Perfect Harmony: Little Big Town Celebrates 25 Years

Harmony transcends time and so does Little Big Town.

For 25 years, one singular multiplatinum band has done something unheard of. With their original members, Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook, they’ve established a wildly successful career on the strength of their sublime and unchained four-part harmonies, tireless dedication to touring and genre-defining teamwork that’s produced hit after hit after hit while building a massive fanbase and widespread accolades. 

“It doesn’t seem real when you’re young, and like, ‘Yeah, I want to win a Grammy’ or ‘I want to stand on that stage and thank my family’ or I want to do whatever it is – be a Grand Ole Opry member,” Fairchild tells Pollstar. “These high expectations and dreams, you don’t even write them down necessarily; they are just kind of in your mind, and you’re hoping – and then things happen.”

There are 656 Pollstar Boxoffice reports for Little Big Town dating back to July 27, 2002’s KUPL Country Fest play in Saint Helens, Oregon, opening for Kenny Rogers and Sawyer Brown and grossing $83,763. The most recent was an opening spot for George Strait in July 2023 at Ford Field in Detroit that cleared $12.9 million. The group’s headlining shows don’t quite reach that level, but that same month the group grossed nearly $900K over two nights at the Salinas Sports Complex in Salinas, California, ($458,312) and the Santa Barbara Bowl ($438,281) on July 14-15 off 13,285 tickets sold.

Forged primarily in Birmingham, Alabama, and honed over years in Nashville, the band captured national attention with early hits “Boondocks” and “Little White Church.” They went on to earn more than 45(!) award nominations and claim 20 trophies, including eight Country Music Association (CMA) awards, four Academy of Country Music honors and three Grammys. Another milestone they accomplished in 2014 was becoming full-fledged members of the Grand Ole Opry after making their circle debut as fill-in performers in May 1999.

“I love how Little Big Town and the Opry have wrapped their arms around each other from day one,” said Dan Rogers, Grand Ole Opry executive producer, “and how the group 25 years later is so much like the Opry itself.  Much like the Opry, the group is a blend of voices that are a wonder alone and truly excel together.”

Tight harmony has been part of the fabric of country music since early recordings of the Carter Family in the 1920s. The attraction for listeners – no matter what their range – was that they could find their voice somewhere in the sonic mix. Little Big Town adapted that style making the blended sound fresh and forward-leaning with intentional song choices bolstered by their preternatural ability to effortlessly swap leads.  

“The Carter Family’s harmonies are the best in the world – there is nothing like hearing siblings sing,” Fairchild says of the band’s signature sound. “We always talked about that as a band. We don’t have that sibling harmony and it’s not possible to have that, but it is possible to have an identifiable sound the way that Alabama did, Fleetwood Mac did, the Beatles. When the harmonies come together it is very much its own singer.” 

“Through the years, they’ve all been very specific and driven toward letting each person have their own moment and they are good at that balance,” said Jason Owen, president and CEO of Sandbox Entertainment. “But the perfect balance is when the four harmonies come together. That’s when the magic really happens.” 

The band’s mid-career blockbuster albums Tornado (2012) and Pain Killer (2014) produced multiple No. 1 singles, including “Pontoon,” “Day Drinking” and the best-selling country single of 2015 “Girl Crush.” The Breaker, released in 2017, featured their Grammy-winning, multiweek No. 1 single “Better Man,” as well as the 2019 Grammy-nominated “When Someone Stops Loving You.” In January 2020, Little Big Town released their self-produced album, Nightfall, which included Grammy-nominated songs “The Daughters,” “Over Drinking” and “Wine, Beer, Whiskey.” In September 2022, they released their 10th LP, Mr. Sun, which debuted on sales charts as one of the top country albums released by a group.

“I think the band, the four of us, would say, we have an overwhelming sense of gratitude for this incredible journey,” Fairchild says.

To celebrate their 25th anniversary, Little Big Town released their first career-spanning Greatest Hits album in August and their first collection of holiday music aptly titled The Christmas Record this month. NBC will air the band’s network holiday special, “Little Big Town’s Christmas at The Opry,” on Dec. 16, ticking off a longtime bucket list item 

“That’s something we wanted to do for 25 years and is finally happening now that we made a Christmas record,” Fairchild says. “And with that comes all the dreaming of other things we could do. One of them was a Christmas special – and that dream came true. And now we are thinking about what could be next?”

Next is the “Take Me Home Tour,” an 18-date arena outing produced by Live Nation and Sandbox Live with special guest Sugarland and opening act The Castellows. Little Big Town and Sugarland recently collaborated on a cover of Phil Collins’ “Take Me Home,” which they performed at the CMT Awards when the tour was announced.

“It just felt like the greatest reunion,” Fairchild says of the professional relationship that began years ago when Little Big Town opened two tours for Sugarland, including 2007’s “Change For Change Tour.” “They’ve been so kind, so supportive and so gracious all these years and I can’t wait.”

The “Take Me Home Tour” kicks off Oct. 24 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, and runs through December with stops in Boston, Pittsburgh and Austin before concluding Dec. 13 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. 

“To make a moment in a tour happen, I actually think that less is more when it comes to making it feel like a special, unique package,” said CAA Agent Meredith Jones Long. “And I think we were really strategic with the markets and buildings we wanted to play.”

The closing night holds special significance for the group. It’s their first Music City play since 2017’s sold-out, 12-night residency at the Ryman Auditorium. The residency was a first for the historic venue and featured a special guest each night, including Alison Krauss, Sam Hunt, Lee Ann Womack, Andra Day and Gladys Knight.  

“That’s why it’s so important for us, for this moment, to end this tour at Bridgestone and sell out Bridgestone Arena. And they will sell it out,” says Leslie Cohea, president of global touring for Sandbox Live. “We have been waiting on Nashville a long time.”

The band has worked with numerous CAA agents over the years, including Rob Light and Darin Murphy among others. Jones Long recalled a story told by John Huie about how the band was signed even before they had a record deal on the strength of their vocal performance.  

“It was a no-brainer,” says Jones Long. “They signed them in the room with no record deal or anything, which was a little uncommon at the time. They were so infectious live.”

That live performance made the leap from the conference room to the concert hall quickly.

“They’re pros,” explains Owen. “They are never late. They always show up. Whether it’s been in vans to buses to jets to trucks, they’ve seen every version of what a tour is like. That’s important to remember because lots of people forget. … They recognize that, and therefore they treat it with respect.”

The Little Big Town touring strategy has evolved along with the band. After the Ryman residency, the band had a successful arena tour with openers Kacey Musgraves and Midland. Coming off the tour, the band made the shift to multinight theater runs, which was followed by George Strait’s stadium tour. 

“We’ve been very intentional and everything we’ve done is for the next step we are going to take,” says Cohea, who met the band while she was a promoter with AEG Live/Messina Touring Group working with Sugarland. “They always take the next right step, whether it’s going down to play a smaller room or going big. They just care about the fans and giving them the best experience.” 

The group has worked equally hard at building a fanbase in the United Kingdom and Europe. They were the first act to play London’s C2C festival three times in 2013, 2016 and in 2018 as a headliner. In 2022, they opened for the Eagles 50th Anniversary U.K. stadium tour. In 2024, the band’s overseas tour dates included Manchester, Bristol, Cambridge, Newcastle, London, Birmingham and Glasgow.

“Touring wise, it’s been clear right from the start that LBT were deeply committed to the U.K. market, a market that if played correctly can deliver you a loyal audience for decades into the future,” says Mark Hagen, an executive producer for BBC. “I remember saying to them back in the dawn of time, ‘Come early, come often,’ and they have, consistently returning here for full-scale tours but also – and crucially – taking the opportunity when it arose to nip over for one-off or limited shows to maintain that contact with the audience. We see that, and we love it.”

“They love the road,” adds Cohea. “You can see it come through. They love performing to a live crowd. And it is rare to get four voices up there that can do what they do and have as much fun.”

The band is such a sought-after special guest, whether it’s to fill in for Khalid on Ed Sheeran’s “2023 Mathematics Tour” at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, record with Lionel Richie or John Mellencamp, or perform alongside Dolly Parton at the Grammy Awards or Ariana Grande at the CMA Awards.

“Looking up to people in the business for so many years and eventually collaborating
or touring or doing some kind of guest appearance on a record, they were just absolute magical moments,” offered Fairchild. 

On the road, Little Big Town has supported its share of up-and-comers who have gone on to have significant critical and commercial success, including Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Chris Stapleton, Maren Morris and Brothers Osborne. 

“They have taken out a lot of artists on their first album cycle or artists that they respected as musicians who shortly after became headliners in their own right,” says Jones Long. 

“They are brilliant about picking out talent because they are so musical,” Cohea adds. “They have always managed to put a great package together. They are always willing to take a chance.”

Universally liked, Cohea says artists and the industry are drawn to the band for their undeniable talent and work ethic. “Here’s the thing, they sing in harmony, but they work in harmony,” she says.

Harmony on the road included raising a family and having a kids’ table in crew catering. Fairchild and husband Westbrook have a son, Schlapman has two daughters and Sweet also has a daughter.  

“We love it,” Fairchild says of raising the children on the road. “We’ve been so grateful to get a chance to be on a bigger stage and to afford to bring our children. I don’t think we would have done it any other way. It’s a commitment. It’s expensive. And it’s wild. There were rough nights of pulling the bus over and going into the emergency room with a sick kid, and tears from everyone because it was hard, but we always had each other and the comfort of being together.

“It really does take a village to raise children, and we were afforded that privilege of doing it on buses that rolled down the highway.” 

That gratitude extends to supporting numerous charities and causes including Grammy on the Hill, MusiCares, Stand Up to Cancer, Save the Children, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Michael J. Fox Foundation and the CMA Foundation, which supports music education. Fairchild has served on the CMA Board since 2009.

“I first worked with Little Big Town in 2005,” recalls Sarah Trahern, CEO of CMA. “What stood out to me, even back then, was not only their incredible talent, drive and harmonies but their down-to-earth nature and authenticity as people.”

Unpretentious and genuine, Owen said the band’s collective experience provides a heightened level of personal and creative freedom. 

“There’s nothing that really surprises them, and there’s nothing that scares them,” says Owen. “So, it allows them the autonomy to take risks.”

“Safe has never worked for us,” adds Fairchild. “It’s about staying inspired from the writing perspective and the touring – the actual connection with the fans. For me that’s the live show and the songwriting piece. And I don’t feel nearly done.”