Maddie & Tae Say They’re Stealing ‘So Many’ Tour Ideas From Carrie Underwood

Last year, Maddie & Tae served as an opening act on Carrie Underwood‘ Cry Pretty Tour 360, and the duo got a whole lot of inspiration during their time on the road with the American Idol winner. Speaking to CMT.com, band members Maddie Marlow and Taylor Dye shared that there are “so many” ideas they want to borrow from Underwood for their own shows in the future.

“I really loved her VIP experience. She did a really great job of that,” they shared. “She just made it really special, but also so seamless for her and for the fans. The way she had the room set up was so beautiful. We also love that within with her set, she would do the big crazy songs like ‘Church Bells’ and ‘Two Black Cadillacs,’ and then she would bring it down with ‘Temporary Home’ and ‘See You Again.’ Those little acousticy moments of four or five songs she put together were so cool to see. Because that showed her dynamic abilities as an entertainer.”

Last year, Maddie & Tae told PopCulture.com and other media that they were impressed by Underwood’s “incredible” professionalism. “If she was having a bad day or a tough day, or she was tired you’d never know it,” Marlow said. “She’s just so professional; when it’s work time, it’s work time, and she gets up there and puts on an incredible show no matter what. I want to be able to take that with me for every single tour, that we just always show up and make sure every single person in that audience feels like they got their money’s worth out of the show and feels like they connected with us in some way.”

“She runs a tight ship and I love that,” Marlow added of her former boss. “I think it’s incredible. I think the structure that she creates on the road is so healthy and good. I just really love the way she’s treated us as openers and what she’s done for us and I’m definitely going to pay that forward once we get to that level one day.”

Marlow and Dye are currently preparing to release their sophomore album, The Way It Feels, on April 10, almost five years after their first album. “After you do something one time, you kind of get the gist of it by the second time. But this release just means so much to us,” the duo told CMT.com. “Because there was a point in time when we didn’t really have a record label, we didn’t have a record deal. For a minute, we did think, ‘Maybe we don’t get to release music ever again, maybe it was just a one-time thing for us.’ And of course, that’s not what we wanted. We’ve worked our whole lives for this. So you just have to come out on the other side and know that persistence does pay off and sometimes you just gotta trust the journey. So we’re celebrating this album extra hard.”