The Backstreet Boys, successful leather vests and jackets, execute onstage.

Boys among men

Perhaps the unlikeliest enactment to play Stagecoach’s Palomino structure this twelvemonth (after earlier late-night appearances by T-Pain and Creed), the Backstreet Boys turned up successful an array of distressed-leather outfits similar 5 Old West himbos looking for a barmaid to woo. The lad band’s choreography appeared unchanged from the precocious ’90s, arsenic did its songs, though I might’ve detected a susurration of pedal alloy successful “Drowning.” To enactment a fastener connected the full weekend, Combs came implicit from the main signifier to sing a fewer lines of “As Long arsenic You Love Me” — a cleanable song, arsenic immoderate grounds mill denizen from Nashville to Sweden knows.

John Rzeznik and Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls play guitar onstage.

Five minutes backstage with the Goo Goo Dolls

Your publicist says you’re astatine enactment connected your 15th workplace album. The net says it’ll beryllium your 14th. Care to settee this?
John Rzeznik: Always judge the net — determination are rules against being wrong.

What’s the astir country-ish Goo Goo Dolls song?
Rzeznik: In the acceptable today, astir apt a opus called “Come to Me.” There’s different opus called “Walk Away,” but we thought that mightiness beryllium pandering.

What’s a state opus you deliberation you could kill?
Rzeznik: Well, you indispensable enactment distant from immoderate Chris Stapleton opus due to the fact that helium has the top dependable ever. When I perceive to Chris Stapleton, I go, “This guy’s channeling Al Green.” It’s immoderate soiled soul. So he’s disconnected the list. There’s that 1 Johnny Cash opus — I don’t cognize the sanction of it, but it’s astir him moving connected an assembly enactment and helium keeps stealing parts?

Robby Takac: “One Piece astatine a Time.”

Rzeznik: We could crush that song.

“Iris” was nominated for grounds of the twelvemonth and opus of the twelvemonth astatine the Grammys successful 1999. I’m atrocious to punctual you that it won neither. Remember who bushed you?
Both: Celine Dion.

Takac: Wanna perceive thing crazy? Shortly aft that, we were riding down the road connected our bus, and our operator goes, “Hey, Celine Dion’s autobus is adjacent to us.” She got connected the CB and sang “My Heart Will Go On.” It was benignant of a consolation prize.

Billy Joel has performed “Iris” with you. Ever screen a Billy Joel song?
Rzeznik: I don’t deliberation so. But if we were to, it would person to beryllium —

Takac: “You May Be Right.”

Rzeznik: We’ve had this debate: Who’s amended — Elton John oregon Billy Joel? It’s a bully 1 due to the fact that I spot some sides.

Takac: But it’s Elton John with Bernie Taupin.

Rzeznik: That’s the thing. Billy Joel sat determination each by himself and wrote those songs.

Did the Goo Goo Dolls ever person a move-to-L.A. rock-star moment?
Rzeznik: Yeah, I was successful the mediate of a divorce. Great clip to determination to L.A., particularly aft you’ve had a small spot of success. I was surviving successful the Le Parc hotel, and that’s wherever I wrote “Iris.”

Who knows what would’ve happened if you’d ne'er moved?
Rzeznik: Who knows what would’ve happened if I’d tried to get on amended with my archetypal wife?

After you guys, who’s the second-best enactment from Buffalo, N.Y.?
Rzeznik: Rick James.

Takac: He mightiness beryllium the best.

What was the champion happening astir the ’80s?
Rzeznik: No cellphones.

What was the worst happening astir the ’90s?
Rzeznik: It coiled up moving successful our favor, but we didn’t acceptable into the grunge thing, we didn’t acceptable into the alt-rock thing, we didn’t acceptable into mainstream music. We were similar orphans. We didn’t person a pack truthful we had to make our ain thing.

Takac: Can I connection a worst happening astir the ’80s?

You may.
Takac: That f—ing Metal Blade grounds woody we signed.

Rzeznik: When we yet got a existent lawyer and helium work that deal, helium said to us, “This is worse than TLC’s grounds deal.” I was like, “Oh my God — we are the 2 stupidest quality beings connected the look of the earth.”

Sammy Hagar, successful achromatic T-shirt and sunglasses, performs onstage.

Hagar the hedonist

“This is simply a opus astir the appreciation of reality,” Sammy Hagar declared alternatively high-mindedly to present Van Halen’s “Right Now” successful the Palomino. For the astir part, though, the 77-year-old stone seasoned was chasing simpler delights successful this endearingly sloppy performance: enactment (as successful “Poundcake”), accelerated cars (“I Can’t Drive 55”) and tequila (“Mas Tequila,” duh). For that past tune, Hagar told the crowd, “We’re gonna instrumentality this s— to the beach,” past made bully connected it by taking disconnected his shoes — and his socks — and rolling up his pants to clam-digging length. Guy Fieri adjacent popped retired to instrumentality a swig from Hagar’s bottle.

Festival manner report

Out: Denim thongs

In: Gingham bloomers

Out: Vintage set T-shirts

In: Clingy “Cowboy Pillows” T-shirts

Out: Mustaches (at slightest compared to Coachella)

In: Beards (in galore cases minus a mustache)

Out: Backward shot caps

In: Camo Zach Bryan hats

Scotty McCreery, successful a achromatic T-shirt, jeans and sunglass, sings onstage.

Five minutes backstage with Scotty McCreery

You person a 2-year-old son. What euphony is helium into?
He loves Daddy’s songs, but it’s not similar they’re conscionable Daddy’s songs. I’ve got a opus called “It Matters to Her,” and that’s our canine Moose’s opus — Moose is successful the euphony video. Mommy’s opus is simply a opus called “Slow Dance.” Everybody successful the household has a song.

What’s a state opus you emotion but you cognize amended than to effort doing yourself?
Anything Chris Stapleton sings.

Describe your fittingness regimen.
At slightest 45 minutes each time — commercialized disconnected betwixt cardio and lifting. But I astir apt bash amended lifting the fork than anything.

What’s an big beverage you’ve sworn off?
Fireball. One excessively galore atrocious experiences.

Would you alternatively beryllium 10% much talented oregon 10% better-looking?
Ten percent better-looking wouldn’t bash maine overmuch bully truthful I’ll instrumentality the talent.

What’s the past happening you utilized ChatGPT for?
I was trying to fig retired immoderate landscaping successful the backyard and I couldn’t representation it. So I asked it if it could gully maine what it would look like. Actually made immoderate beauteous bully examples.

You person immoderate tattoos?
No tattoos. Thought astir it successful Vegas erstwhile — was with each my guys astatine a play tournament. But I thought wiser.

What mightiness you person gotten?
Probably a Bible verse.

Are you a bully golfer?
I’m a bully golfer compared to astir of the world. But immoderate of my buddies are overmuch amended than me. Much amended than me.

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