Little Big Town Planned Tour With Miranda Lambert for Years

Fans might have been surprised when Little Big Town and Miranda Lambert announced their co-headlining The Bandwagon Tour, but the quartet reveals the tour is something both acts talked about for a long time, waiting for the timing to be right. And thankfully, now it is.

"We've talked about touring together for a long time," Phillip Sweet tells CMT. "Talking about it has been happening for many years."

Little Big Town previously collaborated with Lambert on "Smokin' and Drinkin'," from Lambert's 2014 Platinum album. But more than just a song or two, fans can expect "a lot of collaborations" during the show, with both acts joining each other on stage for their hits.

"We're just all really into it, and figuring out ways to surprise the fans," Karen Fairchild admits. "I'm excited to see it come together."

The love of collaborations isn't anything new for LBT, who performed several shows at the Ryman Auditorium last year, in support of their latest The Breaker album, inviting artists of all genres to sing with them on the famous stage.

"It was such a great experience on so many levels," Jimi Westbrook acknowledges. "The collaborations we did at that time were super special. We set out to do that — to bring in people from outside the genre; friends of ours that we've met."

"But even collaborating with other artists, the songs we would choose were different," adds Sweet. "With Jamey Johnson, we did 'The Weight.' With Gladys Knight, we did 'I Can't Make You Love Me,' and Andra Day did 'Crazy.'

"Every moment was so special to us," he continues. "And we wanted to relive it over and over. One of my most favorite memories was when Alison Krauss did 'Ghosts in This House.' Her voice made the wood rattle in that place."

Little Big Town has a long list of their own hits, including their current "Summer Fever" single, but the group is perhaps even more eager to add their own harmonies to some of Lambert's tunes.

"We've been brainstorming about what songs to do for a while during a bunch of back-porch hanging meetings," Fairchild says. "We've come up with some ideas that we think the fans are going to love of combining songs and also covering things."

"Honest to God, there isn't a song of hers that I wouldn't want to sing," she continues. "I remember hearing 'The House That Built Me' and having to pull my car over from tears. I feel that way about so much of her stuff. Nobody owns the stage like Miranda does, and she has those total kicka–– moments, and she just kills it."

Little Big Town, which also includes Kimberly Schlapman, will join Lambert in kicking off their The Bandwagon Tour on July 12 in Charlotte, N.C. Find dates at LittleBigTown.com.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Terry Wyatt