Runaway June Reflect on ‘Amazing’ Experience Opening for Carrie Underwood on Cry Pretty Tour 360

Runaway June scored one of the most coveted touring spots, when Carrie Underwood invited the trio, made up of Naomi Cooke, Hannah Mulholland and Jennifer Wayne, to open for her on her Cry Pretty Tour 360. Runaway June, who joins Maddie & Tae in opening for the superstar, just wrapped up the first leg of the tour, and is already eager to resume the tour this fall.

“It’s been amazing. It’s crazy, because Carrie and Maddie and Tae are our actual friends, so to be out there with your friends working doesn’t feel like work,” Wayne told PopCulture.com. “And we’re learning so much from Carrie. She’s such an amazing entertainer, a wife, a mom, a business woman, a friend. I mean, she’s incredible. So I feel like we get to learn from an icon every single day.”

More than being able to tour with one of the biggest superstars of all time, the women are also getting used to the fact that Underwood is now their friend as well.

“It’s so weird,” Cooke said. “Sometimes Carrie will like my Instagram posts.”

“Or we’ll get like a little text from her, and it’s so weird,” interjected Mulholland.

“Every time you see Carrie’s name pop up on your phone, you’re like, is this my life?’” Wayne added. “‘What’s going on?’”

Runaway June knew for months that they would be on tour with Underwood, but admit it didn’t really sink in until they actually hit the road.

“It just felt so surreal,” acknowledged Mulholland. “We were like, ‘I feel like it won’t sink in until we’re actually doing the shows and on tour with her.’ And that’s kind of how it felt. Now that we’ve done it, now, it feels real. It’s like, ‘Okay, we’re really touring with her.’ Because the whole time, it just felt like this fantasy we were talking about that was just too crazy to even imagine, and now that we’re doing it, it’s here, and now it’s over. I’s already halfway done.”

Underwood is taking a break from her tour in the United States to play a series of shows in the U.K., before resuming the Cry Pretty Tour 360 this fall, where Runaway June will undoubtedly apply what they’ve been learning from the icon to their shows.

“She’s one of the greatest entertainers, I think, of our time,” boasted Cooke. “I like to equate her to our Dolly Parton, because of all the hats that she wears, and she does it so well. We’re learning how to entertain larger audiences, and how to work a completely different stage than we’ve ever been on. The way that she’s put her crew together, keeping all of those people happy and working.

“She has a family out there,” Cooke continued. “She’s an actress, a songwriter, a producer, a business woman. Being around someone like that, you can’t help but absorb their energy and learn from them.”

“And she is so professional,” added Wayne. “She is always on time, she shows up for everything, she goes above and beyond, and she knows what’s going on. She’s just such a professional, and I feel like that’s how she got there, because she’s a professional, and she works harder than everybody else.”

Runaway June admit that an added perk of touring with Underwood is getting to spend time with Underwood’s sons, 4-year-old Isaiah and 5-month-old Jacob.

“We see them every day in the hall, and it’s always like, no matter what anyone is doing, the second you see one, you just run over and you give them a hug,” revealed Mulholland. I mean, they’re just the squishiest.”

Runaway June just released their freshman Blue Roses album, which is available for purchase on their website.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Tommaso Boddi