New York, NY (Top40 Charts) GRAMMY Award-winning superstar duo SUGARLAND kicking off their STILL THE SAME 2018 TOUR tonight at Daytona Beach, Fla. The highly anticipated headline run will crisscross its way through 49 cities in North
America this summer, following the duo's impressive performances and standing ovations in the U.K. at the C2C: Country to Country festival in March.
Brandy Clark and Clare Bowen will provide support from May 25th to July 14th, while
Frankie Ballard and
Lindsay Ell will join the lineup from July 19th through
September 9th.
Returning from a hiatus that saw both
Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush release critically-acclaimed solo albums,
Sugarland will debut BIGGER, their first new album in eight years, via a joint venture with Big Machine Records and UMG Nashville. Bush and Nettles co-wrote nearly all of the songs on the album, with the notable exception being their new single, "Babe," featuring and written by Taylor Swift. The song is currently in the Top 30 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs Chart and at Country radio. BIGGER is now available for preorder at all digital retailers ahead of its June 8th release.
BIGGER embodies the musical spirit that fans have come to expect from Sugarland, combining upbeat tracks with powerful message songs that address specific issues facing the world today and spark conversations for tomorrow. "Our hopefulness and our sparkiness and our joy are things I think we do uniquely well, especially in the country format," says Jennifer of the set's sunnier material. "We offer that in a unique way." Bush added, "My daughter is turning 13. I wondered if there was a way to help her through the world she's growing up in. There are songs on this album that are inspired by the idea of that conversation, and I hope they will speak to people of all ages, no matter who they are or what they're facing in life."
Since the band's inception in 2002,
Sugarland has sold nearly 10 million albums domestically, earned seven No. 1 singles to date and amassed more than 260 million on-demand streams, making
Sugarland one of the most popular Country music duos of all time.
Lauded by Entertainment Weekly as one of the format's "most successful and beloved acts," both members of the duo say their time away from writing and recording together has only made them come back stronger and, yes, BIGGER.
"We have always enjoyed playing in the margins and stretching the format," says Jennifer. "But it's fun to have taken this time away and seen how the format has expanded and how music has evolved. Before, we were playing in the margins. Now, the margins have moved, and that's fun to hear."
"It's not like we stopped creating with [2010 album] THE INCREDIBLE MACHINE," adds Kristian. "We kept going, but like a good Netflix show you skipped seasons three and four and now you're seeing season five and you're reminded of why you loved it. We didn't really hit pause on anything. We both got on treadmills that were even faster in some ways. But we made a promise to come back, and we kept that promise."
Sugarland's 2018 Still the Same Tour Dates:
May 27 — Daytona Beach, Fla. @ Country 500 Festival *
May 31 — Phoenix, Ariz. @ Gila River
Arena *
June 1 — Anaheim, Calif. @ Honda Center *
June 2 — Del Mar, Calif. @ San
Diego County Fair *
June 7 — Kent, Wash. @ Accesso ShoWare Center *
June 8 — Spokane, Wash. @ Spokane
Arena *
June 9 — Portland, Ore. @ MODA Center *
June 12 —
Santa Barbara, Calif. @
Santa Barbara Bowl *
June 14 — Los Angeles, Calif. @ Greek Theatre *
June 15 — Bakersfield, Calif. @ Rabobank
Arena *
June 16 — Las Vegas, Nev. @ Mandalay Bay *
June 21 — Denver, Colo. @ Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre *
June 22 — Rapid City, S.D. @ Rushmore Plaza Civic Center *
June 23 — Bismarck, N.D. @ Bismarck Event Center *
June 28 — Omaha, Neb. @ CenturyLink Center Omaha *
June 29 — Moline, Ill. @ TaxSlayer Center *
June 30 — St. Louis, Mo. @ Chaifetz
Arena *
July 6-7 — Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada @ Fallsview Casino +
July 8 — Verona, N.Y. @ Turning Stone Resort +
July 12 — Columbus, Ohio @ Schottenstein Center *
July 13 — Youngstown, Ohio @ Covelli Centre *
July 14 — Columbia, Md. @ Merriweather Post Pavilion *
July 19 — Tulsa, Okla. @ BOK Center **
July 20 — Grand Prairie,
Texas @ Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie **
July 21 — Sugar Land,
Texas @ Smart Financial Centre **
July 26 — Pensacola, Fla. @ Pensacola Bay Center **
July 27 — Huntsville, Ala. @ Von Braun Center **
July 28 — Lousiville, Ky. @ KFC Yum Center **
Aug. 2 — Nashville, Tenn. @ Bridgestone
Arena **
Aug. 3 — Atlanta, Ga. @ Infinite
Energy Arena **
Aug. 4 — Greenville, S.C. @ Bon Secours Wellness
Arena **
Aug. 9 — Toledo, Ohio @ Huntington Center **
Aug. 10 — Grand Rapids, Mich. @ Van Andel
Arena **
Aug. 11 — Green Bay, Wis. @ Resch Center **
Aug. 16 — Sioux Falls, S.D. @ Denny Sanford PREMIER Center **
Aug. 17 — Des Moines, Iowa @ Iowa
State Fair **
Aug. 18 — Wichita, Kan. @ INTRUST Bank
Arena **
Aug. 23 — Chicago, Ill. @ Ravinia Festival **
Aug. 24 — St. Paul, Minn. @ Minnesota
State Fair **
Aug. 25 — Grand Island, Neb. @ Nebraska
State Fair ^
Aug. 30 — Uncasville, Conn. @ Mohegan Sun
Arena **
Aug. 31 — Allentown, Pa. @ Allentown Fair **
Sept. 1 — Gilford, N.H. @ Bank of NH Pavillion **
Sept. 7 — Worcester, Mass. @ DCU Center **
Sept. 8 — Newark, N.J. @ Prudential Center **
* with
Brandy Clark and Clare Bowen
+ with
Brandy Clark only
** with
Frankie Ballard and
Lindsay Ell
^ with
Frankie Ballard only.
