Multi-Platinum Selling Artist Rachel Platten Partners with Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® to 'Stand By' Troops at MacDill Air Force Base this Holiday Season

On Monday, Dec. 14, multi-platinum selling recording artist Rachel Platten visited MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida to surprise airmen and the families of deployed servicemen and women as part of her upcoming “Wildfire” album launch on Jan. 1 with the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Spotlight Music™ program.

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Rachel Platten visits with the airmen of MacDill Air Force Base in support of her new album "Wildfire" which is set to launch with Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores on Jan. 1. (Photo: Business Wire)

The “Fight Song” singer began her base visit at General Clarence Tinker Elementary School, where she surprised children of deployed active military parents with toys from Cracker Barrel® for an early holiday celebration. She also received a demonstration from the Military Working Dogs (MWD) unit.

“It’s been a very special and powerful experience spending time with these families who really embody such positive ideals and are always lifting each other up. These servicemen and women work so hard for all of us, and I’m so humbled to be here giving back with Cracker Barrel in a small way with my music,” said Platten.

At the base’s medical clinic, Platten performed her two hit singles, “Fight Song” and “Stand By You,” from her upcoming third studio album “Wildfire,” which releases on Jan. 1. She ended her visit by spending time meeting the airmen and their families, where she brought holiday cheer by surprising them with Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® gift cards.

“We are honored to have partnered with Rachel to surprise these soldiers and their families and extend a little of our Cracker Barrel hospitality by providing some toys from our retail store,” said Senior Marketing Manager Julie Ulmer. “Cracker Barrel has a rich history of supporting organizations that lift up our servicemen, servicewomen and veterans. It’s fitting that this surprise visit was designed to provide a fun environment for soldiers and their families at the base in order to connect and strengthen their family bonds because for the past 46 years Cracker Barrel has been proudly connecting families around the dinner table.”

Following the highly acclaimed success of the self-titled “Pentatonix” album, which scored the number one spot on the Billboard 200 chart with help from incremental sales at Cracker Barrel, Platten will be the second artist to release her album as part of the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Spotlight Music program this January.

About Rachel Platten

Born and raised in Boston, Rachel Platten has been an independent musician for the better part of the last decade, fighting for her big break in music. This past year, the singer/songwriter’s “Fight Song” would be just the break she hoped for, becoming the life-changing inspirational hit of 2015, topping charts around the world and selling more than 3 million downloads in the U.S. alone. The fire that “Fight Song” ignited has connected not only with music fans but also Columbia Records. With her anthemic new single “Stand By You” climbing the charts, Rachel kicks off the new year with the release of her major label debut album “Wildfire,” available everywhere January 1.

About Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. provides a friendly home-away-from-home in its old country stores and restaurants. Guests are cared for like family while relaxing and enjoying real home-style food and shopping that’s surprisingly unique, genuinely fun and reminiscent of America’s country heritage…all at a fair price. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL) was established in 1969 in Lebanon, Tenn. and operates 635 company-owned locations in 42 states. Nation’s Restaurant News’ 2015 Consumer Picks survey named Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® the winner in two Family-Dining Restaurants categories – Menu Variety and Atmosphere. For more information about the company, visit crackerbarrel.com.

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