Little Big Town and Sugarland at TD Garden, October 31, 2024

Concert reviews

The bands teamed up to rock the crowd on their Take Me Home Tour on Thursday night.

Little Big Town with Sugarland and The Castellows, at TD Garden, October 31, 2024

There are people who believe that country music only thrives south of the Mason-Dixon Line. These people may not know that Kenny Chesney's “No Shoes Nation” was born at Gillette Stadium in 2012 or that award-winning country star Jo Dee Messina is from Framingham. And they certainly weren't at TD Garden on Thursday to attend Little Big Town's “Take Me Home Tour,” or they would know better.

Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook took the stage under white ball lights, dressed mostly in black except for Schlapman, who wore what looked like a form-fitting Kandinsky painting in a body suit.

Fairchild promised the packed house that they would play all the songs they liked and some deep tunes they didn't even know they liked – and they weren't disappointed.

Since her Boston date fell on Halloween, Fairchild called over some costumed onlookers and got some laughs when she apologized for coming “as a plain old Karen.”

Given the holiday, it seemed fitting that they opened with “Bones” before loosely moving into the ever-popular “Little White Church,” the 2010 hit that showcases a few things LBT does best.

Little Big Town, or LBT to those in the know, are incredibly unique, especially because of their four-part harmonies that you would never mistake for a barbershop quartet. Interestingly, there is also no definitive lead singer; Rather, their songs could be led by one of the four, such as Schlapman's “Sober” or “Bring it on Home” with Sweet. Or in some cases there are different combinations or all of them, like “beer, wine, whiskey,” which is seriously just what it is. much. Fun. (Similar to “Pontoon” and “Day Drinking,” which may indicate a theme.)

They also have the ability to easily switch between hard-hitting country songs like “Looking for a Reason” from their 2010 album “The Reason Why” and quieter, more emotional songs like Fairchild’s “Better Man” from their 2017 album “”. The breaker.”

And it's fun to watch Sweet and Westbrook rock out with the band's killer guitarist Evan Weatheford and bassist John Thomasson. Likewise when Fairchild and Schlapman write lyrics together or simply roam across the stage – but they are only at their best when they are silent.

When it was just the four of them sitting on stools in the middle of the stage above the fray and singing with those harmonies – it was magical. A cover of Elton John's “Rocket Man” brought an audible sigh of relief from the audience, and it doesn't get better than “Silver and Gold,” which featured a video montage of their 25-plus year career. They later did a stunning cover of Fleetwood Mac's “The Chain” before launching into “Next to You.”

But if you think four-part harmonies are a thing, you should listen to six. Before they wrapped up, they were joined by their old friends Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, aka Sugarland, who had opened the show for LBT. Fairchild called this special tour a homecoming for both bands, the 25th anniversary of their friendship and collaboration. And while both LBT and Sugarland are standouts on their own, together they are a country music freak of nature, a mellifluous riot in epic fashion.

You know when you're sitting around the campfire and someone pulls out a guitar and suddenly everyone's singing and sounding great and you're so present in that moment that you think there's nothing that could ever top that? This is what it was like to listen to LBT and Sugarland Thursday. But with really good sound and a light show.

They began with their first collaboration, a 2008 cover of Dream Factory's “Life in a Northern Town,” and ended with their latest, a version of Phil Collins' 1985 hit “Take Me Home,” hence the Name of the tour. They are uniquely like-minded when they sing together; They sang over and over again, without ever stepping on anyone's leash, toes, or tongue. It was a wonder to watch and fun because when they sing together it's easy to see that their friendship is real and natural – just like their harmonies.

Fairchild is a powerhouse; She can express a note like nobody's business, just listen to her on “Tornado.” But if you've never heard Jennifer Nettles sing, you should get out more. When controlled impeccably, nettles can carry a song to the moon and back.

Watching “Sugarland” together — and oh, how I missed watching “Sugarland” together — you would never guess that they haven’t toured in over a decade. They never broke up, but simply went solo and occasionally reunited for projects, such as their last album, 2018's Bigger.

Thursday reminded us of what we were missing. “Sugarland” is just fun to watch. Nettles and Bush are playful and fun and always look like they're having the best time of anyone in the room when they're on stage together.

Opening for LBT, they got down to business with “There Goes the Neighborhood,” the catchy (and I mean that in a good way) “Stuck on You” and “Want To” before getting the crowd into overdrive with “Settlin'.” “, “Babe” and “Stay”. The crowd swayed and sang and almost took over during “Stay,” but Nettles' light-sounding voice was so full and strong that it filled TD Garden and beyond. I'm pretty sure you could hear them on Legends Way.

Bush is no slouch when it comes to his voice either. He more than holds his own with Nettles and also plays a great guitar and mandolin. Together, they generated enough energy to light up every pumpkin from Boston to Douglas, Georgia, where they originated.

And although Nettles and Bush are the headliners, they surround themselves with an amazing musical support system, all dressed up as characters from Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood that night, including Mr. McFeely on drums, Prince Tuesday, King Friday and Daniel Tiger on on guitar, Queen Saturday on bass and of course Nettles as cousin Mary Owl and Bush as the big guy himself, Mr. Rogers.

The pair kept the banter to a minimum, as if they knew what people really wanted – to hear them sing – but Nettles paused at one point during “Baby Girl.” She began showing all the parents in the audience with their own little girls.

“You just touch my heart,” she said. “I came here to sing, but I just had to preach for a minute.”

After collaborating with Sugarland, LBT closed the evening with their 2014 hit “Girl Crush,” which caused some controversy when it was first released – several stations removed it from their playlists because some listeners thought it was about lesbianism. But that was all smoothed over when the band explained that it was actually about infidelity (apparently it just depends on who you sleep with). The audience largely agreed with Fairchild note for note on the song. They closed the show with the fan-favorite “Boondocks,” which once again had the crowd singing along loud and proud as if they had all truly grown up in the wilderness.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention this, even before LBT or Sugarland took the stage, the Castellows – three sisters who look like triplets but aren't exactly (two are part of a triplet set, but the third is one Brother, he's not in the band) – prepared the audience. And kudos to the Georgia girls for doing their homework. They came out dressed as Boston Tea Party goers with tricorn hats, white pants, Seinfeld-style ruffled shirts, and blue velvet-looking coats.

Ellie, Lily and Powell Balkcom is described as “neo-traditional country,” which I think is a fancy way of saying infectious country-pop. They have a killer fiddle player in Justin Maynard, sweet voices reminiscent of Emmylou Harris, but their best number was undoubtedly a deep bluesy country cover of Levon Helm's “Hurricane.”

I have no doubt that they will soon follow in the footsteps of Maddie and Tae or The Chicks (formerly Dixie Chicks) or even Sugarland and LBT and headline their own tour soon.

Setlist for Little Big Town at TD Garden, October 31, 2024:

• Bone
• Small white church
• pontoon
• Daytime drinking
• Bring it home with you
• Sober
• I'm with the band / With a little help from my friends
• Better Man (originally made with Taylor Swift)
• Looking for a reason
• Homemade
• Silver and gold
• Rich
• Rocket Man (Elton John cover)
• tornado
• The Chain (Fleetwood Mac cover)
• Next to you
• Wine, beer, whiskey
• Life in a Northern City (The Dream Academy cover with Sugarland)
• Take Me Home (Phil Collins cover with Sugarland)
• Girl crush
• Boondock