LITTLE ROCK — It took a few years of paying their dues, but Sugarland has found its way to the top, where the living is sweeter.
After several local shows as an opening act, Sugarland returns as the headliner of what the band calls “The Incredible Machine Tour 2011,” taking its name from the duo’s fourth album, The Incredible Machine, released Oct. 19. The album’s sales are approaching 15 million CDs and digital downloads.
Pollstar, a music industry trade publication, called the 2010 version of the tour one of the top 50 North American tours of the year.
Formed in Atlanta in 2002, Sugarland’s most visible member is lead singer Jennifer Nettles, with its other member, Kristian Bush, singing background and playing acoustic guitar, mandolin and harmonica. Fans quickly embraced the duo, with the first Sugarland album, 2004’s Twice the Speed of Life, containing several hit singles. Their second album, Enjoy the Ride, contained the hit single, “Stay,” which won two 2007 Grammy awards.
Nettles, 36, had first tried her hand at more of a rock sound in her early Georgia years, first in a group called Soul Miner’s Daughter before she then formed the Jennifer Nettles Band in 1999.
An episode of the CMT Crossroads show helped increase the visibility of Sugarland when it paired the band with Bon Jovi, and Nettles was featured on the Bon Jovi song, “Who Says You Can’t Go Home.”
Sugarland has toured as an opener for Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban. Two years ago, while touring with Urban, Sugarland had to cancel some shows due to Nettles’ vocal problems. Her voice recovered before their August 2009 Verizon Arena show, which featured visuals of local landmarks, including the Old Mill, Little Rock Central High School and the River Market.
In November the duo settled a lawsuit with Kristen Hall, who had sued Nettles and Bush over disputed financial matters after Hall departed in 2005 for a solo career. Details of the settlement were not disclosed.
Opening act Little Big Town, the group with the Arkansas member from the not very big little town of Cherokee Village,is again out on tour with Sugarland, having done so last year and in 2007.
Phillip Sweet, the Arkie in Little Big Town, got his start with help from his mother, who ran the Ozark Jubilee Theater, a country music variety show in the Cherokee Village-Hardy-Horseshoe Bend area, where tourism and retirement communities provided a base of fans. By the time he was 15, Sweet was getting a musical education that would prove to be something of a head start.
“It was a great place for me to cut my teeth,” Sweet says. “I learned how to improve on the spot, surrounded by other musicians. It gave me a good basis for how they do things here in Nashville.”
Sweet began his quest for fame after a stint at Arkansas State University, which he left in 1997 to move to Nashville, Tenn. By 1998, the group had been formed by four singers: Sweet, Jim Westbrook, Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman.
Little Big Town’s latest album, The Reason Why, was released in August, propelled by a Top 10 hit, “Little White Church.”
Little Big Town has been compared to Fleetwood Mac, which Sweet says the band considers an honor.
“We have occasionally done some of their songs,” he says, “and we did a CMT Crossroads show with [Fleetwood Mac guitarist] Lindsey Buckingham on which we sang ‘Go Your Own Way,’ ‘The Chain’ and ‘Dreams.’”
Another musical idol, Lionel Richie, recently recruited Little Big Town to sing a duet with him on a song, “Deep River Woman,” on his forthcoming album.
“He was making an album with collaborations,” Sweet says. “And he was a fan of our song, ‘Little White Church,’ which is how he came to contact us. He was so easy and great to work with.”
Sweet still has family in the Cherokee Village area and when he goes home he is proud of the reception he gets from Arkansans.
“All of us are from very small places so we all are attuned to staying true to your roots and small-town values,” he says. “It’s where we get our base.”Sugarland Opening acts: Little Big Town, Casey James 7:30 p.m. Friday, Verizon Arena, East Broadway and Interstate 30, North Little Rock Tickets: $55.75, $45.75, $25.75 (800) 745-3000, www.ticketmas ter.com
Weekend, Pages 38 on 03/03/2011