Last weekend, Rodney Atkins played his final shows as part of the 2012 Country Throwdown Tour lineup, which also featured Gary Allan, Josh Thompson, Sunny Sweeney and more. While the shows in Illinois and Nebraska were bittersweet for the singer, Atkins’ overall experience on the tour was one of the highlights of his year so far.

“It’s been a blast,” Atkins told Taste of Country backstage before his performance on Friday (June 29) in Marion, Ill. “It’s been some of the greatest people that we’ve ever got to work with, and the people from the crowds every night have been stellar and beautiful and have been singing along.”

Also parting ways with the Throwdown Tour was Josh Thompson, but the final show of the all-day music festival (sans Atkins and Thompson) will take place this coming weekend, on July 8 in Nashville. Corey Smith has been added to play the main stage along with Allan and Sweeney, while Eric Paslay, Florida Georgia Line, Maggie Rose, Drake White and Jonathan Singleton and the Grove will play the small stage that afternoon. Tickets to the Nashville performance are still available and can be purchased by clicking here.

Watch Our Backstage Interview With Rodney Atkins on the Throwdown Tour

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