For those of you following along, you already know that music is a HUGE part of my life, and that I live for my next concert. For those of you just joining us…You will soon know. I promise. There are a few bands my friend and I follow closely, and today I’m going to tell you about one of my all-time favorites – Little Big Town.
Christy and I have been following LBT since before they had more than one song on the radio. Little Big Town consists of four members, Karen Fairchild, Jimmy Westbrook, Kimberly Schlapman, and Phillip Sweet. Although all four of these people are talented in their own right, together they make magic happen. Their harmonies are nothing like you will ever hear anywhere else. They truly own their stage. They write a lot of their own songs, and their albums are some of the best in country music. If you haven’t heard them (though I find that hard to believe) go check them out. Now. Like, right now. Trust me, you won’t regret it. This blog will be here later for you to finish!
Beyond their incredible talent, Karen, Kimberly, Jimi, and Phillip are four of the kindest, most down-to-earth people you will ever meet. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting them many times, and each time it feels like hanging out with old friends again. At this point they know both Christy and I by name, and seem genuinely happy to see us. As most of you know, I’ve had the opportunity to meet a bunch of celebrities, and I can honestly say that some of my most special meet and greets have been with Little Big Town.
Perhaps the most memorable was a few years back at Rock the South, an outdoor country music festival in northern Alabama. The band had just released their hit, “Day Drinkin’,” which, you guessed it, is all about day drinking. It’s an upbeat song that is just pure fun to sing along to, and was obviously an instant success. Well, Christy and I decided that we needed to bring them gifts that were relevant to that success…so…we sort of snuck a full bar into the meet and greet for them. Honestly, it was crazy. We brought the girls a bottle of red wine, Jimi a bottle of Crown, and Phillip a bottle of tequila (all their favorites). Because Kimberly loves to cook (and has a cooking show and a line of cookware), we brought her a jar of muffuletta olives and flavored olive oil. And of course, we had some Fireball for ourselves. They could not believe it, and we are pretty sure their road manager wanted to strangle us. I’m sure she had a long night that night. But Little Big Town totally loved it, and even talked about “their crazy life-long fans that snuck alcohol and relish into a meet and greet” in an interview a few weeks later. That totally made our day!
We were also lucky enough to be present in Nashville during Little Big Town’s invitation from Reba to be inducted into the Grand Ole Opry family, and the night before attend their Painkiller album release party. That’s a whole other crazy story in itself, but let’s just say they messaged me at 10:30 AM while I was still at home in my pajamas, and somehow Christy and I made it 535 miles to Nashville by 7 PM the same night. My poor minivan. We’ve stood out in the freezing cold for them (like, 18 degrees cold), and sweltered in the heat of the summer…many times. We were able to see them open for Fleetwood Mac, one of their idols, at Jazz Fest a few years ago. We’ve even traveled to Wisconsin to see them perform. We attended a couple of their shows at the Ryman during their residency (which was a life changing experience in itself). Their music marks many of our milestones as friends, and they are truly a part of my day to day life whether they know it or not.
This blog is inspired by the last Little Big Town show we saw a couple weeks ago on the Breakers Tour with Kacey Musgraves and Midland. (Side note – Go download The Breaker if you haven’t already. That album is pure genius.) The show itself is one of the best I’ve seen them put on. From the setlist to the lighting to the effects on the big screens, everything was just perfectly done. And of course, they sounded fabulous as always. For me though, the best part was during the meet and greet where I was able to give Karen and Kimberly each one of my trivets with my paintings on them. I gave Karen the lion because not only did I know she liked that painting, but also because it fits her fierce personality perfectly. Kimberly got the koala because she absolutely loves koalas, and the painting looks as sweet as she is. The boys got Crown, of course. They all seemed very appreciative and the girls even held their trivets during the picture. But the special part was after the picture at the end when Kimberly hugged me and told me that my work was phenomenal, and Karen looked at me and thanked me. But you guys, she REALLY thanked me. Like, she looked right in my eyes and said that the trivet would go great in her house and really thanked me. It was just a very special moment.
It’s no secret that Christy and I attend as many Little Big Town shows as we possibly can each year, often more than one in the same weekend. A lot of people don’t understand why we do this, and to those people I say that you obviously have not been to a Little Big Town show yet. We love supporting artists who are not only talented, but also truly “good people” (LBT fans will get that inside joke). We’ve been with them “from the beginning” (that’s for the TRUE fans), and we can’t wait to see what they do next! Just a few more months until we see them again!