It’s been a pretty amazing decade for Rascal Flatts — they released seven platinum-selling albums and graced the charts’ top spots a number of times — but their latest honor might be the most meaningful of all: an invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry.

Vince Gill did the honors during the band’s Tuesday night Opry performance, surprising everyone by walking on stage during the middle of a song and stepping up to the mic. After joking he was there to collect an unpaid golf debt, Gill got down to business and shared the news of Rascal Flatts’ induction, prompting a standing ovation from the crowd.

The invitation reminded bassist Jay DeMarcus of his childhood dreams. “I used to vacation here with my family and I can remember being a little kid sitting in the very back at the very top of the Opry house and looking down at that stage and that circle and wanting so bad to hopefully someday be on that stage,” he told those in attendance. “So for it to come full circle like it has tonight is very emotionally overwhelming.”

The band, which joins Blake Shelton and the Oak Ridge Boys on the Opry’s list of new members in 2011, will officially be honored with an induction ceremony on October 8.

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