Sugarland Eager to Kick off Still the Same Tour

Sugarland will kick off their Still the Same Tour on Friday, May 4, and while fans are excited, Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush are probably the most eager to hit the stage again, after spending the last six years not touring together.

"I love this part of our job. I love theater and I love putting on a show," says Nettles. "One of the things I think that Sugarland does very well and what makes us stand out in many ways is that element of theater that you get to see in the production value of our shows. So, really what we want to do with that is invite you into another world. You can bring in your woes and your daily life but it isn't your daily life, that nothing is required of you of that moment except to be present and to enjoy and to take in as you can.

"So we really try to create that," she continues, "not only with the music and with the arc of the set list, but also with the visuals and the production element onstage."

Even though they haven't been on the road together since their In Your Hands Tour in 2012, both Nettles and Bush agree that they still have the same chemistry as before – maybe better.

"It's really weird because you trust somebody and you've trusted them for so long and then you get right back up into the – you're bungee jumping and right off front of the stage and you trust them again," says Bush. "You haven't seen them in a while. You're like, 'We got this, right? Yeah we got this.'"

"And it's muscle memory too," Nettles adds. "I mean, there were a few lyrics that I was like, 'Wait. What is this?' And then it was like, 'Oh yeah.' And then there was one song whenever we were in rehearsal, that I was like, 'Did I play 12-string acoustic on this?' And Kristian was like, 'You didn't play anything on this,' and I'm like, 'Well in my mind I played 12 string acoustic, so maybe we should throw that in there.' I don't know maybe that was an inspiration coming from somewhere higher ... But for the most part yeah, muscle memory."

Sugarland will be joined by a rotating cast of opening acts, including Luke Combs, Kip Moore, Brandy Clark, Clare Bowen, Frankie Ballard and Lindsay Ell. Dates can be found on Sugarland's website.

Photo Credit: Instagram/sugarland