Little Big Town returns to Savannah with No. 1 hits and a plan to party
A lot has changed since the hit country group Little Big Town opened for Charlie Daniels in Savannah back in April 2012.
"It's been the most incredible ride with one good thing after another," group member Phillip Sweet says. "It's been a beautiful and quite emotional few years."
The group is coming back to Savannah on March 5 for a concert at the Johnny Mercer Theatre. Opening for them will be special guest, Chris Stapleton.
Little Big Town's fifth studio album, "Tornado," was released Sept. 11, 2012. The lead single, "Pontoon," became their first No. 1 hit, and went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.
In 2014, Little Big Town's album "Pain Killer" included a top five hit, "Day Drinking." In addition to the Grammy, the group has won two Academy of Country Music awards, three Country Music Association awards and an Emmy, all since 2012.
They headlined a sold-out tour, toured with Keith Urban and hosted "CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock" twice. But there's even bigger news.
On Oct. 3, 2014, Reba McEntire invited Little Big Town to join the Grand Ole Opry. The members were inducted Oct. 17 by Vince Gill.
"Getting inducted into the Grand Ole Opry is better than getting an award," Sweet says.
The road to success has been a rather long one. Little Big Town signed its first recording contract with Mercury Nashville Records in 1999, but an album was never produced, leading them to sign with Monument Records three years later.
After only two minor country chart singles, the group signed to Equity Music Group in 2005, and finally began to get noticed. They released their album "The Road to Here," which went platinum and produced the top 10 singles "Boondocks" and "Bring It On Home."
Their next album, "A Place to Land," featured the single "I'm with the Band," which was a Top 40 hit on the country charts. Little Big Town then signed with Capitol Records Nashville and recorded their fourth album, "The Reason Why," which contains the top 10 hit "Little White Church."
Finally, they recorded their album, "Tornado," and the rest is history. Then came "Pain Killer," which was an especially memorable project, Sweet says.
"We don't ever repeat the last record," he says. "We always want to try new things and experiment and go new places.
"We all live and die by that kind of motto," Sweet says. "We let the music reign supreme."
The songs on the album are special to the group.
"These songs kind of grouped themselves," Sweet says. "I don't know what is, but the album seemed to have a personality all of its own.
"There are some special things on this album and I felt each one of us stood out," he says. "When we took our leads, we really showcased one another's voices."
The members of Little Big Town have been experimenting with writing songs.
"We've been writing in different configurations," Sweet says. "We still write as a band, but we're opening ourselves up to writing in different ways.
"On some songs, it was all girls writing, drinking wine, opening up. These were songs they wrote that wouldn't have happened with the boys in the room.
"It was the same thing with us guys," he says. "We were spreading our wings, so the voices in the room were changing. We were always staying creative, which is key for us."
Founded in 1998, the group has had the same four members from the start. In addition to Sweet, the band includes Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman and Jimi Westbrook, who sing four-part vocal harmonies, with all four alternating as the lead.
Fairchild and Schlapman, both from Georgia, met in 1987 while attending Samford University in Alabama. They moved to Nashville to pursue musical careers and decided to work together.
After crossing paths with Westbrook, Fairchild and Sweet added him to the group. Sweet met them through a songwriter friend, and the four began singing together in Fairchild's living room.
Born in Pocahontas, Ark., Sweet grew up in the northeastern corner of the state. He often traveled to Memphis to listen to music.
His mother owned a small country music theater in the Ozarks, and he began playing on her show at the age of 14. In 1997, Sweet moved to Nashville to pursue music.
Today, all four are like family.
"We do get along well," Sweet says. "I think it's because of the healthy respect we do have for each other.
"We have fun together. There were many times when we were being creative when it wasn't because it was luxurious, but more out of necessity.
"People weren't pitching us good songs," he says. "We weren't selling records and nobody knew who we were."
Yes, things have changed for Little Big Town since 2012.
"It's great seeing a lot of things changing in business and personally," Sweet says. "We've been through a lot of life together.
"We're having the time of our lives. Working is fun.
"Our confidence is at an all-time high," he says. "We stopped and looked at ourselves, and all the things that have happened are incredible."
Not that there aren't still challenges along the way, including the demands of touring.
"I love the road," Sweet says. "We plan better now than when we were younger and we had no choice.
"Now we have kids and we've all made commitments to them. We try not to be gone too long to keep ourselves grounded.
"We've gotten into a good rhythm," he says. "Our partners help us and support us and that's the most important thing."
Having children is a happy complication.
"It takes an army to run all this stuff," Sweet says. "You've got to work it out and hire a nanny to help you out. At the same time, we all feel pretty blessed."
The job requires writing music, recording it and then performing it.
"I love them all for different reasons," Sweet says. "The recording isn't all the time. It comes around every couple of years.
"Writing is in between all of that. That focused time when we're making record is a special time.
"It's like going away to school or camp and coming away with memories," he says. "You stay up odd hours."
Being on stage make up for all the effort.
"The performances to me are what I live for," Sweet says. "You've taken what is creative and perform it live.
"You get an instant reaction. I love to see people respond to our music."
The group is excited to return to Savannah.
"We're going to play as many songs as we can get away with. We'll have some fun.
"We always like to keep it fresh. We like to keep it interesting.
"We've done a handful of shows so far this year, so we're not in the tour groove. It's going to be fun and loud and a big old party."
Returning is all the sweeter because of all the recent achievements.
"We've all thought to ourselves, 'Maybe this is what it feels like when you've made it,'" Sweet says. "It feels so good.
"For us, it really means a lot because of our heritage.
"We all uphold the music and protect the art," he says. "I love that privilege and honor to be a member to carry the torch forward."
IF YOU GO
What: Little Big Town with special guest Chris Stapleton
When: 7:30 p.m. March 5
Where: Johnny Mercer Theatre, Savannah Civic Center, 301 W. Oglethorpe Ave.
Cost: $29.50-$125
Info: savannahcivic.com/events, 912-651-6550