miranda lambert tour 2018

2018 Miranda Lambert The Bandwagon Concert Tour

Co-headliner: Little Big Town Openers: Tenille Townes, Turnpike Troubadours, The Steel Woods & Natalie Hemby (on select dates)

Current Miranda Lambert Tour Dates | Complete 2018 Artist Tour Archive

Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town Plot Co-Headlining Summer 2018 Tour

By Jeff Gage

Miranda Lambert ‘s new Livin’ Like Hippies Tour kicks off a week from today on January 18th, but already the Grammy winner is already making plans for summer. On Thursday, Lambert announced that she’d be joining Little Big Town for the co-headlining Bandwagon Tour this summer.

The 13-date tour takes place over a six-week stretch during July and August, kicking off at the PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte, North Carolina on July 12th. Lambert and LBT’s stops will be focused along the East Coast, with a detour to Toronto’s Budweiser Stage for the penultimate show on August 23rd, wrapping up August 24th at DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan.

Both artists, who previously collaborated on “Smokin’ & Drinkin'” from Lambert’s 2014 LP Platinum , are coming off successful years in 2017 thanks to a pair of critically acclaimed albums. The Weight of These Wings earned Lambert Album of the Year honors at the ACM awards, while The Breaker led to LBT being named Vocal Group of the Year at both the ACMs and CMAs. LBT also held a monthly residency at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium throughout most of last year.

Lambert will be on the road for her Livin’ Like Hippies Tour with Jon Pardi from January through the end of March, while LBT will embark on the two-month Breaker Tour with Kacey Musgraves and Midland starting February 8th.

Trump Privately Rages About His Sketch Artist, Courtroom Nap Reports

Come for the torture, stay for the poetry: this might be taylor swift's most personal album yet, pink files legal action against pharrell williams over musician's proposed p.inc. trademark, mandisa, contemporary christian star and 'american idol' contestant, dead at 47.

The full itinerary of Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town’s The Bandwagon Tour:

July 12 — Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion July 13 — Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center July 14 — Indianapolis, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center July 20 — Hartford, CT @ XFINITY Theatre July 21 — Mansfield, MA @ XFINITY Center August 2 — Orange Beach, AL @ The Wharf at Orange Beach August 3 — Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre August 4 — West Palm Beach, FL @ Coral Sky Amphitheatre August 16 — Darien Center NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center August 17 — Pittsburgh, PA @ KeyBank Pavilion August 18 — Philadelphia, PA @ BB&T Pavilion August 23 — Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage August 24 — Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre

Foreign Aid Package for Ukraine, Israel… and TikTok Ban Passes House, Frustrating MAGA Republicans

• Package Deal
• By Jeremy Childs

Rüfüs Du Sol Drive Down Memory Lane at Coachella — And Tease Their Next Move

• By Kalia Richardson

Drake Drops New Kendrick Lamar Diss Track With AI Tupac, Snoop Dogg Verses

• Beef Goes On
• By Althea Legaspi

Camila Cabello Joins Lana Del Rey During Weekend Two of Coachella

• By Tomás Mier

Peso Pluma Surprises Coachella's Weekend Two Crowd With Anitta, Eslabon Armado, and More

• ¡ARRIBA MÉXICO!

Most Popular

The rise and fall of gerry turner's stint as abc's first 'golden bachelor', billy joel at madison square garden: how to watch the concert rebroadcast on tv and online for free, i dream of jeannie’s barbara eden showed everyone she’s even more magical at 92 with this rare tribute, masters 2024 prize money pegged at $20m, up $2m from prior year, you might also like, cillian murphy named best actor at irish academy awards: ‘it feels lovely being home’, tiktok ban is now in view, as house passes bill, the best yoga mats for any practice, according to instructors, cillian murphy and paul mescal win best actor and supporting actor at irish film and tv academy awards, south carolina plans to buy women’s final four center court.

Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.

Verify it's you

Please log in.

Knoxville, TN

Livin’ Like Hippies Tour with special guest Jon Pardi and The Steel Woods.

Meet-and-Greet photos

These photos are no longer available.

Join us on Social

Miranda Lambert

Photo: C Flanigan/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town Announce 2018 Bandwagon Tour

The GRAMMY winners are sure to bring plenty of country star power and hits on joint tour kicking off July 12

She's a two-time GRAMMY winner; they're two-time GRAMMY winners. She has two 60th GRAMMY nominations; they have two GRAMMY nominations. So why not pair up, get on the bandwagon and take this thing out on the road?

That's exactly what Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town are doing this summer. Dubbed The Bandwagon Tour , the power country duo will head out on a North American jaunt that will kick off July 12 in Charlotte, N.C., and conclude in Toronto on Aug. 23.

With 13 dates listed thus far, Lambert and Little Big Town will cross paths with cities such as Tampa, Fla., Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Mansfield, Mass.

Y’all come #geton the bandwagon this summer with me and @LittleBigTown ! #TheBandwagonTour For tour dates & info go to: https://t.co/2d3kWY1YNE pic.twitter.com/fdPz31oYoq — Miranda Lambert (@mirandalambert) January 11, 2018

Audiences can surely expect packed set lists full of favorites and hits, including Lambert's "Kerosene," "Mama's Broken Heart" and "Vice" and Little Big Town's "Boondocks," "Pontoon" and "Girl Crush."

Meanwhile, Lambert is up for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for "Tin Man" at the 60th GRAMMY Awards on Jan. 28. Little Big Town are nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Better Man" and Best Country Album for The Breaker .

2018 GRAMMYs: 7 Facts About The Country Field Nominees

Photo: Jimmy Fontaine

Inside Tyler Hubbard's New Album 'Strong': How He Perfectly Captured His "Really Sweet Season" Of Life

On the heels of Tyler Hubbard's latest album release, hear from the country star about the biggest influences for 'Strong' — from his "unique relationship" with his hometown to making Keith Urban jealous.

Country fans first got to know Tyler Hubbard as the voice of Florida Georgia Line . Upon his solo debut in 2022, they got a deeper look into his life as a devoted family man. Now, the chart-topping singer/songwriter wants to show his skills as the genre's feel-good party starter.

Hubbard's second album, Strong , turns up the energy with 13 tracks that focus on spreading the joy he's feeling in his own life. There's several parallels to his self-titled debut, including another tribute to his late father on "'73 Beetle" and reflections on his small-town Georgia upbringing with "Take Me Back" and "Back Then Right Now." Yet, every narrative feels more celebratory — buoyed by Hubbard's purposeful delivery, his hopeful lyricism, and uptempo melodies.

It's a natural evolution for Hubbard, who has projected positivity in his music and his image since his FGL days. And now that the world has welcomed him as a solo act — including two No. 1s at country radio with "5 Foot 9" and "Dancin' in the Country," and several sold-out shows in 2023 — he felt it was only right to bring good vibes with his second LP. 

"I was carrying the momentum from last year — the first album, being out on tour, the energy from the fans," Hubbard shares. "If you come to my live show, it's a lot of happy, fun dancing energy, and that's what I've really enjoyed kind of leaning into right now."

Ahead of Strong 's release, Hubbard sat down with GRAMMY.com to chat about his album process. Below, he breaks down the most important components, from writing nearly every song on his tour bus to happily riding in the "good time lane."

Building On The First Album

The first album was more of an introduction to who I am, and this album is more settling in. It's inspired by the live show more than anything, and the fans themselves, as opposed to me and my story. 

I kind of want [these songs]to feel like distant relatives to the first album. I'll use that analogy a lot of times in sessions and just say, "Let's elevate, and let's move forward and progress, but let's keep it in the same family." 

When I was writing both these projects, it was a tough time. You know, going through the pandemic and all that brought along, transitioning into different careers and not knowing what was gonna happen with FGL for a while. Obviously, my marriage really inspired the song "Strong," but there's sort of that principle [from album one to album two] of going through a hard season that you come out on the other side of it stronger. 

Writing On The Road

Last year, I was getting in front of my audience for the first time [post-pandemic] and really getting to see what they wanted, what was resonating, what was working, maybe what was missing in the set. So I was able to pull that energy from the fans right back to the bus. The majority of this album I wrote on the road last year, which is where I love to write songs. I love to write in town too, but [there's] something about being out on the road — you just feel a little extra creative and a little less distracted. 

Back in the day, when we were starting off and really roughing it, we didn't have anything else to do but our careers, so we'd come home from the road and we'd write three or four days a week, and then we would go hit the road and play shows. But now that I'm a husband and a father, I try to compartmentalize it, so when I'm home during the week, I can take some time off to be with the kiddos and my wife.

And fortunately, now, I have my own bus, so I can bring writers out, and we can just hunker down on my bus all weekend and write songs. It's pretty fun because you kind of feel like you're binge writing a bit. But once you get in that creative space and your wheels are turnin', it's nice to stay there for more than four or five hours like we do in Nashville, turning it off at 4 o'clock and going home. It keeps it fun.

Creating Music For The Stage

We were mainly thinking about the live show [when we were writing]. It just felt like [we were writing] songs I couldn't wait to play live. 

There's some heart, there's some depth, there's emotion and vulnerability in a lot of these songs that I like to play live, but overall, I want it to just feel fun. There's enough stuff in our world to make us sad, so I'm just like, if I can put music out that makes people feel good, that's what I want to do. 

Especially in the context of our genre and our culture — it feels like there's a lot of sad boy country going on right now. You know, nothing wrong with that, I like to get real and emo a bit. But I think if everybody's doing one thing, I try to lean to the other. And right now I love where we're headed, in the good time lane.

I was soaking up everything Keith [Urban] was doing [while touring with him last year]. I watched his set most nights. He's kind of the king of fun tempo live energy. [We were] either [trying to] make Keith jealous or make Keith want to record one of the songs we write. So some of these songs are probably inspired by trying to get a Keith Urban cut. 

"Park," "Wish You Would" and "Vegas" are [three] of those songs. They go really well live and have been really, really fun. The crowd starts moving in a weird way when ["Wish You Would"] comes on. It looks like they're just, like, lettin' loose and not really coordinated at anything. [ Laughs .]

"Back Then Right Now" is the single, so people are knowing that one [more] and it's cool to see them singing it and engaged. "BNA" is gonna be a lot of fun to play live. I could probably play this whole album top to bottom and be pretty happy with that being the set.

Honoring Where He Came From

I wanted this album to still be dynamic — as uptempo as it is, I still wanted the fans to be let in a little bit more into who I am and deeper into my life. Hopefully with each project I put out, I have some songs that let people in a bit more and tap into a vulnerable place, and challenge me as a person and a writer to just continue to go there. 

I have a unique relationship with my hometown. I love where I came from, and I'm proud of where I'm from, but it's not somewhere that I'm still living — I've been in Nashville longer than I was in Georgia, I've been here for over 18 years. A lot's changed since then. The house I grew up in is not there, my dad's gone, my mom's moved to Alabama. 

It's an interesting dynamic, because in our genre, it's cool to be really proud of where you're from, and really pay homage to where you're from. And I still do — a lot of these songs are literally born because of where I came from. But at the same time, I don't have that same relationship with where I'm from. I just thought it was a little bit of a different approach on the relationship with the hometown with ["Take Me Back"]. I hope people can relate to it.

Recruiting Trusty Collaborators, Like Producer Jordan Schmidt

The collaborators and songwriters on this project, there's a couple of new ones, but there's a lot of guys that I have a big history with. A lot of that's just due to the fact that if I'm bringing writers out on the road, it's guys that I know and trust, and that I've had success with. I'm not speed dating on the road — it's just very intentional, efficient time.

They've proven themselves, and so there's no reason to not go back to 'em. I just can't reiterate enough how thankful I am to be in this city, in this songwriting community. I have so many people that make me a better songwriter and push me as an artist and come with great ideas. It makes it that much more fun to write songs and do what I love.

Also, to know me, and who I am, and where I'm headed, and what I want to do and say, that helps tremendously because we're not just shooting in the dark. I think "Wish You Would" is a song that's a little unique and feels really fun. If I was going to pick a direction, that's a cool, fresh sound that I'm really enjoying right now.

Leaning Into Feeling Good

I'm in a really sweet season. Not just with the work stuff, but my family is in such a good spot. My kids are 3, 4 and 6, so they're in a really fun, just joyful season. I can have a bad session or a tough day, and I can go home and get overwhelmed with joy and love in the house. It's just awesome energy. I'm really grateful for that, and I'm really kind of leaning into it. 

I hope [fans] understand how grateful I am to be here to be still doing this 13 years later, and to be able to have another opportunity to experience a lot of firsts again, and get to continue to connect with them. I just love what I do, and I gotta give the fans a lot of credit for allowing me to do it. 

8 Artists Bringing Traditional Country Music Back: Zach Top, Randall King, Emily Nenni & More On Why "What's Old Becomes Beloved Again"

Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images

After Viral Fame, Oliver Anthony Bares His Soul With 'Hymnal Of A Troubled Man's Mind': "I Want To Truly Make A Difference"

On the heels of releasing his debut album, Oliver Anthony details how the project parallels his unexpected breakthrough hit, "Rich Men of North Richmond": music that's "as raw, from the heart and sincere as it can be."

Last August, Oliver Anthony became the quintessential definition of overnight success. His working class anthem "Rich Men North of Richmond" went from viral sensation to history-making hit, helping the singer become the first to top the Billboard Hot 100 without any prior chart history.

But while "Richmond" showcases Anthony's brutally honest songwriting and raw delivery, its message and success are far from what define him. And he's proving just that with his debut album, 'Hymnal Of A Troubled Man's Mind.'

Helmed by Nashville superproducer Dave Cobb, the 18-track collection is rife with stories of addiction, depression, faith, and fury as Anthony documents the decade leading up to his unexpected rise to stardom (it also features eight Bible verses as interludes). A stark departure from "Richmond" in some ways and others not, the album is proof that his viral moment wasn't a fluke. 

One element that remains is Anthony's defiance of adhering to any cookie-cutter artist blueprint, which was further evidenced by the Easter Sunday arrival of Hymnal Of A Troubled Man's Mind . It's one of the many ways Anthony is showing that he's still fiercely independent, and that his unprecedented ascent hasn't changed the man he is or the music he makes.

"My day-to-day life hasn't changed a whole lot other than just not having to wake up for my job every morning," Anthony — who was born Christopher Anthony Lunsford, but pays tribute to his late grandfather with his stage name — admits. "I have this new career, but at the same time I don't know how long I'll be doing this either. At the end of the day I want to truly make a difference, not just play a bunch of shows to make a handful of executives a bunch of money only to get a pat on the back."

On the heels of releasing Hymnal Of A Troubled Man's Mind — and playing a sold-out hometown show — Lunsford spoke with GRAMMY.com about how he's navigating the balance between fame and privacy, and staying true to himself through it all.

Your stage name is your grandfather's name, so he clearly means a lot to you. Can you tell me a bit about the man Oliver Anthony was, and why he inspired you to pay tribute to him in such a way?  

Originally I was using his name as an alias because a lot of the songs I was writing talked about things my employer wouldn't approve of, like smoking pot. It was a way of hiding my identity so they couldn't Google my name and find everything. 

Another reason I did it is because we looked a lot alike. I'm the only redhead in the family other than him, and we're both 6'6" and left-handed. 

He was also just a very down-to-Earth guy. He never was one to talk much and never took the bait on politics and other stuff, he was always very down the middle. He was a hard worker too, taking a job later in life at a chemical plant where he moved up in the ranks despite being mostly self-taught. 

He was a role model of mine in many ways. During his final years, he experienced cognitive decline that made his death more of a slow goodbye. When I started writing all of these songs I was still really grieving his loss.

The full listing of your stage name, at least in the beginning, was Oliver Anthony Music. What was your intention with adding the "Music" part onto it?

The "music" is supposed to capture the timeless era from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to into the late 60's and 70's. I'm not trying to paint it as an ideal time in American history by any means, but it was just a very real time. People weren't just living then, they were surviving. I wanted to capture that era of America before we became reliant on ordering everything from Amazon, going to the grocery store for all our food and depending on people on TV to tell us how to think, where to go or what to do.

That's what Oliver Anthony Music is supposed to encapsulate — that precious time in our history that, in certain parts of the country, still exists. When you go into rural Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky and the Carolinas, it almost feels like time is slowed down a bit, almost like they're 20 or 30 years in the past. 

That's why we recorded this album on 1940's microphones inside an old church. We didn't even hire a photographer for the album cover. Instead we used a Polaroid camera that Dave Cobb had sitting in his drawer. This was never intended to have all the flash of modern production. It's supposed to just be as raw, from the heart and sincere as it can be.

Is "Rich Man's Gold" a song about your grandfather and how the circumstances of his upbringing shaped him into the man you remember?  

It also focuses on the contrast between the lifestyle we live now compared to the one we lived not long ago. The main verse in the song talks about how we weren't born to just pay bills and die. The point behind that is so many people today have encapsulated their lives in student loans, credit card debt, financing new vehicles they don't need, and buying big houses as a way of filling a void they'll never be able to fill. 

I think true fulfillment in life comes from basic things we overthink, like love and connection with our family, neighbors and friends, and just living a more purposeful life. A lot of us go to work at a job we don't really like because it pays the bills, even though it falls well outside our passion, leaving us only a couple hours a week to spend doing what we truly love. Then before you know it, you're old and die and that's it, you don't get another shot at it. 

Time is the most precious thing we have, and at any moment we don't really know how much left of it we have. The song really hones in on all that to show how a lot of people are alive, but they're not really living.

How has the overnight success you've experienced changed, or not changed, who you are as a person?  

I've kept a lot of my same friends and would say that my personal life hasn't changed a whole lot. I've still got the same s—ty Suburban with a salvage title and 330,000 miles on it, and the same s—ty clothes — although I have been able to put money into a few investments to set my family up with some financial security. But I've been really careful not to change my life a lot. 

I never, ever want to get to a point in my life where I feel like I'm better than everyone else. It makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it. That's one thing that's been a problem from the beginning because I never wanted to get on Facebook and say "Hey, look at me!" When "Richmond" blew up, I didn't want to post a lot, and instead opted to let things run their course. But due to the monetization of social and online media, people were incentivized to make posts about me since I was a trending topic, with much of it being completely fabricated. 

So it's been a weird balance of figuring out how I can, with good conscience, keep my voice out there without being an attention seeker. It's a weird balance because if I'm not posting and speaking my mind, then somebody else pretending to be me is going to do it instead.

I really just want to use what little discernment I have to make decisions that I'll look back on in 20 or 30 years and feel proud of, and not like somebody strong-armed or pressured me into something that my heart wasn't into.

One of the ways you showed that after going viral was by promoting other amazing Appalachian artists that RadioWV has featured. Who are some Appalachian artists you've been listening to or think deserve a bigger platform for their music?

To be honest, what I listen to is pretty limited and is mostly made up of people who are dead. I mainly discover new music through YouTube videos — I don't have Spotify, Pandora or anything like that. I've had the chance to meet and talk with folks like Logan Halstead, and am a big fan of his work, though. 

It drives my wife absolutely crazy, but anytime we're in the truck together and I've got control of the dial I'm putting on Hank Jr. , Waylon Jennings , Jerry Lee Lewis , Lightnin' Hopkins and random stuff like Cuban dance music. I like listening to a lot of old material and folk music from other countries. It just feels more real, and nobody is trying to shove it down my throat. 

At least when I'm listening to somebody who's dead, I know that they didn't manipulate me to somehow stumble across it like how so much is today with algorithms and pay-to-play. That's also what was so cool about "Richmond," because it blew up in such an organic way with no record label or management pushing it. 

Getting back to your original question about Appalachian artists, there's so many people from the region that would blow the doors off anyone on country radio right now, that most people may never actually get to enjoy because they simply aren't getting the exposure. I'd love to see things go back to the days of good music being played and bad music doesn't rather than it all being about how much money you've got behind the song.

You previously hinted at getting into ministry in the future, and this new album of yours is littered with Bible verses. With that in mind, what does your foundation in faith mean not only to your music, but who you are as a person?  

Leading up to everything that's happened, it's obvious from listening to my music that I was severely depressed and dealing with regular suicidal thoughts and anxiety attacks. Every part of my life, from my career to my marriage, my family and my future seemed very grim. I was in a bad place leaning on alcohol, like a lot of adult men do, because they have a tough time opening up about their struggles. 

At some point I got in touch with Draven Riffe from RadioWV and made plans to record a few songs on my property the following weekend. We got to talking about the personal issues going on in both our lives and how we'd both just decided to give our lives to God. I felt like I didn't have anything left in me, so I just told God that I've done things this long by myself and haven't been able to figure anything out, so please guide me where to go and show me what to do. 

I ended up recording seven songs with Draven that weekend, but the most special moment definitely came on "Richmond." As soon as we finished recording, I looked up at him, and we locked eyes. After a moment he said, "I know we just met and I don't want you to think I'm crazy, but I swear I could feel the presence of God with us when we recorded that." 

The song ended up doing what it did, but the icing on the cake came months later during my first show after going viral at the farmer's market where over 12,000, including Jamey Johnson , showed up. I talked with him afterward and he told me he had been off songwriting but that God spoke to him and told him he needed to meet me that day. To have one of my favorite artists of all-time show up at my first gig because God told him to after everything I'd been through, it became so clear to me that I was doing what I was meant to. 

A lot of people joke that they sell their souls to the devil, but in my case I truly feel like I've signed my soul to God. He put me here to give me purpose because my life had been without it up until then. 

I don't know that I'd even call myself a Christian, but I definitely believe in Jesus Christ and find a lot of wisdom in the timeless knowledge of The Bible. There's parts of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Matthew — all of which have excerpts on the record — that are full of practical advice on living, whether it's with marriage or finances, lust or alcoholism, or even how to interact with your neighbor. That advice written many years ago is still so relevant in today's society even though most things are totally different. 

My first time in a church in 10 years was for our Easter show the other day, so I'm definitely not the church-going devout religious kind of person. I just got to a point in my life where I didn't have any other choice than to let God take control of things. You can see just how much change has happened since then — it's undeniable.

Aside from ministry, is there anything else you want to pursue with your newfound platform?

Our family just bought this old farm that was operational until a couple years ago. We're in the process now of getting it going again. Once it's operational we want to start educating the public and maybe bringing people out for workshops on gardening and other homesteading basics. 

I also want to partner with other people in that space, like Joel Salatin, or some of these YouTubers that are getting people excited about gardening on only a quarter-acre in their backyards. It tastes better than anything you can buy — even at a high-end grocery store — and can be done for little to nothing. It's so rewarding to do and something I hope to repopularize as part of this whole thing.

It sounds like you're really trying to practice what you preach in terms of what you sing about and how you embody that spirit in everything you do.

Music and my whole life in general is just trying to hold on to that beautiful, raw, less glorified and flashy way of living that's still readily available in this country. There's so much noise and everything moves so quick now that it's hard to slow your brain down enough to get excited about gardening, being outdoors and clearing the land or raising livestock. There is no instant gratification to that, it's a process. 

If you get on YouTube and scroll through 100 Shorts your mind will start going a million miles per hour, which makes it hard to want to slow down to clean up after some stupid cow afterward. It makes it very hard to integrate the two things together into how we live today. 

What has making this music taught you about yourself?  

One thing I've learned is that if I want to try to have good mental health and be a normal functioning member of society, I've got to create music. In the same way that some people use a journal to write out their thoughts, songwriting is how I'm able to get my feelings and perceptions out of my own head. When life is going really well, it's harder for me to write songs because usually my motivation stems from things going wrong. I could probably write some catchy lyrics, but they wouldn't mean anything to me. 

Everything I write about I feel deep down inside, which can also be said about some of my favorite songs. That's the beauty of music — writing it as a way to clear your head and listening to it to remind you that you're not alone.

Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadio

Beyond Country: All The Genres Beyoncé Explores On 'Cowboy Carter'

On 'COWBOY CARTER,' Beyoncé is free. Her eighth studio album is an unbridled exploration of musical genres — from country to opera and R&B — that celebrates the fluidity of music and her Texas roots.

"Genres are a funny little concept, aren't they? In theory, they have a simple definition that's easy to understand. But in practice, well, some may feel confined."

With those words, spoken on "SPAGHETTII" by Linda Martell — the first commercially successful Black female artist in country music and the first to play the Grand Ole Opry solo — Beyoncé provides a proxy response to her original call on Instagram 10 days before COWBOY CARTER was released: "This ain’t a Country album. This is a “Beyoncé” album." 

She delivered on that promise with intent. Through a mix of homage and innovation, Beyoncé's latest is a 27-track testament to her boundless musicality and draws  from a rich aural palette. In addition to its country leanings, COWBOY CARTER includes everything from the soulful depths of gospel to the intricate layers of opera. 

Beyoncé's stance is clear: she's not here to fit into a box. From the heartfelt tribute in "BLACKBIIRD" to the genre-blurring tracks like "YA YA," Beyoncé uses her platform to elevate the conversation around genre, culture, and history. She doesn't claim country music; she illuminates its roots and wings, celebrating the Black artists who've shaped its essence.

The collective album proves no genre was created or remains in isolation. It's a concept stoked in the words of the opening track, "AMERIICAN REQUIEM" when Beyonce reflects, "Nothing really ends / For things to stay the same they have to change again." For country, and all popular genres of music to exist they have to evolve. No sound ever stays the same.

COWBOY CARTER's narrative arc, from "AMERICAN REQUIEM" to "AMEN," is a journey through American music's heart and soul, paying tribute to its origins while charting a path forward. This album isn't just an exploration of musical heritage; it's an act of freedom and a declaration of the multifaceted influence of Black culture on American pop culture.

Here's a closer look at some of some of the musical genres touched on in act ii, the second release of an anticipated trilogy by Beyoncé, the most GRAMMY-winning artist of all-time: 

Before COWBOY CARTER was even released, Beyoncé sparked critical discussion over the role of herself and all Black artists in country music . Yet COWBOY CARTER doesn't stake a claim on country music. Rather, it spotlights the genre through collaborations with legends and modern icons , while championing the message that country music, like all popular American music and culture, has always been built on the labor and love of Black lives. 

It's a reckoning acknowledged not only by Beyoncé's personal connection to country music growing up in Texas, but the role Black artists have played in country music rooted in gospel, blues, and folk music. 

Enter The World Of Beyoncé

Country legends, Dolly Parton ("DOLLY P", "JOLENE," and "TYRANT"), Willie Nelson ("SMOKE HOUR" and "SMOKE HOUR II"), and Martell ("SPAGHETTII and "THE LINDA MARTELL SHOW") serve mainly as spoken-word collaborators, becoming MCs for Queen Bey. Some of the most prolific country music legends receiving her in a space where she has been made to feel unwelcome in music (most notably with the racism surrounding her 2016 CMA performance of "Daddy Lessons" with the Dixie Chicks ) provides a prolific release of industry levies. Martell, a woman who trod the dark country road before Bey, finally getting her much-deserved dues appears as an almost pre-ordained and poetic act of justice. 

"BLACKBIIRD," a version of the Beatles ' civil rights era song of encouragement and hope for the struggle of Black women is led softly by Beyoncé, backed by a quartet of Black female contemporary country songbirds: Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy, and Reyna Roberts. 

Beyoncé holds space for others, using the power of her star to shine a light on those around her. These inclusions rebuke nay-sayers who quipped pre-release that she was stealing attention from other Black country artists. It also flies in the faces that shunned and discriminated against her, serving as an example of how to do better. The reality that Beyoncé wasn't stealing a spotlight, but building a stage for fellow artists, is a case study in how success for one begets success for others. 

Read more: 8 Country Crossover Artists You Should Know: Ray Charles, The Beastie Boys, Cyndi Lauper & More

Gospel, Blues, & Folk (American Roots)

As is Beyoncé's way, she mounts a case for country music with evidence to back up her testimony. She meanders a course through a sequence of styles that serve as the genre's foundation: gospel, blues, and folk music.

"AMERIICAN REQUIEM" and "AMEN" bookend the album with gospel-inspired lyrics and choir vocals. The opener sets up a reflective sermon buoyed by  the sounds of a reverberating church organ, while the closer, with its introspective lyrics, pleads for mercy and redemption. The main verse on "AMEN", "This house was built with blood and bone/ The statues they made were beautiful/ But they were lies of stone," is complemented by a blend of piano, and choral harmonies. 

Hymnal references are interlaced throughout the album, particularly in songs like "II HANDS II HEAVEN" and in the lyrical nuances on "JUST FOR FUN." In the later track, Beyoncé's voice soars with gratitude in a powerful delivery of the lines, "Time heals everything / I don't need anything / Hallelujah, I pray to her." 

The gospel-inspired, blues-based "16 CARRIAGES" reflects the rich history of country songs borrowing from the blues while simultaneously calling back to songs sung by field laborers in the colonial American South. "Sixteen dollars, workin' all day/ Ain't got time to waste, I got art to make" serves as the exhausted plea of an artist working tirelessly long hours in dedication to a better life. 

Rhiannon Giddens , a celebrated musician-scholar, two-time GRAMMY winner, and Pulitzer Prize recipient, infuses "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" with her profound understanding of American folk, country, and blues. She plays the viola and banjo, the latter tracing its origins to Sub-Saharan West Africa and the lutes of ancient Egypt. Through her skilled plucking and bending of the strings, Giddens bridges the rich musical heritage of Africa and the South with the soul of country, blues, and folk music.

Pop, Funk, Soul & Rock 'n' Roll  

All in, Beyoncé is a pop star who is wrestling with labels placed on her 27-year career in COWBOY CARTER . Fittingly, she brings in two other pop artists known for swimming in the brackish water between country and pop, Miley Cyrus and Post Malone . Her intentional inclusion of two artists who have blurred genres without much cross-examination begs the question, Why should Beyoncé's sound be segregated to a different realm? 

On "YA YA" Linda Martell returns as the listener's sonic sentinel, introducing the track like a lesson plan: "This particular tune stretches across a range of genres. And that’s what makes it a unique listening experience." The tune sinks into the strummed chords of Nancy Sinatra 's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" before leaping into a fiery dance track that features reimagined lyrics from the Beach Boys , with soulful vocal flourishes and breaks that show the throughline connection between '60s era rock, funk, and pop music.

Robert Randolph lends his hands on "16 CARRIAGES" with a funk-infused grapple on his pedal-steel guitar. It's a style he honed through his early years touring and recording with his family band and later in his career as an in-demand collaborator working with names including the Allman Brothers , and Norah Jones . 

The lesson is solidified as the album transitions into an interlude on "OH LOUISIANA," featuring a sped-up sample of a classic track by Chuck Berry. This moment emphasizes the pop superstar's nod to civil rights era music history, spotlighting a controversial artist celebrated for his pioneering contributions to rock 'n' roll. (It's a part of music history Beyoncé knows well, after starring as Etta James in the 2008 film Cadillac Records , a veiled biopic of the legendary Chicago label Chess Records.)

Classical & Opera

Opera was missing from many listeners' Beyoncé Bingo card, but didn't surprise those that know her background. Beyoncé was trained for over a decade starting at an early age by her voice teacher David Lee Brewer, a retired opera singer who once lived with the Knowles family. 

COWBOY CARTER gives sing-along fans a 101 opera class with "DAUGHTER." In Italian, Beyoncé sings passages from the 1783 Italian opera "Caro Mio Ben," composed by Giuseppe Tommaso Giovanni Giordani. The aria is a classic piece of vocal training that fittingly shows off her full range — taking us back to the earliest days of her vocal teachings.

Hip-Hop & R&B

Midway through the album on "SPAGHETTII" Beyoncé announces, "I ain't no regular singer, now come get everythin' you came for," landing right where expectations have confined her: in the throes of a romping beat, experimenting with sounds that blend hip-hop with R&B and soul. The track notably highlights the talent of Nigerian American singer/rapper Shaboozey, who also shows up to the rodeo on "SWEET HONEY BUCKIN'" brandishing his unique mix of hip-hop, folk-pop, and country music. 

Beyoncé worked with longtime collaborator Raphael Saadiq on this album, a career legend in the R&B industry, who lends his mark to several tracks on which he wrote, produced, and played multiple instruments. Beyoncé also utilizes the Louisiana songwriter Willie Jones on "JUST FOR FUN," an artist who draws on a contemporary blend of country, Southern rap, and R&B in the hymnal ballad. 

The violin-heavy "TYRANT" and "SPAGHETTII" both underscore hip-hop's long love affair with the classical string instrument (See: Common 's " Be ," and Wu Tang Clan 's " Reunited " as the tip of that particular iceberg) with a blend of soulful R&B lyrics paired with beat-based instrumentalization. 

In a world quick to draw lines and label sounds, Beyoncé's COWBOY CARTER stands as a vibrant mosaic of musical influence and innovation. Ultimately, Beyoncé's COWBOY CARTER isn't seeking anyone's acceptance. As a Texan once told she didn't belong, her critical response claps back at this exclusion.  It's also a reminder that in the hands of a true artist, music is limitless.

Run The World: Why Beyoncé Is One Of The Most Influential Women In Music History

Photo: David McClister

Meet Charles Wesley Godwin, The Rising Country Singer Who's Turning "A Very Human Story" Into Stardom

With his deep, piercing voice and intimate portraits of family life, Charles Wesley Godwin has become one of country music's most promising new stars. As he begins his 2024 tour, the singer/songwriter details his unexpected journey to the stage.

Charles Wesley Godwin never intended to play for audiences when he picked up a guitar for the first time in college. Now, the 30-year-old Godwin is a full-blown country star, playing stadium shows and prestigious music festivals as one of the genre's fastest rising talents.

Godwin's musical power and allure lie in the ability to inhabit both a superstar persona and family-man image. He's equally comfortable belting his raucous, anthemic "Cue Country Roads," and serenading his baby daughter in "Dance in Rain," a touching song about his vision for her future. Tapping into his West Virginia roots and family history, Godwin's authentic, raw storytelling hasn't just widely resonated — it's helped the singer realize his calling.

Known for his deep, piercing voice and intimate portraits of human experiences, Godwin first endeared himself to audiences with songs like "Hardwood Floors," a sweet love song to his wife, and "Seneca Creek," a ballad from his first album, 2019's Seneca. Across three studio albums thus far, Godwin mixes powerful vocals and relatable, heartfelt lyrics, aligning him with the likes of Zach Bryan , Tyler Childers , and Sturgill Simpson .

The son of a coal miner and a teacher, Godwin dreamed of playing professional football and attended West Virginia University to study finance. After moving on from college football dreams, he taught himself guitar, learning country classics to fill the football void.

But while studying abroad in Estonia, one of Godwin's roommates took his guitar to a club show and coaxed Godwin up on stage after the set. His cover of John Denver 's "Take Me Home Country Roads" — Godwin's college theme song and current show closer — earned him his second gig, performing at a fashion show. He was hooked.

After college, Godwin spent most of a decade touring relentlessly, crisscrossing the country to play bars and coffee houses. As he transitioned from covering favorite songs to writing his own, Godwin honed his writing chops and musical voice, intent on figuring out who he would be as a musician.

His latest studio album, 2023's aptly titled Family Ties, showcases the versatility and emotional depth that continues to make his songs resonate intensely. It includes upbeat country bangers like "Two Weeks Gone" and "Family Ties"; ruminations on deep generational connections to family, including his journey to understand his dad in "Miner Imperfections" and recounting his mother's heart-wrenching experience in "The Flood"; and raw, personal reflections on his love for his children, from "Gabriel" to "Tell the Babies I Love Them."

After signing his first major record label deal and opening for Zach Bryan in 2023, Godwin will spend 2024 headlining shows around the United States, also supporting Luke Combs on several dates and playing festivals like Stagecoach, Bonnaroo and Under the Big Sky.

Ahead of his tour launch on April 4, Godwin spoke with GRAMMY.com about his inspiration and writing, chasing his musical dreams, and his favorite career "pinch me" moments — so far.

How did you get started in music?

I watched the Avett Brothers in the 2011 GRAMMYs and was wowed by it, and thought maybe picking a guitar up would be a productive hobby to have. And then over time I began to realize I actually had the talent.

That hobby worked out okay.

I've always joked — even though people are like "Oh man, that's crazy, you didn't find it until you were in your 20s" — I'm like, "Well, at least I found my thing." I feel very fortunate. I feel like things could have easily gone a different way.

Was music of interest to you? What kind of music did your parents play when you were growing up?

My dad listened to oldies radio, a lot of pop music from the '60s and the '70s. I had a lot of the Beatles songs and CCR songs stuck in my head as a little kid.

I would casually consume whatever was put right in front of me, but I wasn't big into music. I was worried about sports. I wanted to be good at football.

What was it like for you picking up a guitar the first time?

It was frustrating. My fingers wouldn't go where I wanted them to. And it seemed very difficult. But I would just bite it off in 15-minute chunks each day. I wouldn't quit.

It wasn't until about a year into it that I could actually start stringing chords together. My dad had gotten a mining engineering degree, and to do some pretty high-level calculus, he always told me when I was growing up, "Math, it just clicks one day, as long as you don't give up on it."

Tell me more about your dad, for whom you wrote "Miner Imperfections." It sounds like you got your work ethic from him.

When he grew up, most of his friends were getting drafted to Vietnam. He had applied for the mines and he gave himself a timeline. He said, If the mines don't call within two weeks, I'm going to join the Air Force, because if I'm gonna get sent to Vietnam, I might as well join on my own terms. He ended up getting called by the mines and went underground in his early 20s. And worked his ass off.

He'd met my mom, and they created a better life for themselves. [They] were able to elevate themselves economically and give my brother and I a great life growing up, and the ability to chase our dreams.

He didn't love the mines, but he was good at it. And it was a way for him to make a good living. My dad had an amazing work ethic. He was very, very hard-nosed, independent, principled. And he taught me a lot of that.

As I've gotten older, I've grown to appreciate him more and more. And [my parents] gave me the mental tools I needed to be able to go through that whole crucible of going all across the country for a decade and sleeping in my car and playing in bars and restaurants and cafes, basically living well below the poverty line for many years, to make this dream of mine come true.

I think the very first song of yours I heard was "Seneca Creek." What's the story behind that song?

That's about my grandparents, on my mother's side. My mom's side of the family is from Seneca Rocks, West Virginia. They're part of the hillbilly highway, they moved up to Canton, Ohio. My granddad was working for Ford Motor Company. And he got drafted to go fight in Korea. So he went off and was a tank commander and fought in Korea for two years and went back to the Ford Motor Company when he got back.

They started a family and started building a life. They ended up moving back to West Virginia in the early '60s, and took over my great grandfather's General Store and farmed cattle. My grandmother was the postmaster.

They had a remarkable life, full of highs and lows and it was a very, very human story. And I thought it translated well into song.

What experiences in your life have colored the kinds of stories you want to tell in your music?

I draw on my family, my wife and my kids. That's really some of the most profound experiences I've had.

My dad, when he was my age, was crawling in less than three feet of coal. So I don't want to write too much about "playing on the road was hard."

One strong point of mine is I can observe somebody else and find the little nuggets of humanity to put into song that can still seem very personal and moving to people.

But you've also got these deeper generational connections and stories, too.

I have a lot of interesting family members in the family tree that I've been able to pull from. My mom's side came over in the potato famine in the mid-1800s. My dad's side, a lot of them were even here before the United States was the United States.

There's a lot of interesting and rich family history to draw from — moonshiners on my mother's side, there's been soldiers, drunkards, teachers and miners. My great grandfather on my dad's side, he used to eat a raw potato in the mines every day for lunch until Italians came over and showed the Irish guys how to eat better.

You've talked about your music sounding like it's from West Virginia. What does that mean? What is West Virginia music to you?

Before I put my first record out, I understood that I needed to find what my natural voice was. And make sure that I wasn't just trying to mimic somebody else.

I would not be able to pull off sounding like I'm trying to sing rodeo country. But I can sound like I'm from West Virginia, because that is the truth.

I think it has to have some bluegrass, if we're talking country music. Because you [also] got [late West Virginia native] Bill Withers , who is one of the best soul singers ever.

Stories about rural places and working class people often get tokenized and stereotyped. When you're writing songs, how do you honor the people you're writing about instead of making them stereotypes?

I just try my best. There's been a lot of lines that when I'm working on songs over the years, I've been like, "that's not it," and then put a line through it and try to come up with something better or more positive or more honest.

I'd rather shine a light on the more admirable character traits, either people in my family that I'm writing about or made up characters. I also try not to make it too unrealistic. I have a lot of songs about regret, which is something that [is] very human. But I definitely don't want to go around glorifying things that aren't really good for society or community.

You've talked about how you felt stuck when you wrote your latest album, Family Ties .  What was that feeling? And how did you get out of that rut?

I had a bunch of people on payroll for the first time in my life. Labels had come into the picture; my wife was just about to have our second child; we had a house we just bought the year prior. I had all these things around me that I'd never had around me before. I was putting pressure on myself, because I wasn't just this broke guy anymore that only needed enough to fill up his gas tank.

I let that affect my mind and my creativity, and my productivity with the notebook. The way I got out of it was just realizing — this sounds so cliche, but it's true, and it's true with music, and so many other things in life — that you can only control the things that you can control.

I felt like writing about my family is what I wanted to do. Just because there's so much love and guilt that I was feeling at that time. The birth my children — my daughter just being born, my son was still really young, with my wife and, being gone for hundreds of days [in] years prior, but then I was home that whole pandemic year, which was this super special time, but also just so weird after all those years of being gone all the time, and then going back to being gone all the time.

Now that all of that hard work has started paying off, what have been some of your biggest "pinch me, I can't believe this is happening" moments?

Recently, I opened for Jason Isbell and for Turnpike Troubadours. Those were folks that I was listening to a decade ago, in the middle of the night, trying to drive home from some gig far away.

And throughout our tour this year, we're doing these Luke Combs dates, and the Avett Brothers are on two of them. The whole reason I picked up a guitar, here we are over a decade later, and I'm going to be shaking their hands before we play a stadium. And this whole thing started with me just sitting on a couch in college watching them at the GRAMMYs. So that's gonna be a "pinch me" moment, for sure.

• 1 Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town Announce 2018 Bandwagon Tour
• 2 Inside Tyler Hubbard's New Album 'Strong': How He Perfectly Captured His "Really Sweet Season" Of Life
• 3 After Viral Fame, Oliver Anthony Bares His Soul With 'Hymnal Of A Troubled Man's Mind': "I Want To Truly Make A Difference"
• 4 Beyond Country: All The Genres Beyoncé Explores On 'Cowboy Carter'
• 5 Meet Charles Wesley Godwin, The Rising Country Singer Who's Turning "A Very Human Story" Into Stardom

• Statistics Stats
• You are here:
• Lambert, Miranda
• July 12, 2018 Setlist

Miranda Lambert Setlist at PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC, USA

• Edit setlist songs
• Edit venue & date
• Edit set times
• Add to festival
• Report setlist

Tour: The Bandwagon Tour Tour statistics Add setlist

• That's the Way That the World Goes 'Round ( John Prine  cover) Play Video
• Kerosene Play Video
• Highway Vagabond Play Video
• We Should Be Friends Play Video
• Vice Play Video
• Heart Like Mine Play Video
• Over You Play Video
• All Kinds of Kinds Play Video
• The House That Built Me Play Video
• Pink Sunglasses Play Video
• Gunpowder & Lead Play Video
• Ugly Lights Play Video
• Mama's Broken Heart Play Video
• Automatic Play Video
• Tin Man (with Little Big Town ) ( Miranda solo on acoustic.Joined by Little Big Town on last verse ) Play Video
• Girl Crush ( Little Big Town  cover) (with Little Big Town ) Play Video
• Killing Me Softly With His Song ( Lori Lieberman  cover) (with Little Big Town ) Play Video
• Goodbye Earl ( The Chicks  cover) (with Little Big Town ) Play Video
• Smokin' and Drinkin' (with Little Big Town ) Play Video
• Boondocks ( Little Big Town  cover) (with Little Big Town ) Play Video
• White Liar (with Little Big Town ) Play Video
• Little White Church ( Little Big Town  cover) (with Little Big Town ) Play Video
• Say My Name ( Destiny’s Child  cover) (with Little Big Town ) Play Video
• Little Red Wagon ( Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound  cover) (with Little Big Town ) Play Video
• Let's Go Crazy ( Prince  cover) (with Little Big Town ) Play Video
• Lean on Me ( Bill Withers  cover) (with Little Big Town ) Play Video

Edits and Comments

12 activities (last edit by event_monkey , 16 Mar 2023, 00:17 Etc/UTC )

Songs on Albums

• Boondocks by Little Big Town
• Girl Crush by Little Big Town
• Goodbye Earl by The Chicks
• Killing Me Softly With His Song by Lori Lieberman
• Lean on Me by Bill Withers
• Let's Go Crazy by Prince
• Little Red Wagon by Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound
• Little White Church by Little Big Town
• Say My Name by Destiny’s Child
• That's the Way That the World Goes 'Round by John Prine
• Highway Vagabond
• Pink Sunglasses
• Ugly Lights
• We Should Be Friends
• All Kinds of Kinds
• Mama's Broken Heart
• Heart Like Mine
• The House That Built Me
• Smokin' and Drinkin'
• Gunpowder & Lead

Complete Album stats

More from Miranda Lambert

• More Setlists
• Artist Statistics
• Add setlist

PNC Music Pavilion

• Little Big Town Add time Add time
• Miranda Lambert This Setlist Add time Add time
• Natalie Hemby Add time Add time
• Tenille Townes Add time Add time

Miranda Lambert Gig Timeline

• Jun 02 2018 Choctaw Grand Theater Durant, OK, USA Add time Add time
• Jun 15 2018 Country Jam USA 2018 Loma, CO, USA Add time Add time
• Jul 12 2018 PNC Music Pavilion This Setlist Charlotte, NC, USA Add time Add time
• Jul 13 2018 Riverbend Music Center Cincinnati, OH, USA Add time Add time
• Jul 14 2018 Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center Noblesville, IN, USA Add time Add time

6 people were there

• ahwilson_20
• CptCaveman1112
• SCIslanderfan

Share or embed this setlist

Use this setlist for your event review and get all updates automatically!

<div style="text-align: center;" class="setlistImage"><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/miranda-lambert/2018/pnc-music-pavilion-charlotte-nc-13eba189.html" title="Miranda Lambert Setlist PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC, USA 2018, The Bandwagon Tour" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=13eba189" alt="Miranda Lambert Setlist PNC Music Pavilion, Charlotte, NC, USA 2018, The Bandwagon Tour" style="border: 0;" /></a> <div><a href="https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=13eba189&amp;step=song">Edit this setlist</a> | <a href="https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/miranda-lambert-3bd6bc9c.html">More Miranda Lambert setlists</a></div></div>

Last.fm Event Review

[url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/miranda-lambert/2018/pnc-music-pavilion-charlotte-nc-13eba189.html][img]https://www.setlist.fm/widgets/setlist-image-v1?id=13eba189[/img][/url] [url=https://www.setlist.fm/edit?setlist=13eba189&amp;step=song]Edit this setlist[/url] | [url=https://www.setlist.fm/setlists/miranda-lambert-3bd6bc9c.html]More Miranda Lambert setlists[/url]

Tour Update

Marquee memories: the dandy warhols.

• The Dandy Warhols
• Apr 19, 2024
• Apr 18, 2024
• Apr 17, 2024
• Apr 16, 2024
• Apr 15, 2024
• Apr 14, 2024
• FAQ | Help | About
• Terms of Service
• Ad Choices | Privacy Policy
• Feature requests
• Songtexte.com

Concert Review: Miranda Lambert’s Headlining Run Proves the Hits Don’t Lie

The singer is the rare heroine to the alt-country crowd as well as a mainstream country superstar.

By Chris Willman

Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

• Taylor Swift’s Record-Breaking First Day at Spotify With ‘Tortured Poets’ Didn’t Stop at 200 Million Streams — It Actually Surpassed 300 Million 12 hours ago
• Which New Taylor Swift Songs Are About Matty Healy, Joe Alwyn or Travis Kelce? Breaking Down ‘Tortured Poets Department’ Lyric Clues 1 day ago
• Taylor Swift’s Best ‘Tortured Poets Department’ Lyrics: ‘So Long, London,’ ‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,’ ‘LOML,’ ‘The Black Dog’ and More 2 days ago

On the front cover of her most recent release, “The Weight of These Wings,” which came out in late 2016, Miranda Lambert appeared in a long, soft dress, holding an acoustic guitar case, standing on front of a pair of angel wings — imagery clearly meant to convey that the double album would emphasize the star’s more reflective side. The cover art was fair, if subtle, warning to casual country fans who might still associate her with her earliest signature hits — pistol-packin’ mama songs like “Gunpowder & Lead” and “Kerosene” — that the new music would present Lambert as tarnished angel, not avenging wraith.

But how to present herself in concert, after this turn toward more introspective balladry in the studio? Before Lambert came out on stage for her headlining gig Saturday at L.A.’s Forum, the symbol projected on the rear curtain sent out an appropriately mixed message: The wings from that album cover were overlaid with a pair of pistols. She might be in a quieter mood nowadays on record, but on tour, Lambert will always be expected to take her guns to town.

The singer is nine dates into the 23-city “Livin’ Like Hippies” tour, and there are other symbols of Lambert’s colliding sensibilities than just that wings-‘n’-firearms symbol. She is a heroine to the alt-country crowd — the smart part of that audience, anyway — as well as a mainstream country superstar, and the tour’s triple bills reflect that. The middle act on the entire trek is Jon Pardi, the lovable young California honky-tonker who has developed almost overnight into one of the most popular acts at country radio. Meanwhile, the opening slots have been given over to a rotation of slightly more edgy or Americana-leaning artists, like Brent Cobb, the Turnpike Troubadours, Sunny Sweeney, and, at the Forum, British country singer Lucie Silvas. If opening-act curation can be its own form of self-revelation for a headliner, she’s done a pretty savvy job of that this go-round.

Popular on Variety

As for her own headlining performance, the name of the tour is a misnomer, albeit a cute one. (“Livin’ Like Hippies” comes from a lyric in “Highway Vagabond,” one of the few non-single album tracks Lambert performed Saturday.) There’s nothing particularly Woodstock-ian about a set that burns through 21 songs, most of them hits, in a tight, breathless 85 minutes. Lambert may take a lot of chances on her recordings, but she leaves almost nothing to chance on stage. You see less of the Lambert who almost always wins the CMA Award for album of the year than the Lambert who should’ve won the entertainer of the year but hasn’t.

If the show didn’t include much in the way of deep cuts, there’s depth aplenty to Lambert’s so-called shallow cuts; it’s the greatest run of singles that any country artist has produced in the 21 st century. The breadth of hits she performed Saturday was something any other contemporary figure should aspire to. A large-scale painting of Monument Valley provided the backdrop for the mortality-themed “Over You,” equaled on the tear-jerking scale by “The House That Built Me,” a song about how you can go home again, for 10 minutes. Her fringe-y boots were made for stomping in “Mama’s Broken Heart,” during which you might have thought you heard her putting some extra vim into the “acting like a lady” line, though it’s surely always been there.

In-between these poles of sass and salty tears were some of the more underrated minor hits, like the wry inclusiveness of “All Kinds of Kinds” and the defiantly sad sinfulness of “Vice.” When Lambert introduces something as “a drinkin’ song,” you know that what comes next — in this case, the post-evangelical theological treatise “Heart Like Mine” — is going to be only nominally that simple.

The playful “Pink Sunglasses,” “We Should Be Friends,” and “Bathroom Mirror,” in particular, reminded us how much we lose by locking women out of country: determinedly feminine in subject matter, and universal enough to make every guy in the audience think, “Man, I feel like a woman” (with apologies to you-know-who).

On the covers front, opening act Silvas joined Lambert for a show-highlighting duet of the Etta/Aretha/Burritos classic “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man.” Lambert also characteristically throws a more hard-rocking ‘70s number into her shows, with “Tush” and “Stay With Me” being a staple of past tours; now, she’s inserting Joe Walsh’s “Rocky Mountain Way” toward the end of the set, though it’s not clear what value this faithful rendition brings to the show, other than something familiar for the non-country-loving dates in the audience to latch onto.

Lambert didn’t tell the full house at the Forum why she chose those two covers, and she didn’t explain much else, either. The one moment she opened up to the crowd was when she prefaced “Tin Man,” one of the singles from “The Weight of These Wings,” by saying, “I had a really shitty year in 2015, and I wrote some really good country songs.” Aside from that, she was surprisingly light on stage patter for a headliner. (When she spoke about the heart-wrenching “Over You,” it was simply to tag on a quick “Thank you for that song,” which is country-ese for “Thank you for making that a No. 1.”) It seems as if she never trained herself away from the need for sheer efficiency that is drilled into country acts in the years they spend in Pardi’s position, whereas if she ever allowed herself to open up and become a storyteller on stage, she could be country’s Bruce Springsteen.

But if she’s mostly business on stage, business is awfully good in a set that — speaking of wings — seems to fly by, its hour and a half up almost before it was getting started. It’s hard to argue with Lambert when she tells interviewers that her audience gets all the candor its needs in the songs, the selection of which on this tour effectively furthers the case for her as the most important and full-bodied country artist to have come along so far this century. Changing the world’s expectations of what “acting like a lady” means in country is a weight she continues to wear as well as all that fringe.

More From Our Brands

Drake drops new kendrick lamar diss track with ai tupac, snoop dogg verses, inside the hidden world of vip perks at america’s marquee sports arenas, south carolina plans to buy women’s final four center court, be tough on dirt but gentle on your body with the best soaps for sensitive skin, ratings: tracker surges to its biggest audience since premiere, verify it's you, please log in.

• Morgan Wallen Arrest Statement
• Win $30,000 Cash
• Luke Combs Tour Setlist
• Carrie Underwood Sings Toby Keith
• Wynonna Judd Daughter Arrested
• Listen to Taste of Country Mornings!

Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town Announce Joint Bandwagon Tour

Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town are teaming up for a co-headlining tour this summer. Thirteen stops on the Bandwagon Tour were announced on Thursday morning (Jan. 11).

As of now the 2018 Bandwagon Tour focuses on the east coast and midwest, with stops in Indianapolis, Tampa and Pittsburgh after the kickoff on July 12 in Charlotte, N.C. The final stop is an Aug. 24 stop in Clarkston, Mich., just north of Detroit.

The group of artists have collaborated before, most notably on Lambert's song " Smokin' and Drinkin '" from her Platinum album. While not a commercial success — the song peaked just inside the Top 40 — the ballad was met with critical acclaim. A memorable performance at the 2014 CMA Awards highlighted the union. It's not clear if they'll share a stage at any point during their summer tour stops.

Lambert is 15 months removed from releasing her The Weight of These Wings album and has indicated that she's written plenty since the 2016 drop date. " Tin Man " is her current single. The song is up for a Grammy Award , as is " Better Man " from Little Big Town. The Jan. 28 telecast may be their next opportunity to collaborate, although nothing of that nature has been hinted at. As of now Little Big Town is country music's only Grammy performer. Their album The Breaker is also nominated in the Best Country Album category.

Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town's 2018 the Bandwagon Tour Dates:

July 12 — Charlotte, N.C. @PNC Music Pavilion July 13 — Cincinnati, Ohio @Riverbend Music Center July 14 — Indianapolis, Ind. @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center July 20 — Hartford, Conn. @ Xfinity Theatre July 21 — Mansfield, Mass. @ Xfinity Center Aug. 2 — Orange Beach, Ala. @ The Wharf at Orange Beach Aug. 3 — Tampa, Fla. @ MidFlorida Credit Union Ampitheatre Aug. 4 — West Palm Beach, Fla. @ Coral Sky Ampitheatre Aug.16 — Darien Center, N.Y. @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center Aug. 17 — Pittsburgh, Pa, @ KeyBank Pavilion Aug. 18 — Philadelphia, Pa. @ BB&T Pavilion Aug. 23 — Toronto, Ont. @ Budweiser Stage Aug. 24 — Clarkston, Mich. @DTE Energy Music Theatre

See Country Music's Most Powerful Female Singers!

More From Taste of Country

Miranda Lambert to Headline 2018 Livin' Like Hippies Tour

Country star Miranda Lambert is kicking off 2018 with a massive headlining trek across the country.

The 2018 Livin' Like Hippies Tour will kick off Jan. 18 in Greenville, S.C. and will hit mid-sized arenas across the U.S. This time around, Lambert will visit many large cities that missed out on her extremely successful Highway Vagabond Tour that wrapped earlier this year.

This time around, she's bringing along Jon Pardi as her main opening act. Brent Cobb , Turnpike Troubadours , Lucie Silvas , The Steel Woods , Sunny Sweeney , Ashley McBryde and Charlie Worsham will also play on selected dates.

Tickets for a selection of dates go on sale Oct. 6. You can find more information about ticketing at Miranda Lambert's official website .

Miranda Lambert's  Livin' Like Hippies Tour Dates:

Jan. 18, 2018 - Greenville, SC @ Bon Secours Arena  (Jon Pardi, Brent Cobb)

Jan. 19, 2018  - Orlando, FL @ Amway Center  (Jon Pardi and Brent Cobb)

Jan. 20, 2018  - Atlanta, GA @ Infinite Energy Center (Jon Pardi and Brent Cobb)

Feb. 1, 2018  - Tacoma, WA (Jon Pardi and Turnpike Troubadours)

Related Content

Miranda lambert, keith urban and maren morris lead 2017 acm award nominations, miranda lambert, carrie underwood among 2017 cmt music awards nominees, 2017 cma awards winners, the complete list.

Feb. 2, 2018  - Spokane, WA (Jon Pardi and Turnpike Troubadours)

Feb. 3, 2018 - Eugene, OR @ Matthew Knight Arena (Jon Pardi and Turnpike Troubadours)

Feb. 8, 2018  - Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center (Jon Pardi and Lucie Silvas)

Feb. 9, 2018 -  Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center (Jon Pardi and Lucie Silvas)

Feb. 10, 2018 -  Los Angeles, CA @ The Forum (Jon Pardi and Lucie Silvas)

Feb. 15, 2018 -  San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena (Jon Pardi and Lucie Silvas)

Feb. 17, 2018 - Phoenix, AZ @ Talking Stick Resort Arena  (Jon Pardi and Lucie Silvas)

March 1, 2018 - Knoxville, TN @ Thompson-Boling Arena (Jon Pardi and The Steel Woods)

March 2, 2018 - Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena (Jon Pardi and The Steel Woods)

March 3, 2018 -  Cleveland, OH @ Wolstein Center (Jon Pardi and The Steel Woods)

March 8, 2018 -  Omaha, NE @ CenturyLink Center (Jon Pardi and Sunny Sweeney)

March 9, 2018 -  Oklahoma City, OK @ Chesapeake Energy Arena (Jon Pardi and Sunny Sweeney)

March 10, 2018 -  Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena (Jon Pardi and Sunny Sweeney)

March 15, 2018 -  Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena (Jon Pardi and Ashley McBryde)

March 16, 2018 - St. Louis, MO @ Scottrade Center (Jon Pardi and Ashley McBryde)

March 17, 2018 - Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center  (Jon Pardi and Ashley McBryde)

March 22, 2018  - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center @ (Jon Pardi and Charlie Worsham)

March 23, 2018 - State College, PA @ Bryce Jordan Center (Jon Pardi and Charlie Worsham)

March 24, 2018 - Winston Salem, NC @ Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum (Jon Pardi and Charlie Worsham)

Watch: Miranda Lambert Songs We Can't Get Enough Of

Miranda Lambert Shares a Special Message to Texas Girl Fighting Cancer

Watch Miranda Lambert's Dad Join Her On Stage for a Special Duet

Miranda Lambert is Personally Rescuing Animals in Houston

The 10 Best Miranda Lambert Songs

See Miranda Lambert's Gorgeous Cover of Patsy Cline's "Crazy"

You Might Also Like

2018 ACM Award Winners

2020 CMA Awards: See the Complete List of Winners

Chris Stapleton, Tim McGraw and More to Perform at 2017 ACM Awards

2020 ACM Award Nominees: See the Complete List

• Manage Account

Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town Hop on The Bandwagon Tour: See the Dates

The Cadillac Three will join as direct support for the shows.

By Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson

• Share this article on Facebook
• Share this article on Twitter
• Share this article on Flipboard
• Share this article on Pinit
• + additional share options added
• Share this article on Reddit
• Share this article on Linkedin
• Share this article on Whatsapp
• Share this article on Email
• Print this article
• Share this article on Comment
• Share this article on Tumblr

Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town are teaming up this spring to revive The Bandwagon Tour, four years after their successful 2018 co-headlining run by the same name.

This year’s 15-city outing, produced by Live Nation, will also feature The Cadillac Three as direct support for all shows. The tour launches May 6 in Houston, and will include stops in Dallas, Cincinnati, St. Louis and more, before wrapping June 11 at Camden, New Jersey’s BB&T Pavilion. Just prior to the launch of The Bandwagon Tour, Lambert and The Cadillac Three will perform a pair of amphitheater shows in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on April 27 and Franklin, Tenn. on April 28.

Morgan Wallen Responds to Chair-Throwing Arrest: 'I'm Not Proud of My Behavior'

See latest videos, charts and news

Little Big Town

Miranda lambert.

Lambert is nominated for a Grammy heading into this year’s ceremony, for her collaborative album The Marfa Tapes with Jon Randall and Jack Ingram. Her latest single, “If I Was a Cowboy,” is out at country radio. Meanwhile, Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild, Jimi Westbrook, Kimberly Schlapman and Phillip Sweet are working on their 10th studio album, set to release later this year. The project will follow their 2020 album Nightfall , which was nominated for best country album at the Grammys. In addition to previously touring together, Lambert and Little Big Town collaborated on the 2015 single “Smokin’ and Drinkin” from Lambert album’s Platinum .

The Cadillac Three, known for their blend of country and southern rock on songs including “The South” and “White Lightning,” most recently released a pair of studio albums in 2020: Country Fuzz and Tabasco and Sweet Tea .

Trending on Billboard

Tickets for the tour’s opening night in Houston will go on sale Jan. 21 at 10 a.m. local time. Tickets for all other tour dates will go on sale Jan. 14 at 10 a.m. local time.

See the list of show dates below.

April 27: Tuscaloosa Amphitheater | Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Lambert and The Cadillac Three only) April 28: FirstBank Amphitheater | Franklin, Tenn. (Lambert and The Cadillac Three only) April 29: William Green Football Stadium | Johnson City, Tenn. May 6: Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman | Houston, Texas May 7: Dos Equis Pavilion | Dallas, Texas May 8: Walmart AMP | Rogers, Ark. May 12: Credit One Stadium | Charleston, S.C. May 13: MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre | Tampa, Fla. May 14: iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre | West Palm Beach, Fla. May 20: Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre | St. Louis, Mo. May 21: Ruoff Music Center | Noblesville, Ind. May 22: Riverbend Music Center  |  Cincinnati, Ohio June 2: Budweiser Stage | Toronto, Ont. June 3: DTE Energy Music Theatre | Detroit, Mich. June 4: Blossom Music Center | Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio June 9: Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater | Wantagh, N.Y. June 10: PNC Bank Arts Center | Holmdel, N.J. June 11: BB&T Pavilion | Camden, N.J.

Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox

Want to know what everyone in the music business is talking about?

Get in the know on.

Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Billboard Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

optional screen reader

Charts expand charts menu.

• Billboard Hot 100™
• Billboard 200™
• Hits Of The World™
• TikTok Billboard Top 50
• Song Breaker
• Year-End Charts
• Decade-End Charts

Music Expand music menu

• R&B/Hip-Hop

Culture Expand culture menu

Media expand media menu, business expand business menu.

• Business News
• Record Labels
• View All Pro

Pro Tools Expand pro-tools menu

• Songwriters & Producers
• Artist Index
• Royalty Calculator
• Market Watch
• Industry Events Calendar

Billboard Español Expand billboard-espanol menu

• Cultura y Entretenimiento

Honda Music Expand honda-music menu

Miranda Lambert Puts Badass Lineup Of Openers Together for Upcoming Tour

Trigger News Ashley McBryde , Brent Cobb , Charlie Worsham , Livin Like Hippies Tour , Luci Silvas , Miranda Lambert , Sunny Sweeney , The Steel Woods , the Turnpike Trubadours --> 39 Comments

Get your hemp necklaces and nag champa ready, because Miranda Lambert is about to embark on the “Livin’ Like Hippies” tour come January, and even if you’re fair to partly cloudy on Ran Ran herself, she’s assembled a pretty badass lineup of openers that represent a who’s who of cool independent acts that may coax you off your couch of nothing else does.

Opening all tour dates for Miranda will be mainstream traditionalist Jon Pardi , and ahead of him will be a revolving door of interesting acts that will get an opportunity to play in front of probably some of the biggest crowds of their careers. At various ports of call, Brent Cobb, the Turnpike Trubadours, Luci Silvas, The Steel Woods, Sunny Sweeney, Charlie Worsham , and the recently signed to Warner Music Nashville Ashley McBryde will all enjoy the better catering of a major tour as they play in front of arena crowds.

The Livin’ Like Hippies tour will grace a total of 23 cities, and is named for a line from Miranda’s song “Highway Vagabond” from her recent album The Weight of These Wings . The tour might act as a victory lap after Miranda walked away with a ton of nominations for the CMA Awards in November, and is a strong contender for having a big CMA night. See all the dirty smelly hippie dates below. Tickets begin to go on sale October 6th.

– – – – – – –

1/18/2018           Greenville, SC                Bon Secours Arena                 Jon Pardi and Brent Cobb 1/19/2018           Orlando, FL                      Amway Center                           Jon Pardi and Brent Cobb 1/20/2018           Atlanta, GA                       Infinite Energy Center               Jon Pardi and Brent Cobb 2/1/2018             Tacoma, WA                                                                       Jon Pardi and Turnpike Troubadours 2/2/2018             Spokane, WA                                                                      Jon Pardi and Turnpike Troubadours 2/3/2018             Eugene, OR                    Matthew Knight Arena             Jon Pardi and Turnpike Troubadours 2/8/2018             Sacramento, CA              Golden 1 Center                         Jon Pardi and Lucie Silvas 2/9/2018             Fresno, CA                      Save Mart Center                       Jon Pardi and Lucie Silvas 2/10/2018           Los Angeles, CA             The Forum                                   Jon Pardi and Lucie Silvas 2/15/2018           San Diego, CA                Viejas Arena                                Jon Pardi and Lucie Silvas 2/17/2018           Phoenix, AZ                   Talking Stick Resort Arena      Jon Pardi and Lucie Silvas 3/1/2018             Knoxville, TN                   Thompson-Boling Arena             Jon Pardi and The Steel Woods 3/2/2018            Lexington, KY                 Rupp Arena                                Jon Pardi and The Steel Woods 3/3/2018            Cleveland, OH                  Wolstein Center                           Jon Pardi and The Steel Woods 3/8/2018            Omaha, NE                       CenturyLink Center                     Jon Pardi and Sunny Sweeney 3/9/2018            Oklahoma City, OK           Chesapeake Energy Arena         Jon Pardi and Sunny Sweeney 3/10/2018          Little Rock, AR                  Verizon Arena                              Jon Pardi and Sunny Sweeney 3/15/2018          Des Moines, IA                  Wells Fargo Arena                       Jon Pardi and Ashley McBryde 3/16/2018          St. Louis, MO                  ScotTrade Center                       Jon Pardi and Ashley McBryde 3/17/2018          Kansas City, MO             Sprint Center                              Jon Pardi and Ashley McBryde 3/22/2018          Newark, NJ                       Prudential Center                        Jon Pardi and Charlie Worsham 3/23/2018          State College, PA            Bryce Jordan Center                 Jon Pardi and Charlie Worsham 3/24/2018          Winston Salem, NC        Lawrence Joel Veterans            Jon Pardi and Charlie Worsham

Ashley McBryde , Brent Cobb , Charlie Worsham , Livin Like Hippies Tour , Luci Silvas , Miranda Lambert , Sunny Sweeney , The Steel Woods , the Turnpike Trubadours

39 Comments

Lucky Washington state and that guy Eugene!

That’s where I’m located and I just about fainted from excitement reading this.

Yeah, but not that lucky. I don’t think Turnpike has played up here in 3 years. Not one show. And as much as this is a great show, it probably means even more time until Turnpike headlines up here again.

Awesome! This is exactly what I want to see from some of the more Mainstream Country/Americana acts! Was really happy when Stapleton brought Margo Price and Brent Cobb with him to New Hampshire. Hopefully Miranda adds more dates to this tour for next year.

Tigger- What do you make of Ashley McBryde? She’s got some good stuff out there imho.

Ashley McBryde is the real deal. Her songs are awesome, and she has put in the hours in the bars. Good for her for getting an opening slot with Miranda Lambert.

I’ll probably have something on her soon.

I haven’t seen her in concert for years because every time she came through these parts she was with a Kenny Chesney or Jason Andean. I’ll definitely end that drought this tour!

This is great! I will definitely be at the OKC show. Last time I saw Sunny Sweeney was at the Blue Door in OKC. Max capacity is aprox. 50 souls. I’ll be seeing her at the same place Dec. 2nd. Chesapeake’s max capacity for concerts is 17, 000. Quite a jump, there! I’m nervous and excited for her! wow! 👍

I saw Miranda here in the UK as part of her Highway Vagabond Tour and she puts on a good show. Apparently she’s a bit temperamental though. For example, the show I went to see in Manchester was great but when she played Glasgow a few days later, there were reports that she seemed disinterested, didn’t really speak to the crowd and stormed off without coming back for the encore. I heard similar reports from her Platinum Tour so, if you book tickets, just hope she’s in a good mood.

So the show you saw was good but ya “read” others didn’t have a great show. Ah always fun to be In the rumor spreading group. The Scotland show that she stayed after and gave autographs/took pics w/ people. That show? Man what a diva. The show that SOME people blew out of proportion b/c someone’s fan base got on twitter and started stuff. Encores aren’t ALWAYS not a given. Great audiences get them. Ok off my soapbox. Once again hard to be a female artist.

I mean not really rumor spreading, videos exist (of the Scotland show) of the lack of encore. I saw it on one of her fan sites.

I have to agree with you on the encore aspect. When did encores become a given at almost every concert? An audience really should earn an encore from the performers.

With the high price of tickets,food,drink and merch, the audience “earn” an encore as soon as they sit in their seats

The Troubadours deserve huge crowds. They’ll melt some faces that were not prepared to be melted.

I’m kind of worried about them. It’s an opener for the opener spot on the tour (maybe 20 min) I’m not sure how many people will even make it in. A big arena 1/2 full with disinterested patrons …. I’ve been there.

That’s a good break for Jon Pardi. Gets him in front of more eyes. Build off of his radio success.

I’m really excited very cool group. Glad Ashley McBryde got a deal but Warners sucks. WB is we’re talented female artists go to die, see Ashley Monroe, Brandy Clark, Aubrie Sellers to name a few. Anyway ❤️ Sunny, Troubadours, Charlie, Ash, etc.

Actually (& maybe sadly) warners one of the better mainstream labels out there. They actually allow their artists to put out albums, and work even the females hard to radio.

Warner releases albums w/ little to no promotion. Where is the radio push? If Esposito wanted, he could leverage Blake to get radio to play these ladies. No Blake free tickets/interviews unless they (Brandy Clark, Ashley Monroe or Aubrie Sellers) get airtime. It happens all the time but nothing from Warner. But no! I agree-Warner is where great talented songwriters go to die.

But not just women. They use Blake as their cash cow to push out album after album and won’t let him develop as an artist and record his own songs. #1’s all they care about. Brett Eldredge is doing his own promo via SM no help from WMN. Raelynn actually wrote a really good album and got screwed over same with Ashley.

WMN is stuck in 2010. They don’t know how to effectively promo artists and it shows in their artists dated fanbases and inability to stream.

They had a big radio push for both raelynn & wmm. It seems like you think if a label waves its magic wand, radio plays songs & pple become stars.

I’m surprised she’s playing large venues considering how below average her tickets sold on some dates on her current tour

I was thinking the same thing when I looked at the capacity of some of the venues on this tour. I hope she does well with tickets sales but I’m just not sure it will happen.

Don’t discount the draw Jon Pardi could have on these shows. He’s logged two #1’s here recently, and may have a 3rd here shortly with “Heartache on the Dance Floor.” I think that’s working into the calculus, especially since he will appeal to a lot of the same fans. I wouldn’t call it a co-headliner, but Pardi is quickly becoming a serious star. His album continues to sell strongly as well.

yeah, agree

That’s great to hear and I hope you are right!! Been a fan of hers for a long time!! Excited about her other openers too. Hoping to catch an Ashley McBryde show and a Sunny Sweeney show!!

Yup think they’re counting on Jon to draw in the crowds. Interesting that he is the opener while performing better than Miranda currently.

These large venues are idiotic though. Half the venue is blocked out seating and stage. That was one of the complaints from fans of her European tour. 2000 seats available in an 8000 capacity venue.

Pardi performs better on radio but lets not get crazy thinking she should open for him? 2 radio hits and one album? Really? Miranda sold out the shows I attended earlier this year. Seems like the usual dump on Miranda group is out once again. She has never been apart of the play smaller venues to get SOLD OUT on the website. I have also really liked that all of her tickets are the same price. No VIP package crap, trying to make her fans pony up more and more money.

It’s not dumping on Miranda it’s

Nobody said she should open for him. It was a comment about radio performance.

Boxscores don’t lie. Miranda is far from selling out shows. Her tickets aren’t the same price either. She has premium floor tickets all the way up to 4 for $24 ticket deals as well as groupon sales. Miranda is well known to play bigger venues with smaller ticket allotments than the venues capacity so that they can work the sold out angle. That was one of the main complaints about her Glasgow show, she didn’t connect with the audience because half the venue was blocked out. Her show at the Iventim only 2500 tickets went up for sale. It’s wasn’t a sellout and the venue holds 8000+

That was also the issue here in Texas when they tried to put her into arenas. They couldn’t even fill the floor and first level. She cancelled with vocal issues. Ask Trigger. It’s not dumping on Miranda to try and figure out why they’re going for these large venues. It costs her and her team money. We should be able to discuss these things without Miranda fans with chips on their shoulders crying victim.

Cool tour, seems to be somewhat of a trend. Several of these artists also opened for Tim & Faith. Interesting to see how much time openers, Pardi & then Miranda get. I’d be surprised if Pardi gets less than an hour.

Why are there no Texas tours? That sucks

She was just in Texas. There may be more dates added later.

I’ve seen Randa several times and was never disappointed because she puts on an incredible show! I can’t wait to see her again

That Brent Cobb is something else. He was great opening for Chris Stapleton but wow did he kill at during AmericanFest. Love these openers. I hope she gets back to Austin soon.

Turnpike in Tacoma! I’d go just to see them. Miranda is icing on the cake. Pardi is ok too, but it’ll be bathroom break time when he starts dusting off his boots.

Lucie Silvas has one of the most interesting musical backgrounds I can imagine. She wrote songs for The Saturdays, had a #1 hit duet in Netherlands with Marco Borsato (who is a huge star there) and the last few years has been venturing into country music. Letters To Ghosts is definitely one of my favorite country songs in some time.

Glad she is getting recognition.

I might have just gotten tickets to the Tacoma show!!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment.

From Hootie to Blink-182, here are the concerts to add to your Upstate summer lineup

Greenville and the surrounding area are set to have a sizzling summer music scene as a host of international and local country, rock and R&B artists will arrive in the Upstate between May and September.

Over the last year, Fantasia , Jellyroll , Thomas Rhett and more notable acts have contributed to Greenville's popularly growing music scene. As we await the upcoming 2025 Trueline entertainment venue and Peace Center's A Music Project to arrive by the end of the decade, there are still a ton of great top performers to see throughout the Upstate.

As the weather heats up and the Greenville-area social events begin to sprout, here are 10 of our favorite shows to see this summer throughout the area:

Entertainment News: Peace Center announces 2024-2025 Broadway Series; Greenville to see $50 million in impact

Frank Foster at The Foundry at Judson Mill, May 4

Indie-country artist Frank Foster arrives in Greenville just before summer officially begins. The independent artist who writes and sings his original works will star at one of Greenville's best new music venues: The Foundry at Judson Mill.

Since 2011, Foster has climbed the Country Billboard charts, reaching as high as number seven and number two in the sales charts in 2018 with his album "Til I'm Gone."

Tickets for the 7 p.m. show are $20 — a good deal for a great time.

Location: 701 Easley Bridge Road, Unit 6030, Greenville

Keith Sweat at the Peace Center, May 5

R&B and Soul make its way to the Peace Center as Keith Sweat will serenade downtown Greenville with sounds of the '90s with a 14-album solo catalog spanning as recently as 2018.

His career highlights include genre classics "Make It Last Forever," "Nobody," and "Get Up on It," with both a 1993 Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award and a 1997 American Music Award to boast, plus collaborations with fellow R&B hitmakers Gerald Levert and Johnny Gill for two albums that reached Billboard charts.

Tickets for the 7 p.m. show can be found at PeaceCenter.org.

Location: 300 S. Main St. (Greenville)

Sister Hazel at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, May 10

Sister Hazel returns to Spartanburg for the second time as January 2023 saw the rock band sell out the inaugural show inside "The Hall." As nearly 1,800 people attended last year's performance, Lindsay Drakulic, director of marketing for Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, expects the same.

The Gainsville, Fla. natives are known for their breakout singles "All for You" and "Your Winter," which made the soundtrack for the movie "Ten Things I Hate About You."

"Their return means they are coming back because they enjoyed themselves, which is indicative of how our Spartanburg embraced them," Drakulic said. "They are such a legendary group and true performers; we're honored to have them."

Ticket costs begin at $30 per seat.

Location: 385 N Church St. (Spartanburg)

Tim McGraw: Standing Room Only Tour at Bon Secours, May 16

Tim McGraw will bring over three decades of classic hits to Greenville as his 13th headlining tour arrives at BSWA on May 16.

The actor and three-time Grammy Award winner has 10 albums that have reached number one on Billboard's top country album charts. Tickets can be found at ticketmatster.com for what is expected to be an electric evening of country music in Greenville.

Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena; 650 N. Academy St. (Greenville)

The Vegabonds with Wim Tapley and The Cannons, June 8 -- The Radio Room

The Vegabonds are no strangers to Greenville, as they are constant staples at many arts festivals around the area and state. The intimate and acoustic space of Radio Room will host the five-member Southern rock band with Alabama ties.

Americana/Rock band Wim Tapley and The Cannons are also on the marquee for the evening. Their most recent album, "Red Room," was released in February 2024.

Location: The Radio Room; 110 Poinsett Hwy (Greenville)

Food Festival: Food Network's Emeril Lagasse, son to prepare Michelin dinner for euphoria, what to know

Rock the Country at the Anderson Sports & Entertainment Center, July 26-27

Rock and country music collide for a two-day festival in Anderson as Kid Rock, Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert headline an event encouraging car and RV camping and featuring 25 food and beverage vendors. Tickets for this concert can be found at rockthecountry.com .

"Anderson gets to showcase the asset that it is and we're excited to see the folks who are visiting from other states and to welcome those who have not experienced the area before," said Marty Elliot, owner of Ready Room Collective, a group that facilitates booking musical acts across the Upstate.

She expects the event to host around 25,000 people each day.

Location: 3027 Martin Luther King Blvd. (Anderson)

Blink-182: One More Time Tour at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, July 29

Drumming-extraordinaire Travis Barker and Blink-182 bring their San Diego roots to the South as the 30-year rock band brings their "One More Time" tour to Greenville, which debuted at number one the week following its release on Billboard 200.

Most known for their 2000s smash hit single "All the Small Things," Blink-182 is responsible for the pop-punk sound influence of the millennium alongside bands Nickelback and Creed.

Location: Bon Secours Wellness Arena; 650 N Academy St.

Kem, Aug. 17, Peace Center

As part of Motown Records' resurgence in the early 2000s, Kem , a neo-soul and R&B legend, brings hit singles "Love Calls" and "I Can't Stop Loving You." After beginning as a table waiter and wedding band singer, Kem earned R&B Single of the Year in 2005 from Billboard Music.

His catalog includes work alongside R&B legends Ronald Isley, Patti LaBelle, Toni Braxton, and more.

Location: Peace Center; 300 S. Main St. (Greenville)

The Smashing Pumpkins: The World is a Vampire, Aug. 27 -- CCNB Amphitheatre

The Smashing Pumpkins are two-time Grammy Award winners in 1997 and 1998 and are known for the creativity and innovation in their music videos.

Amidst the Alternative Rock group's breakup in the mid-2000s, they are heavily responsible for the influence of artists such as Third Eye Blind, My Chemical Romance, and Panic! at the Disco.

Tickets can be found on ticketmaster.com.

Location: CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park; 861 SE Main St. (Simpsonville)

Hootie & The Blowfish, Summer Camp with Trucks Tour, Sept 21 -- BSWA

The Columbia, South Carolina natives bring Darius Rucker and Mark Bryan to Greenville for a stop on the Summer Camp with Trucks Tour.

After breaking up for nearly a decade, Hootie & The Blowfish continued their mainstream success again in 2019 with their latest release, "Imperfect Circle." The Alternative Rock, Blues, and Pop band won two Grammy Awards in 1996 for Best New Artist and Best Pop Performance by a Duo with "Let Her Cry."

Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com.

For Foodies: Food Network's Emeril Lagasse, son to prepare Michelin dinner for euphoria, what to know

– A.J. Jackson covers the food & dining scene, along with arts, entertainment and downtown culture for The Greenville News. Contact him by email at [email protected], and follow him on X (formally Twitter) @ajhappened. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription .  

Little Big Town to headline show with Sugarland at Nationwide Arena on Oct. 26

Little Big Town is coming to "the biggest small town in Ohio" this fall.

Recognizable by their tuneful four-part harmonies, the award-winning country superstars are embarking on their Take Me Home Tour, which includes a stop at Nationwide Arena on Oct. 26 with supporting act Sugarland and special guest, The Castellows.

More country crooning: Kacey Musgraves to bring her Deeper Well World Tour to Columbus in November

Various ticket presales for the concert are to run throughout this week, ahead of the general sale beginning at 10 a.m. Friday at littlebigtown.com .

The tour also is to offer various VIP packages, including premium tickets, an interactive Little Big Town coffee book, a limited-edition, autographed tour poster and more. For more information, visit vipnation.com .

Little Big Town, featuring Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook, have charted at No. 1 and in the Top 10 with songs including "Boondocks," "Bring It On Home," "Little White Church," "Pontoon," "Day Drinking," "Girl Crush" and "Better Man."

The Alabama-spawned band, which performed in Columbus last year at Buckeye Country Superfest and in 2018 at the Schottenstein Center, has won numerous country music awards, as well as four Grammy Awards. They've collaborated with such artists as Miranda Lambert and Vince Gill, and Little Big Town singer Fairchild also has appeared as a solo artist on tracks with John Mellencamp, Luke Bryan and others.

Supporting act Sugarland, who also played at the Schott in 2018 , consists of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles on lead vocals and Kristian Bush on vocals, guitar and mandolin. Their No. 1 hits include "Want To," "Settlin'," "All I Want to Do," "Already Gone" and "It Happens." The duo went on hiatus in 2012, with both Nettles and Bush recording solo albums before reuniting after five years and releasing 2018's "Bigger," their most recent album.

The Castellows, special guests on this tour, is made up of sisters Eleanor, Lily, and Powell Balkcom, who first drew attention from cover songs posted on their Instagram and TikTok accounts. The trio left their native Georgia last year and signed with Warner Music Nashville and Warner Records. Their debut EP, "A Little Goes a Long Way," was released in February.

[email protected]